Tomorrow, May 9th, is Victory Day in Kazakhstan. This is another ex-Soviet holiday that is still observed here. The date marks the surrender treaty of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union on May 9, 1945. It was recognized as a holiday by some soviet states the next year, but Kazakhstan didn't adopt this holiday until 1947 and is retained as a holiday because of its involvement in WWII and its population of veterans. Its a non-labor day, so we all have Monday off from work.
There will be parades for veterans and other celebrations tomorrow. We saw them rehearsing their parade in Karaganda and it looked like it was going to be a good one. The big national parade will be in Astana but there will be a "gathering" in Almaty for veterans of WWII (called "The Great Patriotic War" in Russian).
For you history buffs: Allied forces signed the treaty with Nazi Germany on May 7, 1945 (V-E Day). The only Soviet representative at the signing was General Ivan Susloparov. His authority was unclear and he had no immediate contact with the Kremlin, but thought that if he did not signed, he risked Nazi surrender without Soviet participation. So he did. Stalin wasn't happy when he found out, as he thought surrender should only happen to Soviet Supreme Commander and should only happen in Berlin. Therefore, another ceremony was conduction on the outskirts of Berlin late on May 8th (when it was already May 9 in Moscow). The surrender documents were signed and May 9th is now the holiday.
Happy Victory Day!!
