© RIA Novosti / Michael Klimentyev
Russian President Vladimir Putin, 1st row 3rd left, is seen on board the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier watching a parade and a staged performance by combat ships of Russia's Northern Fleet, July 27, 2014.
People across Russia gathered for Navy Day festivities on Sunday, showing their support to naval soldiers. Ships, submarines, aircraft, troops, and even robots were paraded at harbors in Vladivostok, Sevoromorsk, St. Petersburg, and Sevastopol.
Navy Day, which commemorates the victories of Russian sailors, is celebrated each year on the last Sunday in July.
The Pacific Fleet's large landing ship,
Nikolay Vilkov, appeared before the crowd in Vladivostok. Also present were the large anti-submarine ship
Marshal Shaposhnikov, fleet destroyer
Bystry, and the parade's flagship - guard missile cruiser
Varyag.
Alagez, a unique ship designed to rescue submarine crews, also took part in the festivities.
The naval aviation and deep-sea manned rescue vessel
AS-30 also debuted at the Vladivostok parade this year. A Platforma-M robot was also used to simulate a fight with saboteurs. A Navy helicopter was tasked with finding the "enemy" with an acoustic power station, accomplishing the mission in five minutes.
One of the surprises of the show was a waltz performed by tugboats, with the vessels spinning to a tune performed by the Pacific Fleet's orchestra. Amphibious APCs which descended from the Peresvet landing vessel and made it all the way to shore left the crowd impressed.
The celebration in Vladivostok concluded with a fireworks display, which was seen from almost everywhere in the city.
Comment:
You just gotta love amassing military forces with style. No propaganda, or fake terror scare. Just a good old fashioned parade and celebration.
Russian Officials took the opportunity to remind the west that it still has 10 dedicated strategic nuclear submariens, and 30 multi-purpose ( meaning they could be used as strategic nuclear attack platforms ) submarines in action. The officials also took the time to mention that the movements of NATO are being watched and considered.