Putin canceled one of the main events of Victory Day on May 9 for fear of protests

Russians celebrate the end of the “great patriotic war” on May 9 of each year. He Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe, is the most important holiday in Russia.

The public and the state unite in a patriotic celebration during which people remember their relatives who sacrificed their lives to defeat Nazism. Many of the features of the day -lhe parades, songs and commemorative practices – date back to Soviet times.

But this year’s celebrations will be smaller. In several regions, such as Crimea and the Kursk and Belgorod provinces, which border Ukraine, the traditional military parades will not take place. The most striking change is the cancellation of the “Immortal Regiment” marches, which have been the focus of Victory Day civic commemorations for the past ten years.

The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses during World War II, with some 27 million soldiers and civilians killed and many cities razed to the ground. In the entire vast Soviet empire, there was hardly a home that was not affected by the war.

In the first decades of the postwar period, May 9 was a normal weekday when families and military units gathered in silence to remember and mourn their dead. The day became an official holiday in 1965, on the 20th anniversary of the surrender of Germany in Europe. That year, the Victory Day parade was held on Moscow’s Red Square for the first time. since 1945.

This marked the beginning of the cult of the great patriotic war. In the years that followed, huge war memorials were erected throughout the Soviet Union. May 9 became a day of public celebrations, family outings, concerts and fireworks, all broadcast on national television.

Private practices, such as visiting cemeteries or giving flowers to war veterans, were incorporated into official acts. Even so, many people continued to commemorate the war with family, friends, and comrades-in-arms. Military parades continued to be reserved for special anniversaries until the collapse of the USSR.

Victory Day was the only major public holiday that survived the transition to post-Soviet Russia. In a country that lost many of its idols and heroic achievements with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the triumph over Nazism remained a source of enormous collective and personal pride.

Filling the void left by the discarded Soviet holidays, the May 9 celebrations expanded and sand they became more lavish, especially after Vladimir Putin became president. It is significant that the tone of the Victory Day events also gradually changed over the years.

The commemoration of the Soviet era focused on the promise of peace and the duty to avoid another war. In the Putin era – especially after the occupation of Crimea in 2014 – Victory Day brings to the fore the willingness to fight to protect the homeland and the value of personal sacrifice.

The marches of the Immortal Regiments show that for many Russians, Victory Day still holds enormous personal significance, linked to their family history.

In 2012, three journalists from a local TV channel in the city of Tomsk, Siberia, invited residents to participate in a parade carrying photos of relatives who had participated in the war. They could have contributed in any capacity: armed forces fighters and service personnel, partisans, home front workers, and more.

Thousands of people turned out that year for the Tomsk march, which received extensive coverage in regional and national media. The following year, Immortal Regiment marches were organized in many Russian cities, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Israel. In 2016, the acts of the Immortal Regiment spread throughout the world.

Given the success of the popular initiative, the State intervened and assumed the organization of the Immortal Regiment and its publicity. In 2015, Vladimir Putin led the Immortal Regiment parade in Moscow’s Red Square, holding a photo of his father, who fought in the war.. Since then, Putin has participated in the parade every year.

In 2022, two and a half months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Immortal Regiment rallies were held across the country, and once again Putin led the procession in Moscow. What changed in 2023?

Interestingly, the official announcements do not say that the Immortal Regiment is “cancelled”, but that it is held in “a different format”. Instead of parading, citizens are invited to display portraits of their deceased relatives on the windows of their cars and homes and on their social media profiles.

Official Russian media explain the reduction in celebrations in pragmatic terms, citing possible “provocations” and “terrorist attacks.” But for Putin’s opponents, the decision has been met with some derision.

Mark Hertlinga former general in command of the US Army in Europe, tweeted: “Nothing says more of a great tactician than not having enough soldiers and equipment to hold an annual parade.” And with the looming prospect of a Ukrainian counter-offensive, the usual grand display of their military hardware would be quite a challenge.

But heThe real reason probably has to do with controlling the official narrative of the war. Russian propaganda has deliberately linked the Great Patriotic War with the “special military operation” in Ukraine. So the message of the Victory Day celebrations must be carefully controlled and curated.

Since Putin announced “general mobilization” last September, the cost of the fighting in Ukraine has spread beyond private military contractors and regular troops, and is now being borne by more and more families.

This is especially the case in some of the republics remote from Moscow, from where a large proportion of the recruits have been recruited. His personal experiences and his losses make the official Kremlin narrative of the success of the “military operation” increasingly difficult to maintain.

The nature of the Immortal Regiment acts makes them ideal for spontaneous anti-war protests that defy official propaganda. The last thing the Kremlin wants is for large numbers of people to show up with photos of their loved ones killed in Ukraine.

*Article originally published by The Conversation- Dina Fainberg is Senior Lecturer in Modern History, City, University of London.

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