I’ve seen a lot of indignant posts in my feed asking, "Why were they reviewing the parade while sitting down and chatting cheerfully?" I can’t say I feel especially outraged about it myself. They were sitting, so they were sitting, although it did look a bit odd. But it’s an interesting topic from a general-knowledge standpoint. A question for those who know: are there any formal rules about this? Some kind of "parade regulations," for example. Or maybe not formal rules, but a strict international/historical tradition that nobody violates. Any army treats ceremonial rituals with great care, so the question of sitting versus standing must surely be regulated. Here, Oleg Kozyrev puts forward what seems like a logical point: The answer to this question is simple. If the president is the supreme commander-in-chief, then he is a PARTICIPANT in the parade, not a SPECTATOR. And if he is taking part in the parade together with all the servicemen, then he should be standing. The supreme commander-in-chief reviews the parade and was obliged to stand. Let me remind you: it is the supreme commander-in-chief whom the military salutes. The marching soldiers really are saluting either the defense minister or the supreme commander-in-chief. Though in the comments on oleg_kozyrev, another logical point is being made: The question is whether the commander-in-chief is considered military personnel. A serviceman should not sit while the battle flags of military units are being carried past, nor during the ceremonial march of the units. Serdyukov and Medvedev are civilians, so in theory they can sit. Update: shurigin.livejournal.com/274990.html And here’s a poll on the subject: [Error: Invalid poll ID 1739702]