THE RUSSIAN ARMY ON PARADE 1992 - 2017
CANFORA PUBLISHING BY JAMES KINNEAR ISBN 978 91 984776 2 7 HARDBACK, 368PP. 49 EURO UK STOCKIST PRICES VARY
The Russian Federation years supplanting the Soviet Union ushers in change in look to the final volume of this trilogy; no longer the monochrome pictures of preceding titles but the addition of the author’s and collaborator’s striking colour photos of contemporary parades – hundreds of them, over a thousand including the thumbnails.
And not just the MBTs, armoured cars, APCs, SPGs, AA vehicles, rockets and ICBMs but also the support vehicles - recovery vehicles, tank transporters, ICBM support and reserve vehicles that do not appear on Red Square.
As always, the backdrop was the international, domestic and economic politics of the time, years of swinging change from economic hardship to prosperity exerting their influence on military parades. The earlier years of improved relations with the US, EU and NATO had none of the belligerent tekhnika following the marching columns on Red Square Victory Days, though these participated in other cities hosting Victory Parades. Some are illustrated, as are the Moscow parade rehearsals and post parade marches of the Immortal Regiment, citizens commemorating relatives lost in the Great Patriotic War, plus the historic vehicle November parades.