The Red Square Parade of 7 November 1941

November 1941. On the frozen roads leading to the capital, the divisions of the Wehrmacht are now only a few dozen kilometres away. Operation Typhoon, launched in late September, has already crushed the Soviet armies at Vyazma and Bryansk; some German vanguards believe they can make out the spires of Moscow through their binoculars. In the city, the ministries are being evacuated to Kuibyshev, the bridges and factories are being mined, archives are being burned. The rumour of an imminent fall is spreading, and with it scenes of panic.

Yet 7 November is no ordinary date. It is the anniversary of the October Revolution, the regime's sacred appointment, celebrated every year by a great military parade on Red Square, beneath the walls of the Kremlin. To cancel it would amount to admitting to the world, and above all to the Soviet people, that Moscow believes itself lost. To hold it, on the contrary, exposes thousands of men and the Party leadership to the bombers of the Luftwaffe, which would have only a short flight to make before striking the crowd gathered in the open.

Joseph Stalin, who has remained in the Kremlin while so many others have left for the east, weighs every option. Morale is faltering, the enemy is watching, and the slightest signal will be read as an omen by millions of eyes. The capital holds its breath; the decision, now, is his.