Russia is marking the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II with a military parade on Red Square in Moscow.
The event is being attended by President Vladimir Putin along with several foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Few other countries mark the end of World War II with the same degree of fanfare as Russia, for which the victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago remains a source of immense pride and a defining moment of history.
Victory Day, celebrated on 9 May, is Russia's most important secular holiday, reflecting its wartime sacrifice.
But it's also used by the Kremlin to boost patriotism and regain the superpower prestige it lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
