For already several years in row, there have been no military parade in Dushanbe on the occasion of Victory Day.
“There will be no military parade on the occasion of Victory Day this year,” Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan (MoD), told Asia-Plus in an interview.
He refrained from giving further details.
However, May 9 remains a public holiday in Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, an official source within the Dushanbe Administration says “It is unclear yet whether there will be the Immortal Regiment march in Dushanbe this year.”
“There are no orders regarding this yet,” the source added.
The ‘Immortal Regiment’ brings together people of all ages, social groups and political beliefs. Anyone can carry on the memory of war veterans and enroll to participate in the march to honor the memory of those who earned the hard-won victory in 1945.
Since its inception in 2007, the ‘Immortal Regiment’ initiative has been met with unprecedented support, and by 2015 it had received national status in many former Soviet republics.
However, most of the countries have abandoned both this idea and the military parade.
Victory Day marks the end of World War II in Europe, specifically the capitulation of Nazi forces to the Allies (the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, the United States and other principal Allied nations) on May 8, 1945.
In Russia and other countries of former Soviet Union, the day of Victory over Nazi Germany is celebrated on May 9, because when the German Instrument of Surrender actually entered into force (May 8, 1945 at 23:01 CET), it was already May 9 by Moscow time. Post-Soviet countries have continued the tradition.
