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'''Victory Day''' commemorates the victory over [[Nazi Germany]] and its [[List of Axis Powers|European allies]] by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1945.<ref>[https://youtu.be/xhr3mVQ1jYo Victory Day In Russia - Why 9 May Is So Important For Russians?]</ref> In [[Russia]], Victory Day remains the largest national holiday celebrated since German forces surrendered on May 9, shortly after midnight (12:43 midnight [[Moscow]] time or 10:43 PM [[Berlin]] time). Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Keitel]] signed the surrender document to the Russian forces in the [[German]] capital of Berlin.

'''Victory Day''' commemorates the victory over [[Nazi Germany]] and its [[List of Axis Powers|European allies]] by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1945.<ref>[https://youtu.be/xhr3mVQ1jYo Victory Day In Russia - Why 9 May Is So Important For Russians?]</ref> In [[Russia]], Victory Day remains the largest national holiday celebrated since German forces surrendered on May 9, shortly after midnight (12:43 midnight [[Moscow]] time or 10:43 PM [[Berlin]] time). Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Keitel]] signed the surrender document to the Russian forces in the [[German]] capital of Berlin.

At the [[Teheran Conference]], the Angelo-American Powers agreed with the Soviet Union not to accept a separate peace. Upon the death of [[Hitler]] and [[Goebbels]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] was appointed Chancellor (the short-lived Flensburg government). Dönitz immediately attempted to [[negotiate]] a separate peace with the Angelo-American forces.  Dönitz authorized General [[Alfred Jodl]] to sign an unconditional surrender with the Angelo-American forces before midnite on May 8 in [[Reims]], France.  During the [[Cold War]], '''V-E Day''' or '''Victory in Europe''' day was marked as May 8 in [[the West]].  Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] however, Commander of Allied Forces in France, recognized the May 9 Berlin surrender as the authentic surrender date and document.

At the [[Teheran Conference]], the Angelo-American Powers agreed with the Soviet Union not to accept a separate peace. Upon the death of [[Hitler]] and [[Goebbels]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] was appointed Chancellor (the short-lived Flensburg government). Dönitz immediately attempted to [[negotiate]] a separate peace with the Angelo-American forces.  Dönitz authorized General [[Alfred Jodl]] to sign an unconditional surrender with the Angelo-American forces before midnight on May 8 in [[Reims]], France.<ref>See also [[Operation Unthinkable]].</ref> During the [[Cold War]], '''V-E Day''' or '''Victory in Europe''' day was marked as May 8 in [[the West]].  Gen. [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] however, Commander of Allied Forces in France, recognized the May 9 Berlin surrender as the authentic surrender date and document.

May 9 became a non-working holiday in the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic in 1963, where most of World War II fighting in Europe was fought, and only two years later in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1965. May 9 was recognized as a national holiday by the [[Russian Federation]] in 1991 when it ascended as the predecessor regime to the Soviet Union.  In 2010 [[American]], [[British]], [[Polish]], and [[Ukrainian]] armed services were invited and participated in Victory march on [[Red Square]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlXGb0bjdM</ref>

May 9 became a non-working holiday in the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic in 1963, where most of World War II fighting in [[Europe]] was fought, and only two years later in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in 1965. May 9 was recognized as a national holiday by the [[Russian Federation]] in 1991 when it ascended as the predecessor regime to the Soviet Union.  In 2010 [[American]], [[British]], [[Polish]], and [[Ukrainian]] armed services were invited and participated in Victory march on [[Red Square]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBlXGb0bjdM</ref>

The march of the Immortal Regiment, in which nearly 1 million people participate in Moscow and in cities all over [[Europe]], has been raised to a religious-like ceremony. Marchers carry portraits of family members who fought and died in the [[Great Patriotic War]]. The status of those family members is raised almost to [[saint]]hood in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] which extensively uses [[icon]]s. Since 2022, participants in some of these marches have also begun carrying portraits of [[Russian]] soldiers who died in the [[NATO war in Ukraine]]—portraying them as the successors of their grandfathers who fought the [[Nazi]]s.<ref>[https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/20/in-ukraine-ultra-nationalists-are-the-good-guys/ In Ukraine, Ultra-Nationalists Are the ‘Good Guys’], by Natylie Baldwin, ''[[Consortium News]]'', April 20, 2025. </ref>

The march of the Immortal Regiment, in which nearly 1 million people participate in Moscow and in cities all over [[Europe]], has been raised to a religious-like ceremony. Marchers carry portraits of family members who fought and died in the [[Great Patriotic War]]. The status of those family members is raised almost to [[saint]]hood in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] which extensively uses [[icon]]s. Since 2022, participants in some of these marches have also begun carrying portraits of [[Russian]] soldiers who died in the [[NATO war in Ukraine]]—portraying them as the successors of their grandfathers who fought the [[Nazi]]s.<ref>[https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/20/in-ukraine-ultra-nationalists-are-the-good-guys/ In Ukraine, Ultra-Nationalists Are the ‘Good Guys’], by Natylie Baldwin, ''[[Consortium News]]'', April 20, 2025. </ref>