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Weather control on Victory Day to cost $1.3mn
May 7, 2013, 10:07 am

[Getty Images]

The Victory Parade will be held on May 9 at Red Square in Moscow [Getty Images]

Russia’s Air Force will ensure good weather over downtown Moscow on Victory Day.

The exercise will cost the capital 40 million rubles ($1.3 million) if implemented.

Moscow has traditionally sought to control the weather during city events and parades, usually by spraying chemicals into rain-bearing clouds from airplanes.

The Victory Parade will be held on May 9 at Red Square in Moscow.

“We have 10 aircrafts at Chkalovsky airfield, they are ready for loading with reagents to prevent rain on Red Square,” the Air Force commander, lieutenant general Viktor Bondarev said.

However this year, weather analysts say Moscow would not require “meteorological protection,” as warm and sunny weather is predicted for the day.

Victory Parade at Red Square commemorates the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

The parade features a large demonstration of Russian troops and military gear.

Over 11,000 military servicemen and officers will march across Red Square, military hardware will roll across the square at a speed of 10 km per hour, and 68 jets and choppers will fly over the centre of the capital, accompanied by the music of 800 military band musicians.

Clouds dispersion is regularly used in Russia on May 9, June 12 and Moscow Day in early September – the holidays marked by mass outdoor gathering and parades.

Last year weather control during these three days cost the state 192 million rubles ($6.4 million).

The technique of cloud seeding dates back to the Soviet era: the substances used include silver iodide, dry ice and cement powder.

Daria Chernyshova