Seeing the huge Russian tanks, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction driving down the street that is right next to our Moscow hotel was quite an overwhelming site. The emotions ran high, ranging from fascination to realisation and fear.
In some ways we are so lucky! Not only did we get to march in Moscow’s May Day Parade, we also saw a parade for the Russian Military. Let’s be clear, this is not a daily event in Moscow. It was the annual rehearsal for an upcoming May 9 parade. The Russians do it on the last night in April as the streets are already blocked off for the next day’s May Day parade.
It was quite surreal to see this massive weapons going down the security lined street with almost no one else stopping to take notice.
Moscow is an interesting city.
Big thanks to hubby who helped to identify them all, as to me they were just Russian tanks:
The “parade” started out small with this Russian transport:
Followed by this tank:
This big rolling gun in a Russian Howitzer. OMG, this is just starting to get freaky. Keep scrolling, it gets bigger.
The ground shook as the Buk-M mobile anti-air missile launcher went past which is my best excuse for the slightly blurry photo:
Since no one spoke English, we can’t be sure, but hubby thinks these might be S-300 missile systems. Let’s just say, what ever they are, I don’t ever want to see them fly!
Holy cow! Hubby believes this is an ICBM, a Russian Army Topol Intercontinental ballistic missile. This is one scary weapon, that will hopefully never be used. A bit of trivia, the ICBM has a range of at least 3,400 miles and only five countries have ICBM: China, India, Israel, Russia, and the USA.
The Russian guard in the foreground was one of many. I was pretty sure it was ok to take photos, but I generally shot them quickly when he was looking away.
We carried the Lonely Planet Moscow City Guide. In it, there is no mention of this parade nor a description of the weapons. I relied on rocket scientist hubby’s knowledge.
Have you seen the Russian tanks or any of the “big guns” out there in our scary world, or only in the movies?
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All photos on this page © Rhonda Albom 2012
Marching in the Moscow May Day Parade
Tony Payne
Wow this is the sort of stuff you only normally see on television for the May parades. Amazing to see, rather scary too when you think of what they are capable of…
Rhonda
I never saw it on TV in a parade either, just in war movies. Yes, they are scary . . .
posh
Glad to know it was just a parade 🙂
Have a great WW!
POSH
Rhonda
I don’t even want to think about it being anything different. There were so many of them, this is just a tiny sample.
Geoffrey
As a child, I cherish the idea of the existence of military hardware like this. However, I grew up and started to fear and detest them.
Rhonda
They are pretty harmless to children, as adults they take on a whole new meaning.
Simply Delicious
It could have been a scary but exciting experience. I’ve never seen them in real life.
Chocolate Chip
Rhonda
Scary and exciting – good words.
Cafe au lait
I’ve only seen those in movies.
Rhonda
Me too, before seeing them live in Russia. They are much bigger and scary than I would have thought.
BruNo (C.A.T.)
Great shots. You must be glad to capture a rare moment like this.
This heavy artillery do look heavy. I just hope (a foolish hope I guess) there won’t be no more occasions where this machinery function as what they’re designed for.
Have a great WW! 🙂
Rhonda
Yes, I felt really lucky to see something like this, albeit rather scary to actually see these things in real life.
Stefanie
Crap – were those missiles armed ? Even on my iPad those look huge!
Rhonda
I assume not armed. However, they were huge.
Sukhmandir Kaur
Yeah I’m always happy to live in an out of the way place… I would not be happy to see those in my neighborhood!
Rhonda
You could hear them coming long before you could see them. You could feel them too – the ground sort of vibrated as they approached.
Joyce
Sure. Everyday we have tanks rolling down our streets. NOT. Very cool, Rhonda.
Rhonda
I don’t know, I heard it gets pretty rough in Memphis 🙂 All those Elvis’ running around 🙂
Just kidding. Thanks goodness we live in peaceful places these days.
Monica
Impressive!
Rhonda
The Russian’s do know how to put on a display.
Lynne
There’s a lot to be said for living in our little corner of the globe. Impressive sights though!
Rhonda
I could not imagine little New Zealand with this kind of weaponry going down the streets.
Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook
Very cool pictures, right up close. Would make me nervous, but that is some sight to see.
Rhonda
We couldn’t stay away, it was right on the street with our hotel. How cool is that?
Stacey
What a neat experience! I would have been a bit nervous with some of those too! Happy WW!
Rhonda
I have to assume they are not armed, otherwise I don’t think we would have been standing there.
zongrik
makes me think of back in the cold war era
Rhonda
There was a lot of Cold War Era memories in Russia. (Berlin too).
Dave Keller @ Dave's Life
Very cool pictures and captions with them. Wow, I can’t imagine seeing something like that go down my street for real.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Makes me feel like I there with you! I’m subscribing to your blog to get all the updates too.
Rhonda
Thanks Dave. It was pretty cool – and quite loud.
self sagacity
Must be a rare occasion, I never see them in person.
Rhonda
It was May Day 🙂
stevebethere
Great pics Rhonda my dad would love them 🙂
Rhonda
I hope you are forwarding them on.
Robin
Very nice… You’re going to need to take years sorting through your amazing memories at the end of this trip!
Rhonda
I think that is what helps me to blog everyday. It is a great way to organize and remember what is most important.
Brandi
Very cool! Look how big they are, wow! Brandi
Rhonda
that is exactly what I was thinking as the barreled down the road.