69 years ago, on June 24, 1945, the first Victory Parade was held at Red Square in Moscow. Joseph Stalin, the then-leader of the Soviet Union, watched the entire event unfold from the rostrum of the Lenin Mausoleum.
Opening the ceremony was a band of cadet drummers, followed by a line of troops. Infantry, artillery, tanks as well as cavalry also took part in the parade, during which it rained heavily.
The famous "Red Banner of Victory," hoisted over the Reichstag when Soviet forces reached Berlin, was also brought from the German capital to the march.
Columns of soldiers, carrying 200 banners seized from Nazi German troops, bought the parade to an end. These banners were then thrown at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum.
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