On June 24, 1945, at exactly 10 a.m., the solemn sounds of the "Meeting March" resounded over Red Square, and Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, the commander of the parade, rode out of the Spassky Gate of the Kremlin to meet the combined regiments representing all the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, the commander of the parade, greeted him on the square. Fate, which had brought these people together many times before, during, and after the war, in the Battle of Moscow, in Stalingrad, and on the approaches to Berlin, brought them together once again. This time, they were entrusted with putting the final, victorious point in the Great War. As is well known, Stalin personally wanted to greet the troops of the victorious army, but his lack of cavalry skills prevented him from doing so. "I'm too old for this, so you take over the parade," he told Zhukov. "And who will be in command?" Stalin hesitated, "We'll entrust the command to Rokossovsky." Apparently, two factors were decisive in choosing these two military leaders for such a responsible and honorable task: their contribution to the Victory and their inherent "true cavalry spirit." By the way, the selection of horses for the marshals was given the utmost attention. After a thorough examination, Zhukov was presented with a light gray horse named "Kumir" in one of the cavalry regiments. This large and slender animal appealed to Georgy Konstantinovich, and he chose it. Rokossovsky chose a horse from the equestrian school, a chestnut stallion named Polus. For about a month, the horses were prepared for the parade in the riding arena, with Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M. Budyonny personally supervising the training. How different these animals were: the lively, spirited Kabardian Kumor and the majestic, well-bred Pole, and how different their riders were. There is a lot of talk and writing about the friendship between these two generals, but were they really friends? While ... Read more