Internet and History: Archival documents about preparations and course of the historical parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, released

November 7 is a memorable date in Russian military history. On this day in 1941, several military parades took place, marking the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

The November parade in the capital became a landmark event, a turning point in the Moscow battle. It proved that despite the colossal difficulties and stubborn bloody battles near the Moscow walls, the Soviet capital would not surrender to the enemy, and the Soviet troops were ready to stop the Nazis and make them retreat. This parade, held at the time of great austerity of the war, inspired thousands of young people from all over the country to become volunteers.

Historical and educational section "November 7, 1941. Moscow. Red Square" is based on archival documents about the preparation of one of the most representative and significant military parades in Russian history.

The report of Major General K. Sinilov, the Moscow commandant, states that the official correspondence described the parade as "an operation of the troops of the Moscow garrison". This operation involved a total of 30 thousand soldiers and officers, 140 artillery pieces of various calibres, 160 tanks and 232 vehicles. The parade engaged infantrymen, tankmen, sailors, anti-aircraft gunners, artillerymen, cavalrymen, machine gunners, mortar gunners, signalmen, sappers and medics.

The parade organization was perfect despite the difficult situation in the battles on the Moscow outskirts. The documents testify that the command of the Moscow garrison was excellent in the organization of the exact arrival and departure of infantry units, cavalry and equipment, in the order and time of movement of the columns on the main square of the country, in the supply of communication means, traffic controllers, evacuation tractors, and veterinarians.

Part of the archival documents also features another, no less significant military parade on November 7, 1941. The parade of military reserves took place in Kuibyshev (now Samara) by order of the Marshal of the Soviet Union K. Voroshilov, marking the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Unlike the Moscow parade, the Kuibyshev show included both ground and air parts.

The declassified order of the Commander of the air forces of the Volga Military District reports that the pilots and technical personnel demanded only three days to prepare for the parade, considering the crisis at the front. They performed training flights, secured communications, material support, aircraft service, and established communication and coordination with the command of the ground part of the parade.

A new section of the website of the Russian Ministry of Defence also includes the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper of November 9, 1941, devoted to another parade marking the anniversary of the October Revolution. It took place on November 8, 1941, in Voronezh. The troops were reviewed by S. Timoshenko, the Deputy People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union. Its participants were the units of the troops of the South-West. The newspaper states that the columns of infantry and tanks were replaced by "thousands of working people of the city with banners, portraits of leaders and flowers in their hands". People marched, showing their readiness to selflessly help the front, and confidence in the forthcoming victory of the Red Army over the Nazis.

The publication of documents about the beginning of the Great Patriotic War from the collections of the Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence aims at preserving and protecting historical truth, countering falsifications of history and attempts to revise the outcomes of World War II.