adam zivo: ukraine is raining on putin’s victory day parade
putin reduced to asking zelenskyy for a protective ceasefire
4 minute read
people visit the all-russia exhibition centre (vdnkh), a trade show and amusement park, decorated for celebrations of the victory day. (photo by angelos tzortzinis/afp via getty images)
every may, moscow’s streets bustle with preparations for russia’s annual victory day parade, which commemorates the anniversary of nazi germany’s defeat. the event has become a significant holiday under russian president vladimir putin, rife with jingoistic propaganda, yet, this year, ukraine’s military has already undermined celebrations, much to the kremlin’s embarrassment.
almost two weeks ago, putin declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire coinciding with the may 9 parade, in an apparent attempt to protect his festivities from disruption. however, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy rejected this offer and counter-proposed a 30-day ceasefire that would more equitably benefit both sides.
after russia refused this deal, zelenskyy warned that kyiv cannot guarantee the safety of foreign dignitaries attending the parade and “cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the russian federation.”
hundreds of ukrainian drones subsequently attacked russia this week, of which at least 19 targeted moscow. while the moscow-bound drones were all shot down, their debris reportedly smashed into a building and major highway, leading to the temporary closure of the capital’s airports. local critical facilities have been placed under additional protection, and air defence systems from other parts of russia have reportedly been transferred to the city.
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over 100 moscow-area flights have been cancelled so far, with disruptions leaving an estimated 60,000 passengers stranded in airports throughout the country.
despite these developments, the kremlin claims that 29 foreign leaders will attend the parade, the most prominent of which are chinese president xi jinping and brazilian president luiz inacio lula da silva. the rest of the dignitaries predominantly represent tertiary powers, such as indonesia, egypt, north korea, iraq, cuba, ethiopia and russia’s traditional central asian allies.
while victory day celebrations have been scrapped in at least 20 russian cities this year, including crimea’s main port, sevastopol, the moscow parade is expected to continue. even so, the fact that event safety has been a hot button issue remains a symbolic defeat for the kremlin. three years ago, putin boasted that he would take kyiv in three days. now, he has been forced to ask zelenskyy for a protective ceasefire while assuaging guests that his capital will not be bombed.
this defeat is all the more important when one considers the parade’s political history.
during the soviet era, victory day was a moderate affair. solemn speeches and ceremonies were held on may 9th, but military parades were organized only rarely — in 1945, 1965, 1985 and 1990 — with far more attention lavished upon international workers’ day, which takes place a week earlier.
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after the soviet union’s collapse, boris yeltsin revived the parade in 1995 and hosted the heads of 56 states, including canada and the united states, at the event. notably, the exhibition of heavy military hardware (e.g. tanks, artillery) was relegated to a secondary venue west of the capital’s downtown. the parade then became an annual affair, widely attended by foreign dignitaries on special anniversaries, although military equipment was not displayed after the first year.
everything changed in 2008, when putin filled the parade with tanks and heavy weapons. “this is not sabre rattling. we are not threatening anyone and are not going to do so,” he told his government days beforehand. yet, only three months later, moscow invaded georgia in what is now widely considered the opening salvo of putin’s prolonged campaign to recreate russia’s erstwhile empire.
after this point, the victory day parades expanded and grew rabidly jingoistic. emphasizing national unity and independence from the west, they further consolidated putin’s domestic authority by tapping into the public’s historical pride. use of the black and orange st. george’s ribbon, which commemorates soviet veterans of the second world war, surged as a symbol of government loyalism.
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when mass anti-government protests erupted throughout the country in early may 2012, the parade continued unabated and presented an alluring counter-narrative to the public: stability in lieu of chaos, duty over dissipation.
victory day became yet more propagandistic after 2014, following russia’s annexation of crimea and its shadow invasion of eastern ukraine. to justify his war against kyiv, putin invested considerable resources into fabricating the myth that ukraine is infested with nazis and, invoking the second world war, recast his neo-imperial invasion as an existential defensive struggle.
of course, maintaining this narrative has required a great deal of historical revisionism. the fact that the soviet union initially collaborated with hitler to carve up eastern europe has been conspicuously ignored, as has the reality that seven million ukrainians, accounting for approximately 20 per cent of soviet forces, fought against the nazis. for putin’s nationalists, russians have a monopoly over wartime suffering and valour.
amid the full-scale invasion of ukraine, victory day has become a propaganda extravaganza and, with this year marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the nazis, putin has vowed that this upcoming parade will be the “grandest” yet.
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but kyiv isn’t going to let that happen so easily, it seems.the ukrainians are launching attacks that were once considered unthinkable, and have shown that, with sufficient support, russian imperialism can be defied.
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