Moscow celebrates Victory Day

Russia is celebrating its biggest public holiday, Victory Day, with a military parade in Moscow that was meant to be held on 9 May.

This year's event is special for President Putin because in a week's time Russia will hold a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments that are expected to pave the way for him to stay in power beyond 2024, when his current term expires.

It is 75 years since the then USSR defeated Nazi Germany. World War Two cost more than 20 million Soviet lives.

President Vladimir Putin reluctantly postponed the big annual celebration because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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But it was rescheduled ahead of a key constitutional vote, which could allow him a further two terms in power.

Moscow's lockdown eased this month, but mass gatherings technically remain banned. Soldiers taking part had to go into quarantine ahead of the parade.

The number of confirmed cases in Russia rose above 600,000 on Wednesday, with another 7,176 new infections reported over the previous 24 hours.
This is, however, lower than in May, when the country reported more than 10,000 new cases a day for more than a week.

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