MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The share of TV viewers in major Russian cities who watched the broadcast of the military parade on Red Square in Moscow on May 9 was 86.8% of the total audience, the highest figure in the past five years, the Mediascope media research company told TASS on Friday.

Last year's Victory Parade on Red Square was watched live on TV by 81.6% of the viewers in major Russian cities, while the broadcast rating was 22.4% (24.9% this year). In 2021, the figures were 75.4% (share) and 21.3% (rating), in 2020 - 83.6% and 23.9% respectively, while in 2019 - 71.2% and 18%.

The study took into account viewers over 4 years of age in cities with a population of 100,000 people or more. The parade was broadcast by 17 TV channels.

Most viewers watched Channel One (38.9% in large cities), Rossiya-1 (21.8%) and the NTV channel (5.4%).

Tuesday’s Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square involved over 8,000 troops, including 530 soldiers from the special military operation in Ukraine, and more than 100 units of military hardware.

This year, the infantry column comprised 30 parade units. Per tradition, a legendary T-34 tank led the mechanized column at the Victory Day Parade. The military parade’s mechanized column also involved Tigr-M armored vehicles, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, Bumerang infantry fighting vehicles, Iskander-M tactical missile systems, S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems and Yars road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers. Spartak and 3-STS-Akhmat armored vehicles took part in the military parade for the first time.

The usual fly-over above Red Square was canceled this year.