Russian President Vladimir Putin has led tributes to Russia's military Saturday on Defender of the Fatherland Day.

President Putin lays a wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

In a solemn ceremony, Mr. Putin laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier below the Kremlin wall. Military parades and artillery salutes were also held in other cities.

President Putin pledged to improve conditions for Russia's cash-strapped military, and also to work to improve the military's status in post-Soviet Russia.

Thousands of mostly older Russian Communists gathered near Red Square, some of them protesting what they termed Mr. Putin's "unpatriotic policies." The February 23 holiday is traditionally observed by offering congratulations to all Russian men. It was first established in Soviet times to commemorate a 1918 clash with German troops that went down in history as the birth of the Red Army.

Meanwhile in Chechnya, the day marks the somber anniversary of the Chechens' mass deportation in 1944 under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Thousands of people died en route to Central Asia and Siberia, and tens of thousands died in exile before the Chechens were allowed to return in 1953.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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