Victory Day («День победы») in Russia is arguably the most important secular Russian holiday of the year. Celebrated on the 9th of May («Девятое мая»), it both commemorates the Soviet victory in 1945 over Hitler’s invading Nazi forces and mourns the over 20 million Soviet soldiers and civilians who died in WW II. The holiday is a day of patriotic parades, music, singing, poetry, laying of wreaths at WWII monuments, concerts, family picnics, and fireworks (the largest display in Khabarovsk over the Amur River). For a visiting American, it feels like a combination of Memorial Day and the 4th of July. Over the years, PKSCA has celebrated Victory Day in a variety of ways, including dinner/dance events, poetry recital, music and singing, recollections by WWII Soviet veterans, and award-winning WWII-themed Soviet movies.
