Russia has held its annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow's Red Square, commemorating defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Veterans of the conflict arrived early on the square. The day holds almost holy status in Russia, the country that suffered most at the hands of the Nazis.

President Vladimir Putin called it "a day of great triumph of our people", but made no mention of Moscow's wartime allies.

WWII-era symbolism, including Red Army uniforms and Soviet banners, abounds during the parade.

In St Petersburg, too, the day bristles with pride in Russia's military past and present.

In a park in Moscow, veteran sailors reminisced about the "Great Patriotic War", in which more than 20 million Soviets died.

The leftist Red Youth Avant-garde (AKM) stages an anti-government rally in Moscow. Mr Putin warned that neo-Nazis and other nationalist extremists must not be tolerated.