A Russian Navy vessel sails along the Neva river during the naval parade for Russia's Navy Day in Saint Petersburg on July 30, 2017. President Vladimir Putin oversaw a pomp-filled display of Russia's naval might as the Kremlin paraded its sea power from the Baltic Sea to the shores of Syria. Some 50 warships and submarines were on show along the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland off the country's second city of Saint Petersburg after Putin ordered the navy to hold its first ever parade on such a grand scale. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Alexander Zemlianichenko (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/Getty Images)
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Russia in World Affairs 16 videos
A Russian Navy vessel sails along the Neva river during the naval parade for Russia's Navy Day in Saint Petersburg on July 30, 2017. President Vladimir Putin oversaw a pomp-filled display of Russia's naval might as the Kremlin paraded its sea power from the Baltic Sea to the shores of Syria. Some 50 warships and submarines were on show along the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland off the country's second city of Saint Petersburg after Putin ordered the navy to hold its first ever parade on such a grand scale. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Alexander Zemlianichenko (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/Getty Images)
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(L/R): Head of Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service Onno Eichelsheim, Minister of Defence Ank Bijleveld and British ambassador Peter Wilson attend a press conference of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) at The Hague, The Netherlands, on October 4, 2018. - Dutch intelligence thwarted a Russian cyber attack targeting the global chemical weapons watchdog in April and expelled four Russian agents, the government said. The Russians set up a car full of electronic equipment in the car park of a hotel next to the Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons in The Hague in a bid to hack its computer system, it said. (Photo by Bart Maat / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo credit should read BART MAAT/AFP/Getty Images)
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Story highlights

Russia holds "unprecedented" large-scale parades across Russia and overseas to celebrate Navy Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends St. Petersburg celebrations, which include Chinese navy ships

CNN  — 

Russia’s full naval might was on display Sunday as the country celebrated its annual Navy Day in multiple time zones, with parades and demonstrations held in all four corners of its vast territory, as well as at Russian bases abroad – including in Syria and in annexed Crimea.

The celebrations began in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, where dozens of navy vessels and submarines from the country’s Pacific Fleet put on a public display, according to Russian state media.

Russian sailors stand in attention on a military vessel carrying a replica of a boat of Peter The Great during a naval parade in St. Petersburg.
Russian sailors stand in attention on a military vessel carrying a replica of a boat of Peter The Great during a naval parade in St. Petersburg.
ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

The scale of the Navy Day celebrations is “unprecedented,” according to military analyst Tyler Rogoway, and along with a huge parade held by China’s armed forces the same day, a “reminder of rising global military competition” faced by the US.

Celebrations were also held on the other side of the country in Baltiysk, the western base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet.

A Russian training ship, the Khersones, during a naval parade to mark Russian Navy Day in Sevastopol, Crimea.
A Russian training ship, the Khersones, during a naval parade to mark Russian Navy Day in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Maks Vetrov/SPTNK/AP

Other celebrations included the display of the navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, near its base in the northern city of Severomorsk.

Russian Navy veterans celebrate Navy Day in St Petersburg.
Russian Navy veterans celebrate Navy Day in St Petersburg.
OLGA MALTSEVA/Getty Images