It was a joyous occasion at the Russian Embassy located in Norbrook, Kingston where Russians living in Jamaica together with embassy staff gathered to celebrate Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9th, 1945.

Russia played an invaluable role in World War II, and its contribution in defeating Adolf Hitler’s army and his attempts to conquer Europe cannot be understated.

Russia’s Ambassador to Jamaica, Sergey Petrovich speaking with Our Today said: “May 9th is a historic day for Russia and we celebrated Victory Day against Nazi Germany every year. It came at great cost to our country. Russia was engaged in a 1,418-day war in which we lost 27 million people. Almost every family in Russia today lost a relative in World War II.”

The celebration at the Russian Embassy in Kingston was not an altogether sombre affair. There was the singing of traditional Russian songs with dancing. There were speeches from Russians from different generations, even children.

Ambassador Sergey Petrovich’s chef prepared a delicious supper for all of fine Russian fayre.

Today, thirty countries will be celebrating in Moscow this significant date and what was accomplished by Russia. The Victory Day parade in Moscow today was magnificent and demonstrated how far Russia has come as a military power since 1945.

Photos by Our Today’s Llewellyn Wynter