Victory
Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in
the Second World War (also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet
Union). It was first inaugurated in the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union,
following the signing of the surrender document late in the evening on 8 May
1945 (after midnight, thus on 9 May, by Moscow Time). The Soviet government
announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin.
Though the official inauguration happened in 1945 (which means it has been
celebrated since 1946), the holiday became a non-labour day only in 1965 and
only in some of the countries.
