1990 October Revolution Parade

The 1990 October Revolution Parade was the last parade commemorating the 1917 October Revolution during the Soviet Union's existence. It celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the revolution. It was first and last parade attended by Mikhail Gorbachev in his position as President of the Soviet Union. At the chimes of the Kremlin Clock, Gorbachev gave an address to the nation. It would be the second and last time a Soviet leader made an address on Lenin's Mausoleum during an October Revolution parade. It is the only Soviet parade when the inspection of troops are held after the President's speech and anthem, in contrast to the previous parades which the inspection of troops begin, followed by speech by the parade inspector and anthem, besides one of the few parades when the emblems of the Soviet Republics are not in display on the Red Square other than the 1990 Victory Day Parade, most possibly due to independence of Lithuania and Latvia (including Estonia although independence yet to be declared, but had changed its emblem, flag and official name to Republic of Estonia). After the anthem was played, the commander of the parade Colonel General Nikolai Kalinin reported to the parade inspector Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov. Providing the music for the parade was the head of the central orchestra of the Moscow Military District, Major General Nikolai Mikhailov. It is also the only parade when the Soviet leadership on the grandstand to move down the grandstand to lead the civilian demonstration after the military parade.[1]

Full order of the marchpast

At the front of the parade was the limousine carrying the commander of the parade Colonel General Nikolai Kalinin.

Massed Bands

  • Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military College
  • Massed Military Bands of the Moscow Military District

Ground Column

Mobile Column

Parades in cities in the USSR

Revolution Day parades and celebrations were also held in the following USSR republics and cities:

The parade location in Kiev was changed from Khreshchatyk Street to Victory Square by order of the Kiev City Council.[2]

Attempted assassination of Gorbachev

At 11:00 AM, an hour after the parade began, an attempt to kill President Gorbachev was made by Alexander Shmonov.[4] The two bullets he fired missed and he was tackled to the ground by crowds of demonstrators. Shmonov was the last would-be-assassin of the Soviet period before the USSR's dissolution in 1991. He was sent to forced treatment which took a heavy toll on his mental state. Three weeks prior to the parade, Shmonov bought a double-barreled hunting rifle. He took out his rifle and was spotted immediately by the police, and as he was taking aim, an officer ran over and jerked the rifle by the barrel as the crowd jumped on him. Soviet Central television did not broadcast the assassination attempt and resumed its regular broadcasting at 11:25 AM.[nb 1]

Alexander Shmonov
Александр Шмонов
Born
Aleksandr Anatolevich Shmonov

(1952-02-21)February 21, 1952
Leningrad, RSFSR, Soviet Union
NationalitySoviet
OccupationLocksmith
Details
DateNovember 7, 1990
c. 11:00 a.m.
Location(s)Moscow, Soviet Union
Target(s)Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Leadership
Killed0
Injured0

Notes
  1. "Broadcast television was interrupted at 11:10 a concert of classical music and resumed at 11:25."

References
  1. RedSamurai84 (2016-05-18), HD Final Soviet October Revolution Parade, 1990 Парад 7 Ноября, retrieved 2016-10-23
  2. "Alternative Meetings in Kiev Observe the October Revolution" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly.
  3. "Revolution Day Parade turns violent in Vilnius" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly.
  4. Levkovich, Yevgeny (2017-02-16). "The last Soviet terrorist: The man who tried to assassinate Gorbachev". Russia Beyond The Headlines. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.