ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. The final rehearsal of Russia’s Main Naval Parade kicked off on the Neva River in St. Petersburg and in the Kronstadt roadstead, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"The final rehearsal of the Main Naval Parade began in the Neva waters and the Kronstadt roadstead. The rehearsal involves over 40 combat ships, submarines, vessels and gunboats of various classes. In particular, the parade lineup includes the Russian Navy’s latest surface combatants and blue-water ships currently being mass-produced in Russia. The parade formation comprises warships and vessels of all the Russian Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla and also the boats of the FSB (Federal Security Service) Border Guard Service and the Emergencies Ministry," the ministry said in a statement.

The final rehearsal of Russia’s chief naval parade also involves 42 naval aviation aircraft, military transport and special-purpose planes. As its distinctive feature, the final rehearsal has brought together a large number of next-generation warships and submarines capable of accomplishing combat missions in distant waters.

As the press office of the United Shipbuilding Corporation reported earlier on Thursday, the last participant in the Kronstadt naval parade, the multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Vepr, has arrived to take part in the naval event. During the naval parade, St. Petersburg residents and guests will also be able to view a copy of the Poltava sailing battleship floated out under Tsar Peter the Great.

On the eve of the naval parade’s final rehearsal, a special service was held in the Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Kronstadt to honor the arrival of the relics of the Holy Righteous Warrior Fyodor Ushakov. The holy relics arrived in St. Petersburg from the Nativity of the Virgin Sanaksar Male Monastery on July 21 at the blessing of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.

The relics of the glorious Russian fleet commander who never lost a single naval battle were delivered to St. Petersburg for the first time in 2016. Since then, bringing the relics of the great fleet commander to the banks of the Neva River by Navy Day has become a tradition in Russia.

Russia’s Main Naval Parade will run between the Annunciation and Trinity Bridges on the Neva River and in the inner harbor of the Kronstadt naval fortress on July 31. Russia’s chief naval event will bring together 36 combat ships and gunboats, four submarines, seven sailing ships, 42 aircraft and also over 3,500 troops.