VIDEO CLIP:
Later in the same
day. A seemingly endless stream of armor and soldiers marches
across the square, turning the air grey with diesel fumes. The
trucks roll in line eight abreast, with soldiers sitting erect in
the back. Behind them rumble a battalion of T-56s, their commanders
standing at attention in their cupolas, saluting the stand. Jets
race low and loud overhead, squadrons of MiG-17
fighters.
Behind the tanks
sprawl a formation of four low-loaders: huge tractors towing
low-slung trailers, their load beds strapped down under olive drab
tarpaulins. Whatever is under them is uneven, a bit like a loaf of
bread the size of a small house. The trucks have an escort of
jeeplike vehicles on each side, armed soldiers sitting at attention
in their backs.
There are big
five-pointed symbols painted in silver on each tarpaulin, like
pentacles. Each star is surrounded by a stylized silver circle; a
unit insignia, perhaps, but not in the standard format for Red Army
units. There’s lettering around the circles, in a strangely
stylized script.