It’s the day of victory without victory. As May 9, the most important holiday on the calendar, approaches, scholars pull pobedobesie out of the drawer to explain the emphasis and importance of the Red Square parade, a concept that can be translated as victory mania or triumph obsession in Russian society has been steeped in it for twenty years.
The symmetry
Last year the symmetry was perfect. The Kremlin found it easy to conflate the Great Patriotic War holiday with the Special Military Operation, which had just entered its third month, using the former as justification for the latter, the 1941-1945 invasion of Kiev as overtime against the Nazis . The narrative was this. And the parade of the Immortal Regiment became a celebration of all Russian wars, including the recent ones. Millions of descendants of the winners took to the streets and shouted: “We can do it again”.
The motto remains that. But today things have changed. The liberation from the ruling Nazis in Ukraine did not go as it should. On the agenda of the talk shows and the media is not the Russian advance, but the impending counter-offensive of the enemy army. Victory Day is celebrated. Prudently and with the utmost prudence, because the matter with the drones in the Kremlin is taken seriously. Only the loneliness of Russia remains the same as a year ago.
Only six foreign leaders, not the most important ones, and all from former Sovietistan, will be present on the stage in Red Square. Loyal Belarusian ally Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has since imposed strict border controls on those arriving from Russia, is not exactly a sign of great optimism, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who just a few days ago called early presidential elections for July 9, after holding a referendum resetting his earlier years and extending the term from 5 to 7 years: the copy of the operation conducted by Putin in 2020. Four out of six delegations confirmed their presence in the last two days. It’s not a small detail.
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The traditional military parade was also downsized compared to last year, as the reduced number of vehicles and men was explained by the needs of the special military operation. In twenty-two cities, mainly in the European part of Russia, but also in some Siberian cities, nothing, everything is canceled. In the regional capitals bordering on the Ukrainian front there will not even be the traditional fireworks. Most notably, the Immortal Regiment march has been canceled everywhere, giving Putin an opportunity to connect with the past and his people, and to take to the streets with the image of his father, Vladimir Spiridonovic, a former soldier in World War II. The main reason is the fear of possible attacks or attacks.
Little fireworks
There will be fireworks in Moscow, but the launch points have been increased from 34 to 16. In the central area around the Kremlin, they are fired only on the Luzhniki riverbank opposite Sparrow Hill. At a safe distance. For some observers, it’s just an excuse. Viktor Muchnik, former director of the recently closed Siberian independent television channel TV-2, considers it a matter of state prestige. “Too many portraits of people who died in Ukraine not 78 years ago but died last year could appear in the fashion show. And that would risk giving an idea of the magnitude of this tragedy, which instead we want to keep hidden.
Maybe both are true. The embarrassment for an anniversary that, if popularized, could produce some sort of truth effect on the true numbers of those killed in Ukraine, and a vague sense of insecurity witnessed by Red Square, which has been closed to the public for the past two weeks. What remains is the message that this party has conveyed over the past twenty years. “We can do it again.” The only obvious lesson from Russia’s victory in World War II is the need to always be prepared for a new war. Although official, it has never been declared in Ukraine.