RUSSIA: Columns of tanks and troops paraded through Moscow on Wednesday as President Vladimir Putin presided over grand World War II commemorations to stir up patriotic fervour ahead of a vote on extending his rule.
Putin was flanked on Red Square by elderly war veterans in uniforms laden with medals as thousands of troops carrying bright banners and Kalashnikov rifles marched in the blazing sun to mark the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany.
Forced to postpone the traditional May 9 Victory Day celebrations by the coronavirus pandemic, Putin rescheduled the parade for just a week ahead of a July 1 public vote on controversial constitutional reforms.
Among other changes, the reforms Putin proposed earlier this year would reset his presidential term-limit clock to zero, allowing him to run two more times and potentially stay in the Kremlin until 2036. - AFP
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