Russia: 9 May 1945 commemorations deprived of their splendor

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In Russia, the 75th anniversary of the victory against Nazi Germany will take place in a very special climate. No military parade, only the overflight of fighter planes and helicopters over Red Square is maintained. And for Vladimir Putin, a speech alone under the walls of the Kremlin.

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It was to be one of the most significant moments of the year 2020 in Russia, with a grand military parade in front of a guesthouse that the Russian power hoped for as prestigious as possible - among the guests was notably French President Emmanuel Macron . But the coronavirus epidemic has turned everything upside down and this Saturday, the Russians will have to follow the commemorations of their home, in front of their television set or on the internet, reports our correspondent in Moscow , Daniel Vallot .

To celebrate the event despite everything, fighter planes and helicopters will fly over Red Square and fireworks will be fired as every year in the evening. The Russian president, meanwhile, will meditate before the flame of the unknown soldier, before addressing the nation.

Russia has renounced the main part of the festivities that mark this day on May 9 in normal times. But in the region, two countries have decided to maintain their military parades: Turkmenistan and Belarus. The Central Asian country continues to claim that no cases of coronavirus have been recorded on its soil . And Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has consistently downplayed the severity of the disease. At least 5,000 people are expected for the parade to be held in Minsk, the country's capital.

A mass grave containing the remains of soldiers executed by the Nazis

A mass grave containing the remains of Soviet soldiers captured and then executed by the Nazis during the Second World War was unearthed in Russia just as it is preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the 1945 victory. In total, it is the bones of 134 Soviet soldiers and civilians who were discovered at this place, in the Leningrad region (north-west), announced the Russian Investigation Committee in a statement on Friday.

They are prisoners of a "very severe regime" camp established in 1941 in Louga, a city occupied by German forces which besieged Leningrad (today Saint Petersburg), according to the same source. Among the prisoners, the Nazis primarily executed military and political officials, the statement said.

Leningrad was besieged for 872 days, between 1941 and 1944. This blockade killed at least 800,000 people

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