Russia is enveloped in patriotic fervor as it commemorates Victory Day, a significant celebration of its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, which President Vladimir Putin has utilized as a cornerstone of his nearly 25-year tenure and a justification for his actions in Ukraine. Despite the diminishing number of veterans from what Russia terms the Great Patriotic War, the triumph over Nazi Germany remains a deeply revered symbol of the country's strength and a key element of its national identity.
The celebrations on Thursday, spanning across Russia and led by Putin, who recently began his fifth term, honor the wartime sacrifices in what has become its most important secular holiday. The Soviet Union suffered an estimated loss of around 27 million lives during the war, a figure many historians believe is a conservative estimate, affecting almost every family in the country.
When Nazi forces invaded in June 1941, they swiftly overran much of western Soviet territory before being pushed back to Berlin, where the USSR's flag was triumphantly raised above the devastated capital. While the U.S., U.K, France, and other allies commemorate the end of the war in Europe on May 8, cities like Stalingrad, Kursk, and Putin's native Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, still serve as powerful symbols of the country's ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Since assuming power at the end of 1999, Putin has made May 9 a crucial part of his political agenda, marked by displays of military might. Columns of tanks and missiles roll through Red Square, accompanied by squadrons of fighter jets soaring overhead, while medal-bedecked veterans join Putin to review the parade, many wearing the black-and-orange St. George's ribbon associated with Victory Day.
Putin often shares stories of his family's experiences during the war, particularly of his father, who fought on the front lines during the Nazi siege of Leningrad and was severely wounded. His father's return from a military hospital to find his wife, Maria, mistakenly declared dead from starvation, highlights the personal toll of the war. Their first child, Viktor, died during the siege at the age of three, one of over a million Leningrad residents who perished from starvation during the 872-day blockade.
For years, Putin marched in Victory Day parades carrying a photo of his father, as did others honoring their war veteran relatives, in what became known as the "Immortal Regiment." However, these demonstrations were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and later due to security concerns following the conflict in Ukraine.
In an effort to preserve the Soviet legacy and suppress any challenges to it, Russia has implemented laws criminalizing the "rehabilitation of Nazism," which include penalties for the "desecration" of memorials or questioning the Kremlin's version of World War II history. When Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin invoked World War II to justify his actions, a move denounced by Kyiv and its Western allies as an unprovoked act of aggression. Putin's portrayal of Ukraine's government, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust, as neo-Nazis, reflects his attempt to cast Ukraine's admiration for some nationalist leaders who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II as evidence of Kyiv's alleged Nazi sympathies.
Many observers view Putin's fixation on World War II as a bid to revive the Soviet Union's prestige and influence, relying on Soviet-era practices to bolster his legitimacy. Nikolay Epplee, in a commentary for Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, noted that the Russian leadership's emphasis on World War II has confined its worldview to the Soviet past, with the Kremlin's declaration of 'denazification' in Ukraine illustrating this entrenched perspective.