DHAKA: Russia president Vladimir Putin on Saturday led a huge commemorative WWII march through Red Square as Russia celebrated 70 years since Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Clutching a portrait of his father Vladimir, who fought in the war, Putin unexpectedly joined a massive column of some 250,000 Russians who carried pictures of their relatives in a Kremlin-backed campaign dubbed the ‘Immortal Regiment’.

‘I think that my father, just like millions of simple soldiers - and he was a plain soldier – had every right to walk through this square,’ Putin told reporters on Red Square, reports The Straits Times.

The 62-year-old president said the campaign was a tribute to the country’s fallen soldiers and civilians but also a sign of Russia’s strength.

‘It also speaks of our self-confidence, confidence in our strength and the happy future for our children.’

** Russia holds huge military parade on WW-II victory

BDST: 2025 HRS, MAY 09, 2015
RR