Putin is trying to use stereotypes, distorted reality and his country’s lingering World War II trauma to justify his invasion of Ukraine. The “Nazi” slur’s sudden emergence shows how Mr. Putin has applied the word regularly to the country’s present-day government in recent months, though he has long referred to Ukraine’s pro-Western revolution of 2014 as a fascist coup. The language of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been dominated by the word “Nazi” - a bizarre contention about a country whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish, and last fall signed a law combating antisemitism. Putin has variously called Ukraine’s government “openly neo-Nazi,” “pro-Nazi” and controlled by “little Nazis.” Announcing Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, he said its goals included the “demilitarization and denazification” of the country. Putin’s spokesman said last week that no foreign leaders had been invited to this year’s event, the 77th anniversary of the victory. In recent years, the parade on Victory Day - once attended by dignitaries from China, Germany and the United States, among others - has also reflected Russia’s growing isolation, with many foreign leaders staying away. Still, state television scrolled the names of the Russian dead while orange trucks sent to spray the streets with disinfectant and water were emblazoned with stickers declaring “Victory.” Copies of the red banner that was raised above the Reichstag in Berlin in 1945 also flew on Moscow’s streets. A flyby over the city by warplanes and military helicopters took place, but Moscow’s mayor told residents not to go out to watch it. Billboards promoted patriotic concerts, plays and songfests that were ultimately called off. A grand party scheduled in Moscow was canceled. Two years ago, the event was overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Putin has helped transform Victory Day into the most important holiday of the year, a joyous, nostalgic ritual that buttresses national pride and unifies a sometimes divided society. On Red Square, the event also features a display of historical military weapons, modern tanks and missile systems and other expressions of Russian military grandeur. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, take part in “Immortal Regiment” marches honoring the soldiers and civilians who fought and died in the war.
Victory Day military parades in major Russian cities are followed by marches of ordinary citizens carrying pictures of relatives who fought in the war.
Russian forces have suffered heavy losses in Ukraine - Western officials estimate that more than 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed - and some families of service members have questioned the official silence about the scope of casualties. Putin will declare an official state of war and announce mass mobilization, which could entail a military draft and a prohibition on Russian men of military age being allowed to leave the country.Īlthough a shared respect for the sacrifices of World War II remains a unifying force in Russia, a new draft or travel restrictions could provoke a blowback. Putin has been spinning to justify his war in Ukraine are very much in line with the grand, nostalgic narratives of Victory Day.Īnalysts who follow Russia closely, however, say it is far from certain that Mr. Putin will use his May 9 speech next week to invoke the heroism of Soviet soldiers in World War II to try to inspire Russians to make new sacrifices. Now, Russian state media is referring to Ukrainians who have resisted the Russian invasion as “Nazis,” and portraying the fight as the unfinished business of World War II. When he addressed the nation from his rostrum at Red Square on May 9 last year, he warned that Russia’s enemies were deploying once again “much of the ideology of the Nazis.”
Putin has used May 9 - a near-sacred holiday for Russians to remember the 27 million Soviets who died in World War II - to mobilize the nation for the possibility of a new battle ahead.
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