During his annual New Year’s address to the nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin touted the 75th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany as the country’s main event in 2020. The celebrations were supposed to culminate in a pompous military parade in the Red Square and the opening of a new Christian Orthodox cathedral dedicated to the Russian army on May 9.
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Servicemen gather by artillery pieces set by the Peter and Paul Fortress during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in downtown Saint Petersburg on May 9, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
