The Horse and Foot Ceremonial Guard Mounting on Red Square Has Turned a Real Present to All the 2018 FIFA World Cup Fans
Saturday, June 30, one of the most beautiful military ceremonies, the Horse and foot ceremonial guard mounting of the Presidential Regiment of the Service of the Moscow Kremlin’s Commandant of the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation was held in the very heart of Russia — on Red Square.
At about 4 o’clock in the afternoon the President’s Band, the leading music band at official state events as well as the permanent participant of the International Military Music Festival “Spasskaya Tower”, stepped out into the premises of the specially detached territory near the Kremlin walls.
The eye of several hundreds viewers was caught by two unusual objects in the conductor’s hands. He was holding a soccer ball and a whistle which was hardly surprising as these 2018 FIFA World Cup days Russia has entirely dipped into the football theme.
Before the ceremony a short concert was held on the improvised stage. It was opened by the whistle of the
“My family and I haven’t been stopped by the bad rainy weather forecast and we all have come to Red Square this evening to watch the ceremony and the enthusiastic football fans who arrived in Russia for this tremendous event of the FIFA World Cup. For sure, it is a real feast which is going to last in our minds for many years to come”, shared her impressions the Muscovite Irina Vasil’eva.
At 4 p.m. sharp the main participants of the ceremony, the Cavalry Escort and Honored Guard of the Presidential Regiment of the Service of the Moscow Kremlin’s Commandant of the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation stepped onto Red Square.
Even the rain that began pouring in Moscow didn’t scare the guests of the capital who with excitement watched the evolving ceremony. During the event the military men showed the most beautiful elements of the army rituals including arms drill and “horse carousel”. The whole ceremony was accompanied by the wind band music and viewers’ enthusiastic applause.
Let’s notice, that June 30 the ceremony was held twice — at 12 o’clock on the Moscow Kremlin’s Cathedral Square and at 4 p.m. — on Red Square.
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The horse and foot ceremonial guard mounting has been known since the times of the Tsar Ivan the Third. This tradition was carried on till the 1917. Then the existing ceremony was replaced by another one — the changing of the honored guard in front of the Mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin.
The present day ceremony was prepared by a special group including representatives of the Protocol Service of the President of the Russian Federation, the Heraldic Council, the Federal Guard Service and the Head of the Service of the Moscow Kremlin’s Commandant of the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation — the Moscow Kremlin’s Commandant.
All the details of ceremonial guard mounting are carefully rehearsed: at noon under the accompaniment of the chime of bells and marching sounds from the Arsenal building onto the Cathedral Square steps out the Honored Guard of the Presidential Regiment.
Then the ceremony continues with the bearing of the national flag of the Russian Federation, the arms drills demonstration and the “horse carousel” performed by the cavaliers of the Cavalry Escort.
The participants’ uniform was developed based on the ceremonial uniform of the Leib Guard regiments which had been created at the beginning of the last century on order of the Tsar Nicolas the Second to celebrate the one hundred anniversary of the victory in the 1812 War.
44 foot military men and 12 cavaliers on
Since 2009 several new figures including the “circle” and arms drills with rifles having “domino effect” have been introduced in the ceremony. Besides the Honored Guard started performing all the figures facing the viewers standing at all four sides of the square.