The victory over Nazi Germany remains the most important and widely revered symbol of the country's prowess and a key element of national identity.
Since coming to power on the last day of 1999, Putin has made May 9 an important part of his political agenda, featuring displays of military might.
The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in the war, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family.
Thursday's festivities across Russia, led by Putin who this week began his fifth term in office, recall that wartime sacrifice in what has become its most important secular holiday.
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