Putin celebrates Victory Day on Thursday: – Artificial attempt

– 9 May is becoming more and more important for the Kremlin. Victory Day has become a symbol of the Putin government’s identity, says the Swedish author and Russia expert Stig Fredrikson to VG.

There is a large military parade on Red Square in Moscow on Thursday. People can follow everything live on the state-controlled television channels for hours. Later in the day, they show patriotic films from the war.

– Victory Day has become an artificial attempt by Putin to get popular commitment to the Ukraine war, says Inna Sangadzhieva of the Helsinki Committee to VG.

For most Russians, the Second World War and Ukraine are hardly comparable. But Putin is trying to build himself into the image of the victory in the Second World War. The aim is apparently to portray Putin as a hero in the same way as those who fought against Nazi Germany, Sangadzhieva believes.

She therefore thinks it is deliberate that there is only one day between the inauguration of Putin in his fifth presidential term on Tuesday and Victory Day on Thursday.

– It should help to show that Putin is the great warlord, she believes.

In the past, a number of foreign countries were represented on Red Square on Victory Day, including Western leaders. This time, the Kremlin has presented a guest list that is not particularly impressive and, according to Moscow, only comes from “friendly” countries. It concerns former Soviet states such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as Cuba, Laos and the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, reports Tass.

– Russia is becoming more and more isolated as a result of the Ukraine war, which is why there are no longer so many foreign guests, says Stig Fredrikson.

– What does Putin want out of Victory Day?

– It’s about keeping the memory of Russia as a great power and winner alive. It is emphasized more and more that it was the Soviet Union that overcame the German fascists, the allied help is not mentioned much.

– How does Putin draw the lines for today’s Russia?

– It is about Putin wanting to become a great power, a superpower like the Soviet Union was after the victory in the Second World War – or the “patriotic war” as the Russians call it.

– Putin wants to present himself as an heir to the victors of the Second World War. That with Putin at the helm, Russia will once again become a great power. He is trying to draw lines from the victory over Hitler Germany to the Ukraine war, says Stig Fredrikson and believes that 9 May is becoming increasingly important for Putin’s regime.

Joakim Paasikivi, lieutenant colonel and teacher at the Swedish Försvarshögskolan, agrees:

– Putin uses Victory Day to try to convince that he is the only guarantee that Russia’s traditional values, and defend the Russian people against the West’s “provocations”, he tells VG.

Inna Sangadzhieva says the regime is trying to control Victory Day as best as possible. Therefore, a previous tradition has been scrapped in 2024.

– It’s about “The Regiment of the Immortals”. Two years ago, Putin himself led this march with a portrait of his father. People could honor the heroes of the Second World War by marching with pictures of them. Already in 2023, we saw that this event had been canceled in many places. This year it is completely gone, says Sangadzhieva.

– Why?

– Because people could come up with pictures of those killed in the Ukraine war. The regime would not like that. People had seen how many Russians had died in the war. There are no official figures on this. The independent website Mediazona has found the names of around 50,000 killed soldiers. But there are probably far, far more. Moreover, actions can be a real opportunity for war protest and to show discontent, which the Kremlin may have difficulty controlling. Because the war resistance is there, believes Sangadzhieva.

Vladimir Putin says, according to the state television channel Pjervyj, that “it is important to counteract any attempt to distort or reject our common history” and that it is important to pass on to future generations “our traditions of friendship and mutual help, which helped our fathers and grandfathers with crushing Nazism”.