President Vladimir V. Putin will preside over a Victory Day parade on Red Square on Friday, a grand celebration of the Soviet triumph against Nazi Germany 80 years ago that is being used to highlight Russia’s past glories and justify the war with Ukraine.
Sitting with Mr. Putin in stands erected in front of Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum will be the leaders of China, Brazil and more than 20 other states, an effort by the Kremlin to showcase how countries of the “global south” aim to present a counterweight to the West.
They will watch a procession of thousands of soldiers, and dozens of armored vehicles, tanks and nuclear missile launchers. A regiment of Chinese soldiers will march in Red Square before the Kremlin’s crimson walls, and fighter jets are expected to fly over Moscow.
Why is this year’s parade significant?
This year, the parade is expected to be the largest since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia will be welcoming the highest number of foreign dignitaries since 2015 and their participation or absence will be examined in Moscow as signs of defiance or allegiance to the West.
At the end of April, Mr. Putin announced a three-day unilateral cease-fire in Ukraine, starting on May 8 to mark the celebrations. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine rejected the proposal, calling it a “theatrical show,” and proposed a 30-day truce that could allow for what he called meaningful negotiations to end the war. Mr. Zelensky also said that Ukraine would offer no security guarantees to guests of the parade in Moscow.
In the days leading to the Victory Day in Russia, Ukraine has increased its attempts to hit Moscow and the surrounding areas, leading to speculation that the parade itself could be targeted. Russia in recent days has also targeted Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
“It is entirely fair that the Russian sky — the sky of the aggressor — is not calm either today,” Mr. Zelensky said in an address on Wednesday.
What is its meaning for Russia?
The parade will commemorate the annual holiday that has traditionally transcended Russia’s many divisions as an expression of national pride. The Soviet Union lost more than 26 million lives during the war, touching almost every family.
However after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the parade and the grand celebrations around it have turned into a point of division in Russia and beyond.
The Kremlin has tried to justify the invasion by falsely asserting that the government in Kyiv has been hijacked by a group of Nazis. Mr. Zelensky is of Jewish origin, his grandfather fought in the war and members of his extended family died in the Holocaust.
Historical perspective
Western countries held their own Victory Day in Europe celebrations, but on Thursday. The difference stems from the time difference between Moscow and Berlin. At the time when Nazi Germany signed its unconditional surrender, it was already past midnight in Moscow.
The difference has become a symbolic one, dividing the former allies and their celebrations into two distinctive camps. For instance, since 2023, Ukraine has been celebrating on May 8 too, symbolizing a rupture with Russia and its Soviet past.
Victory Day’s significance for Putin
Mr. Putin has a deep personal history related to the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. His brother Viktor died of diphtheria in an orphanage in the German siege of Leningrad during World War II and was buried in a mass grave there. Mr. Putin’s father was severely wounded and his mother almost died of starvation.
Mr. Putin has said that his parents had no hatred toward the Germans, but that for his generation it was different.
“We were brought up on Soviet books, films,” Mr. Putin wrote. “And we hated.”
Victory Day parades in Russia
The first Victory Day parade was held in 1945, shortly after Germany’s capitulation. May 9 was declared a public holiday. Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union at he time, then put an end to the parades until they were brought back on a periodic basis in 1965. (Stalin wanted to downplay the significance of the victory in World War II, seeing potential political rivals in the Soviet generals who had helped defeat Germany.)
After 1965 the victory over Nazism has gradually became the cornerstone of Soviet and Russian parotitic rituals. Still, the parades were organized only sporadically and it was only after 2008 that they turned into an annual grandiose showcase of military might.
The parade on Friday will also symbolize Russia’s turnaround over the past two decades. In 2005, it was attended by many Western leaders, including President George W. Bush, signifying the Russia-U. S. alliance during the war. But on Friday, the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, will be the main guest of honor.
Disruptions in Moscow
In the days leading up to the parade, Moscow came to a standstill. Airports were repeatedly shut because of Ukrainian drone attacks, causing chaos. Disruptions have affected more than 60,000 passengers, according to the Russian Association of Travel Agencies.
In the city, main avenues have been blocked to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Cellular connection has been repeatedly disrupted, causing havoc for the city’s services including taxis and deliveries. Many businesses were forced to shut down for the grand rehearsal on Wednesday and the parade itself on Friday.
