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May Day Parades in Russia See Massive Turnout

People walking through Red Square with flags and banners during a rally in Moscow on May 1. Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters

More than 3 million people took part in celebrations marking May Day in Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

Cultural events, including concerts and sporting activities, were organized in 1630 towns and cities across Russia to celebrate May 1, otherwise known as the Day of Spring and Labor, the ministry said Thursday in a statement posted on its website.

In Moscow, about 100,000 people participated in a May Day parade on Red Square — the first such rally to be held on the city's main square since Soviet times — the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

May Day, which is a public holiday, has traditionally been associated with the labor movement, and has been celebrated in Russia for almost a century.

Also see:

Photo Gallery: May Day in Russia -The Highlights

Photo Gallery: Russians Celebrate Labor Day on Red Square

May Day's Rally Brings 100,000 to Red Square

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