Moscow’s Red Square, surrounded by metal barriers, is now overrun with the word “victory” on posters and soldiers rehearsing for the parade, the BBC reports.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s idea of the state is built around the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, and the 9th of May is a time of celebration for Russians. However, this year’s parade is on a much smaller scale, and for the first time in two decades there will be no military equipment – no tanks or ballistic missiles – on Red Square – only soldiers marching, British journalist Steve Rosenberg has observed. How Russia remembers the past says a lot about the present, and is a sign that Moscow’s war in Ukraine is not going according to plan.
Russian MP Yevgeny Popov told Rosenberg that tanks are currently busy fighting, and they are needed there more than on Red Square. To Rosenberg’s remark that the war is now in its fifth year and that Russia has not only not won, but is being forced to reduce its parade, which could be considered a disgrace, Popov responded by saying that there is no other choice: “Nato countries, Ukraine and Great Britain’s weapons, your king and your prime minister, are threatening us.”
In February 2022, Putin chose to start a full-scale war in Ukraine, but more than four years later, the Kremlin chooses to continue the aggression, and blames the West for inciting the conflict. Only now has the war entered Russia.
On the 5th of May,
Ukrainian strikes with long-range missiles and drones in the Russian city of Cheboksary killed two people and injured 30.
The day before, a Ukrainian drone had slipped through Moscow’s air defenses at night and crashed into a luxury apartment building just six kilometers from the Kremlin. There were no injuries, but the top floor of the building was severely damaged.
The alleged Ukrainian attacks are being used as a pretext to curtail the parade. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of the threat of terrorism from Ukraine. The Russian defense minister has threatened to retaliate against attacks on central Kiev if Moscow is attacked on the 9th of May.
Rosenberg asked Moscow residents in the streets around Red Square whether they were concerned about the lack of military equipment in the parade. Sergei agreed that it was a security issue, but that the military equipment parade was a show of force, and perhaps something should be shown. Yulia said she understood that it would be foolish to show off the technology if something did happen, but admitted that, on the other hand, it means that there is fear of something, and that is also not good.
A smaller parade is symbolic.
The Russians have not been able to defeat the Ukrainians,
and in January Moscow’s aggression reached a point where it has lasted longer than the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany.
Recent polls, including those conducted by state agencies, show that support for Putin is declining. In speaking to Russians, the BBC journalist noted growing war fatigue, dissatisfaction with the cost of living and irritation with the state-imposed restrictions on the internet. Russian authorities have already announced that mobile internet service will be restricted in Moscow on the 9th of May. Officials have indicated that the disruptions to the internet in recent months are designed to prevent attacks and sabotage by Ukrainians, but they are very unpopular with society.
However, the authorities do not seem to be worried about public opinion. Popov told Rosenberg that it was none of Britain’s business what the Russians were doing with their internet: “It would be better to be with no internet than to be killed by a Ukrainian missile or drone.”
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