Defenders of the Fatherland Day was celebrated across much of the former Soviet Union this week. Started in 1919 to mark the founding of the Red Army, today the Feb. 23 holiday celebrates the USSR's former glory and all things military.
Though the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, some Soviet republics such as Belarus and Kyrgyzstan still celebrate the day as does Russia which, by far, holds the largest commemorations. The country has seen a surge in patriotism since its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The day is typically celebrated with lavish parades, military reenactments and strong man competitions that include log throwing, arm wrestling and cinderblock chopping.
This is what it looked like on Tuesday:
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Credit: Mashable
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
A Belarus Interior Ministry special forces soldier demonstrates his ability to sustain a blow during a competition outside Minsk, Belarus.
Credit: VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
Belarus Interior Ministry special forces soldiers wrestle during a competition near Minsk, Belarus.
Credit: VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
A Belarus Interior Ministry serviceman throws a log as in a competition to mark the Defenders of Fatherland Day at their training center near the village of Okolitsa some 30 km outside Minsk, Belarus.
Credit: VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
Kyrgyz soldiers take part in a show during a parade devoted to the national holiday celebrations in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Credit: VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/Getty Images
Sergei Aksyonov, acting leader of Russian-occupied Crimea, holds an AK-47 automatic rifle during celebrations in Simferopol, the peninsula's capital city.
Credit: MAX VETROV/AFP/Getty Images
Communist party supporters holding the flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and portraits of former Soviet leaders Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin.
Credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable