It’s 23d of August in Moscow and it’s the second day of the Spasskaya Tower Festival, one of the world’s finest celebrations of arts, music and military. In a year paying tribute to Russia’s great military legacy, the elite airborne forces performed an unforgettable set dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War and the 95th anniversary of the Airborne Forces, widely known as the VDV.
Joined by the Song and Dance Company of the Russian Airborne Forces, the VDV Combined Band narrated an emotionally charged music story, seamlessly blending it with precision drill from the Honor Guard Cadet Unit of the Ryazan Airborne Command Higher College named after Army General Margelov.
“Russia attaches major importance to the year of 2025 as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War Victory. Besides we, as part of the VDV Forces, celebrate 95 years since the troops formation. Therefore it’s the combination of all these factors that make our 2025 Spasskaya Tower Festival performance particularly important”, highlighted Lieutenant Colonel Vladislav Tveyrdyi, Chief Conductor and Head of the Song and Dance Company of the Russian Airborne Forces. He also said that since the year was proclaimed the Year of the Defenders of the Motherland, they wished to honor everyone who served and continued to do so.
Lieutenant Colonel Tveyrdy disclosed several details of his ensemble’s performance. According to him, the stands were treated to an unforgettable show inspired by Russia’s paratroopers' courage and some of their best skills and traditions. “Perfroming an excerpt from ‘The Motherland Hears’ song by Shostakovich and Dolmatovsky we would like to highlight the unbent spirit of the Russian Armed Forces. Next, we stage our unique sketch called “The Dome” which we are particularly proud of”, said the conductor. The stands first see the artists lining up in the shape of an airplane. Next, the dome is opened. The sketch wraps up with the musicians and dancers reshaping into the number 95, and singing the song “The Blue” regarded to be the VDV forces anthem.
At the end of the performance the cadets of the Honor Guard Unit unfurled the flag of the Airborne Forces with an area of about 1200 square meters, which covered the entire stage.
Adding further international flair, the Central Military Band of the National Military and Patriotic Center of the Kazakhstan Armed Forces and accompanying Honor Guard Unit of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense graced the square beneath the Kremlin’s ancient walls. One of the biggest Spasskaya Tower Festival friends, the military artists from the Country of the Great Prairie staged a heartfelt performance.
As per Lieutenant Colonel Almas Ibragimov, Head of the Military Band Department of the Kazakhstan Armed Forces, the ensemble’s performance is a perfect combination of traditional sounds with international marches adorned by the synchronized movements and disciplined precision of the accompanying drill team. “Our regrouping patterns are very complex as they require a lot of discipline and accuracy. We also aim at mixing classical wind instruments with the folk ones, including the dombyra, kyl-kobyz, prima-kobyz, shan-kobyz, dabyl, sherter and saz syrnay”, explained Lieutenant Colonel Ibragimov. Through the harmony of Kazakhstan's traditions and values, the ensemble means to show how powerful military music can be.
The night also featured dancers dressed in luxurious national costumes and high traditional headdresses who staged various dancing sketches reflecting Kazakhstan's rich cultural traditions, as well as a thundering drumming show performed with the lit drumming sticks.
Still, the most touching highlight of the evening was the song performed by a very young soloist Jasmina Tuzelova from the children's studio Jas Sarbaz. She is only 12 years old, but her vocal abilities and emotional intensity are comparable to those of her more experienced peers. At the Spasskaya Tower Festival the young vocalist delivered the song “Aliya” which was dedicated to Aliya Moldagulova, a hero of the Great Patriotic War awarded the Hero of Soviet Union decoration for her exceptional sniper skills. In 2025, Aliya Moldagulova would have celebrated her centennial anniversary.
As the song’s last notes rang out, the stands erupted in thunderous applause, while everyone standing on Red Square’s cobblestones bowed to honor the enduring spirit of all the heroes out there.
In 2025, the Spasskaya Tower Festival will unfold on Moscow’s Red Square between August 22 and 31. The tattoo’s overwhelming production enjoys the unwavering organizational and/or financial support of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and Moscow Government Department of Culture.
Tickets for the Seventeenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo are available for sale on the Festival official website (spasstower.ru), with prices starting from 1600 Rub.
OOO Intikets (ООО «Интикетс») as the authorized ticket sales representative
ORGANIZERS URGE YOU AGAINST BUYING E-TICKETS SECOND-HAND OR FROM THIRD PARTIES. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!
