MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. More than 8 million people are taking part on Saturday in festive events dedicated to Victory Day across Russia, Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Alexeyeva told TASS.

"As of 18:00 Moscow Time (15:00 UTC), over 8 million people were taking part in celebrations of the 70th anniversary since the (Soviet Union's) Victory [over Nazi Germany] in the Great Patriotic War," Alexeyeva said.

The Great Patriotic War is a term used in Russia and other former Soviet republics to describe hostilities on the eastern fronts of World War II in 1941-1945.