How Putin Exploits Victory Day in Russia

On May 9, Russians mark the defeat of Nazi Germany. Putin is using the anniversary to falsely disparage Ukraine as the new Nazi enemy.

• This Monday, the Kremlin will mark Victory Day—the 77th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany—with a large military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
• For Russians, the occasion is the most important secular holiday of the year, honoring the sacrifice of some 27 million people—civilians and soldiers—who died in the fight against Nazism.
• Once a day of mournful remembrance, under Putin, the occasion has increasingly been used to project military might and to provide a venue for the display of the latest Russian weaponry.
• Now, he’s also using the anniversary to justify his war of aggression on Ukraine by falsely portraying Ukraine’s leaders as the new Nazi enemy.
• Putin may use the occasion to trumpet Russian battlefield gains—and to depict Russia’s struggling military campaign as a success. He may also seek to prepare Russians for a long conflict.
• In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the anniversary of the Nazi defeat with a speech justifying Germany’s military support of Ukraine and criticising Putin for the “falsification of history.”