Eyes front! Female police cadets among 20,000 on parade as Russia marks victory over the Nazis




In immaculate uniforms and with pride written across their faces, these police cadets were among 20,000 taking part across Russia to commemorate victory over the Nazis in World War Two.

The female cadets took part in the nation's Victory Day military parades on Dvortsovaya Square, St Petersburg, alongside similar displays on Moscow's Red Square.

Anna Chapman, the former Russian spy-turned-TV presenter, was one of the guests of honour at the annual parade.

In a sea of gold braid, green fatigues and gleaming medals, the 29-year-old, who had been a sleeper spy in the U.S. before being expelled, was relatively restrained in muted clothing - though the colour of her dress was a very appropriate khaki.



Proud: Female Russian police cadets march through Dvortsovaya Square, in St Petersburg, during the Victory Day parades

On parade: The women were part of 20,000 to take part in the commemoration of the end of World War Two

If she momentarily distracted some 20,000 troops from their ceremonial duties, Russia's massed servicemen soon snapped back to attention.

The parade is the centerpiece of Russia's most solemn secular holiday, both commemorating the Soviet Union's sacrifices in the war and asserting the potency of its modern military.

A total of 20,000 troops who strode in precision formation through the vast square outside the Kremlin were followed by more than 100 pieces of mobile military hardware, from armoured personnel carriers to lumbering Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile launchers.

Celebrity: Russia's favourite femme fatale Anna Chapman was one of the guests at the event to mark the anniversary of victory over the Nazis in World War Two. The parade took place in Moscow's Red Square

It concluded with a squadron of helicopters carrying flags over the square but, unusually for recent years, did not include warplanes.

Although Russian armed forces suffered from severe funding shortages and morale problems in the early years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the parade put forth the image of a spit-and-polish and vigorous military, with an emphasis on discipline and precision.

The parade announcer even praised the 'maximal synchronisation' with which the cars carrying Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Moscow Military District commander Col.-Gen. Valery Gerasimov approached each other in the center of the square.

Medvedev told the crowd, which included many war veterans festooned with medals and ribbons, that restoring the military would continue.

'The state will continue to do everything to guarantee the dignity of military service, to actively upgrade the armed forces so that the troops will have the most modern equipment,' Medvedev said.

Show of strength: Russian howitzers roll down Red Square with the history museum in the background Still raw: Veteran Lyudmila Anosova, 85, cries as she tells stories (left) while a navy officer hugs one of his comrades



On parade: Servicemen take part in the event which celebrates victory over Germany in World War Two 'Today Russia firmly upholds the principles of peaceful cooperation, consistently advocates for a security system and contributes to the overall effort to maintain global stability in the world,' he said in the speech from a tribune set up in front of the Lenin Mausoleum. The mausoleum, the focal point of the square, was hidden behind an elaborate scrim painted to mark the holiday, reflecting the symbolic delicacy of commemorating a victory achieved by the Soviet regime that is now largely discredited.

Some of the marching military units carried period flags bearing the Communist hammer-and-sickle emblem.

Heads of state: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (left) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the Victory Day parade

Weapon of mass destruction: Russian Army Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles drive through the square as thousands watch

Bottoms up! Three veterans toast and down their vodka shots at the commemorations