Soviet Army Parade

The Soviet Army Parade of May 9, 1983, and military exercise that took place that year were two of the greatest in the Soviet Union history. The parade was apotheotic. The new and powerful T-72 and T-80 tanks as well as the Mil Mi-24 helicopters and short and medium range missiles were seen marching at the Red Square in front of the podium on which the Secretary General of the Communist Party, Yuri Andropov, was sitting watching the parade. You can see it in the video.

It was the peak of the Cold War. At that time, the Soviet forces were fighting against the Mujahideen (Taliban) guerrillas in Afghanistan. The US government had got involved in that armed conflict by supplying the Taliban, which had been created by the CIA, with weapons. In Angola, the Cuban Army, backed by the Soviet Union, had deployed units to support the communist Angolan government. They were fighting against the right insurgent troops of UNITA. There were also low intensity wars going on in the Middle East and Latin America.

Below, the Soviet Army Parade and military exercise of the 1983 (video).