Pretty cool, huh? Actually, this massive display of firepower was rolling through Red Square to celebrate Victory Day (День Победы), which commemorates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War. This was the first time in 18 years that the Russians paraded their nuclear missile launchers across Red Square:
The United States expressed no alarm over the parade. Russia has become a leading global arms exporter again, but its wares are almost all items designed decades ago. A Pentagon spokesman, echoing a view common among military analysts, had characterized the planned military review as a hollow show of dated gear bearing fresh coats of paint.
“If they wish to take out their old equipment and take it for a spin and check it out,” said the spokesman, Geoff Morrell, “they’re more than welcome to do so.”
Oh, snap.
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