Unique documents illustrate the military parade on November 7, 1941 available on the Presidential Library’s portal

Holding a parade on days when the enemy was practically standing at the walls of Moscow was a bold decision. But it was this decision that became the best demonstration to the whole world of the courage and fortitude of the Soviet army and people, and the determination to fight to the bitter end.

By mid-October, fighting was taking place several tens of kilometers from the capital. The evacuation of government institutions, industrial enterprises, and the population from Moscow began, and from October 20 a state of siege was introduced in the city. There was talk in Moscow that Stalin and members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks had left the city. The Wehrmacht leadership was completely confident of victory. Along with equipment and ammunition, the Germans carried award crosses with them. In the Naro-Fominsk area, a special train with two tons of German orders for victory in the Battle of Moscow was captured. The unique document - Map of the position of the troops of Army Group Centre of the Wehrmacht by the end of October 25, 1941 (in German) is available in the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials "World War II in Archival Documents" on the Presidential Library's portal.

Hitler planned to take the capital by November 7, the next anniversary of the October Revolution. However, these plans were not destined to come true. On November 7, the parade took place on Red Square. But not German troops, but Soviet units of the Red Army.

The decision to hold the parade was not made immediately - the situation was very difficult near Moscow. On October 28, a meeting was held by Stalin, at which the discussion was about holding ceremonial events marking the 24th anniversary of the revolution. The meeting was attended by members of the Politburo, the commander of the Moscow Military District, Lieutenant General P. A. Artemyev, the commander of the Red Army Air Force, Aviation Lieutenant General P. F. Zhigarev, the commander of the Moscow Air Defence Zone, Lieutenant General M. S. Gromadin, commander of the Air Force of the Moscow Air Defence Zone, Colonel N. A. Sbytov. At the meeting J. V. Stalin raised the question of the possibility of holding a military parade.

The development of a plan for a parade in the capital square, designed to raise the morale of the country, took place in conditions of strict secrecy under the personal control of Stalin. Already on October 29, the texts of the slogans of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks for the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution were placed on the commander-in-chief’s desk. Stalin personally made changes to them. Sometimes this is a rearrangement of words or sentences, and sometimes a more serious edit. Thus, another greeting has been added to the appeals to various categories of Soviet citizens - defenders of the Fatherland - doctors, pilots, artillerymen, tank crews, and so on. Stalin, in pencil, wrote the phrase: “Long live our glorious border guards, faithful defenders of the Soviet borders”. In total, Stalin personally added about a dozen of slogans.

On November 2, 1941, the Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks On the celebration of the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was issued. The draft of this resolution, with the stamp “not for publication” and Stalin’s edits is also available in the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials "World War II in Archival Documents".

On November 4, the Order of the NKVD of the USSR “On the organization of the protection of Red Square on the day of the parade dedicated to the XXIV Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution - November 7, 1941” was issued, with the attachment of a list of distribution of responsibilities and deadlines for the equipment of the Mayakovsky Square metro station. It was there, on the platform of the Mayakovskaya metro station, on November 6, on the eve of the parade, that a meeting of the Moscow City Council was held. During the meeting, Stalin addressed those present with a speech, which was broadcast over the radio throughout the country, and later distributed in the form of leaflets over the occupied areas. The audio recording of J. V. Stalin’s report “For the complete defeat of the German invaders” is posted on the Presidential Library’s portal.

When preparing for the parade, there was great concern about German aircraft, which could strike Red Square. On November 5, Soviet aviation carried out preemptive bombing strikes on German airfields. In addition, the day before the parade, meteorologists reported that low clouds and heavy snowfall were expected on November 7.

On the night of November 7, the covers were removed from the stars of the Kremlin towers, and the mausoleum was freed from camouflage. Red Square took on a solemn appearance. The command of the parade was entrusted to Lieutenant General Pavel Artemyev, and the parade was hosted by Deputy People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Budyonny. The country's leadership sat on the podium of the Mausoleum.

The parade started at 8 o'clock in the morning. The ceremonial speech delivered by Stalin at the parade ended with words addressed to the Soviet troops. The full audio recording of J. V. Stalin’s speech at the parade of Red Army troops marking the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was published on the Presidential ‘s portal.

The ceremonial march of troops on Red Square was opened by cadets of the Krasin Moscow Red Banner Artillery School. With unfurled banners, artillerymen and infantrymen, anti-aircraft gunners and sailors walked along the main square of the country to the revolutionary military marches performed by the orchestra of the headquarters of the Moscow Military District under the direction of Vasily Agapkin. One can see unique newsreels “XXIV October”: The parade of troops on Red Square on November 7, 1941 on the Presidential Library’s portal.

The parade was broadcast on radio. According to eyewitnesses, the morning radio message on November 7, 1941 was unexpected for many people and became a new starting point. After all, if a festive parade took place in the capital, it means that Moscow has the strength to withstand a fierce battle; which means that victory will be ours... In terms of the strength of its emotional impact, the 1941 parade is rightfully equated to victory in the most important strategic operation, which was the battle for Moscow.

The soldiers left for the front straight from the snow-covered paving stones of Red Square. After the parade, thousands of young people from all over the country lined up at military registration and enlistment offices to sign up as volunteers. Central, regional, and front-line media wrote about the parade.

The same issue of Leningradskaya Pravda reported that, according to a diplomatic correspondent for Reuters, “a significant impression in England was made by the fact that the traditional parade of the Red Army in commemoration of the October Revolution took place in Moscow, as usual, despite the Germans’ claims that they “supposedly destroyed the Red Army a few weeks ago”.