Starting April 29, 2025, Moscow will implement traffic restrictions due to rehearsals for the Victory Day parade, an annual event commemorating the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany during World War II. These restrictions, which will affect various key areas of the city, are designed to facilitate the smooth execution of the parade preparations.
According to the Moscow mayor's office, the restrictions will unfold in several stages. From 16:30 to 19:00 on April 29, traffic will be closed on major streets including Zemlyanoy Val, Marksistskaya, Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya, Sadovaya-Spasskaya, Sadovaya-Karetnaya, Bolshaya Sadovaya, and Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya. Additionally, the Mayakovsky tunnel and Oruzheiny lane will also be affected.
As the day progresses, further restrictions will be put in place. From 17:30 until the end of the event, no traffic will be allowed on Tverskaya, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya, and Mokhovaya streets. Other streets impacted include Okhotny Ryad, Balchug, Bolshaya Nikitskaya, Bolotnaya, Sadovnicheskaya, Solyanka, and Petrovka.
Central embankments, such as Moskvoretskaya, Kremlevskaya, Goncharnaya, Kotelnicheskaya, Ustinsky, Podgorskaya, Sofiyskaya, Raushskaya, Bolotnaya, Sadovnicheskaya, and Kadashevskaya, will also see traffic closures. Restrictions will extend to the Taganskaya Square area from 16:30 on April 29 until 03:00 on April 30, with a two-lane traffic arrangement on Taganskaya street from Rogozhsky Val to Tovarichesky lane, as well as in the Mayakovsky and Marksistsky lanes, and on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn street from Taganskaya Square to Stanislavsky street.
From 22:00 until the end of the event, traffic will be blocked on Tverskoy and Strastnoy boulevards from Tverskaya street to Naryshkinsky passage, and in Bolshoy Putinkovsky lane from Malaya Dmitrovka street to Tverskaya. Further restrictions will commence at 22:30, impacting Serafimovicha, Bolshaya Polyanka, Novy Arbat, Vozdvizhenka, Mokhovaya, Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, Bolshaya Sadovaya, Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya, Sadovaya-Karetnaya, 1st and 2nd Brestskaya streets.
Moreover, traffic will be blocked on Novinsky Boulevard, Borovitskaya Square, and Bolshoy and Maly Kamenny bridges, which will reopen after the parade column passes. From 23:30 until the end of the event, restrictions will apply to Bolshoy and Maly Kamenny bridges, Vozdvizhenka street, Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, Bolshaya Sadovaya, Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya, 1st and 2nd Brestskaya streets, Sadovaya-Karetnaya, Sadovaya-Spasskaya, Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya, Marksistskaya, Bolshaya Polyanka, Novy Arbat, and Zemlyanoy Val.
In addition to road closures, underground pedestrian crossings on the Garden Ring and Tverskaya Street will be closed starting at 17:30. From 22:00, restrictions will extend to crossings in the Sadovoye Koltso area from Mayakovskaya metro station to Novy Arbat street. Officials are urging drivers and pedestrians to plan their routes in advance. Up-to-date information is available through the official Telegram channel of the city of Moscow.
Meanwhile, in Yekaterinburg, similar preparations are underway for the Victory Day parade. The city will close its center for rehearsals from 20:00 on Wednesday, April 30, until 04:00 on Thursday, May 1. Traffic will be restricted on Lenin Avenue from Pushkin Street to Khokhryakov Street; on 8 Marta Street from Malyshev Street to Boris Yeltsin Street; on Boris Yeltsin Street from 8 Marta Street to house number 10 on Boris Yeltsin Street; on Weiner Street from Anton Valek Street to Lenin Avenue; on Uritsky Street from Anton Valek Street to 1905 Square; and on Volodarsky Street from Anton Valek Street to 1905 Square.
In St. Petersburg, authorities have announced an extensive citywide plan to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Elena Fidrikova, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Social Policy, detailed the plan at a press conference on April 28, 2025, stating it includes over 300 different activities and commemorative ceremonies.
The decorations for Victory Day will be expanded to 40 locations across all 18 districts of St. Petersburg. The city has already begun the process of adorning itself with flags and installations featuring symbols of hero cities, cities of military glory, orders of the Great Patriotic War, standards, and fronts. In total, about 20,000 elements of festive decoration will be displayed throughout the city.
Additionally, authorities have prepared 675,000 St. George ribbons for distribution near metro stations and in district administrations. Traditionally, the Palace, Trinity, and Bolsheokhtinsky bridges, along with the Alexander Nevsky, Kantemirovsky, and Semenovsky bridges, will be decorated for the holiday.
A new festive composition titled "Victory – Motherland" measuring 12 by 35 meters will be installed at the Moscow Gates. On Bolshaya Morskaya Street, a three-dimensional spatial composition titled "Motherland" and two compositions named "Victory" will be erected. An installation measuring 65 by 18 meters, complete with a video screen, will be placed on Palace Square, created from photographs of over 4,500 veterans of Leningrad and St. Petersburg.
Victory Day celebrations in St. Petersburg will commence several days before the official date. On May 4, 2025, a motor rally known as the "Immortal Regiment" will take place, featuring veterans of the Great Patriotic War, participants of the special military operation, volunteers, and schoolchildren, traversing nine different routes to visit all memorial complexes in the city and the Leningrad Region.
On May 9, the main event, the Victory Parade on Palace Square, will start at 10:00 AM. Following the parade, a motor rally featuring historical vehicles with veterans will depart from Palace Square. The procession of the "Immortal Regiment" will begin at 14:00, proceeding along Nevsky Prospekt, the city's main street, accompanied by volunteers and law enforcement for safety.
After the procession, a festive concert will commence on Palace Square, featuring performances by notable artists such as Alexander Rozenbaum. Residents and visitors will also be able to enjoy a celebratory salute after the concert concludes. The main events from Palace Square will be broadcast on special screens set up in various locations around the city.
In honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory, over 48,000 veterans residing in St. Petersburg will receive financial support from the federal budget, including payments of 55,000 rubles for former underage prisoners of concentration camps and 80,000 rubles for participants and invalids of the Great Patriotic War and their widows. All veterans will also receive jubilee medals commemorating this significant anniversary.
