Russia celebrates Victory Day as Putin reminds the world of its nuclear capabilities

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia put on a patriotic display for Victory Day on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II by praising its forces fighting in Ukraine and criticizing the West. for fueling conflicts around the world.

READ MORE: Russia attacks Ukraine’s power grid on the day the country celebrates the defeat of Nazism in World War II

Although few veterans of what Russia calls the Great Patriotic War remain alive 79 years after Berlin fell to the Red Army, the victory remains the most important and widely revered symbol of Russia’s prowess and a key element of identity. national.

Putin has made Victory Day – the country’s most important secular holiday – a pillar of his nearly quarter-century in power and a justification for his military action in Ukraine.

Two days into his fifth term, he led festivities across Russia commemorating the nation’s wartime sacrifice.

“Victory Day unites all generations,” Putin said in a speech in Red Square that took place on the coldest May 9 in decades, amid some snow flurries. “We move forward trusting in our centuries-old traditions and are confident that together we will ensure a free and secure future for Russia.”

As battalions paraded and military equipment, both old and new, rumbled across the cobblestones, the sky briefly cleared to allow fighter jets to fly overhead, some of which left trails of white, red and blue smoke. of the Russian flag.

Putin praised the troops fighting in Ukraine as “our heroes” for their courage, resilience and selflessness, adding that “all of Russia is with you.”

He accused the West of “fueling regional conflicts, interethnic and interreligious struggles and trying to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.”

As tensions with Washington over Ukraine reached their highest level since the Cold War, Putin issued another stark reminder of Moscow’s nuclear power.

“Russia will do everything possible to avoid a global confrontation, but it will not allow anyone to threaten us,” he said. “Our strategic forces are ready for combat.”

Nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were placed over Red Square, underscoring their message.

The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in World War II, an estimate many historians consider conservative and one that left scars on virtually every family.

Nazi troops overran much of the western Soviet Union when they invaded in June 1941, before being driven back to Berlin, where the hammer and sickle flag of the USSR was raised over the ruined capital. The United States, United Kingdom, France and other allies mark the end of the war in Europe on May 8.

The immense suffering and sacrifice in cities like Stalingrad, Kursk, and Putin’s native Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) still serve as a powerful symbol of the country’s ability to prevail against seemingly overwhelming challenges.

Since coming to power on the last day of 1999, Putin has made May 9 a major part of his political agenda, including missiles, tanks and fighter jets. Medal-adorned veterans joined him Thursday to review the parade, and many, including the president, wore the black and orange St. George ribbon traditionally associated with Victory Day.

About 9,000 soldiers, including about 1,000 who fought in Ukraine, participated in Thursday’s parade.

READ MORE: What are tactical nuclear weapons and why did Russia announce it would conduct drills?

Although the ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom did not attend, Putin was joined by other dignitaries and presidents of several former Soviet nations along with some other Moscow allies, including the leaders of Cuba, Guinea-Bissau and Laos.

In his speech, he accused the West of “revanchism…hypocrisy and lies” in trying to downplay the Soviet role in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Putin described Victory Day as “very emotional and moving.”

“Each family honors their heroes, looks at photographs with beloved faces and remembers their relatives and how they fought,” he said.

Putin, 71, frequently talks about his family history and shares memories of his father, who fought on the front lines during the Nazi siege of the city and was seriously wounded.

According to Putin, his father, also named Vladimir, returned home from a military hospital during the war and saw workers trying to take away his wife, Maria, who had been declared dead of starvation. But Putin’s father did not believe she had died, saying she had only passed out, weak from hunger.

Their first son, Viktor, died during the siege when he was 3 years old, one of more than 1 million Leningrad residents who died in the 872-day blockade, most of them from starvation.

For several years, Putin carried a photograph of his father in Victory Day marches (as well as others honoring relatives who were war veterans) in what was called the “Immortal Regiment.”

Those demonstrations were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic and then again amid security concerns after the start of fighting in Ukraine.

As part of its efforts to burnish the Soviet legacy and trample any attempts to challenge it, Russia has introduced laws criminalizing the “rehabilitation of Nazism,” including punishing the “desecration” of memorials or challenging the Kremlin’s versions of Nazi history. the Second World War.

When he sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin evoked World War II to try to justify his actions, which kyiv and its Western allies denounced as an unprovoked war of aggression. Putin cited the “denazification” of Ukraine as a primary goal of Moscow, falsely describing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust, as neo-Nazis.

Putin attempted to present Ukraine’s veneration of some of its nationalist leaders who cooperated with the Nazis in World War II as a sign of kyiv’s alleged Nazi sympathies. He regularly made unfounded references to Ukrainian nationalist figures such as Stepan Bandera, murdered by a Soviet spy in Munich in 1959, as an underlying justification for Russian military action in Ukraine.

Many observers see Putin’s focus on World War II as part of his efforts to revive the influence and prestige of the USSR and its dependence on Soviet practices.

“It is the continued self-identification with the USSR as the victor of Nazism and the lack of any other strong legitimacy that forced the Kremlin to declare ‘denazification’ as the goal of the war,” Nikolay Epplee said in a commentary for Carnegie Russia Eurasia. Center.

Russian leaders, he said, have “locked themselves into a worldview limited by the Soviet past.”