Immortal Regiment

Ukraine war: Russia scales back May 9 Victory Day celebrations amid fear of popular protests

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 28, 2023
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Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia.

Key Points: 
  • Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia.
  • That year, the Victory Day parade was held on the Red Square in Moscow for first time since 1945.
  • May 9 became a day of public celebrations, family outings, concerts and fireworks – all broadcast on national television.
  • Victory Day was the only major public holiday that made the transition to post-Soviet Russia.
  • In the Putin era – especially after the 2014 occupation of Crimea – Victory Day foregrounds readiness to fight to protect the motherland and the value of self-sacrifice.

March of the Immortals

    • They could have contributed in any capacity – armed forces fighters and service personnel, partisans, home-front workers, and more.
    • The following year, Immortal Regiment marches were organised in many Russian cities, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Israel.
    • Sensing a successful popular initiative, the state moved in and took over organisation of the Immortal Regiment and its publicity.

Controlling the message

    • Russian official media explain the scaling down of celebrations in pragmatic terms, citing potential “provocations” and “terrorist attacks”.
    • But the real reason probably has to do with controlling the official narrative of the war.
    • So the message of Victory Day celebrations must be carefully controlled and curated.
    • The last thing the Kremlin wants is for large numbers of people to turn up holding pictures of their loved ones killed in Ukraine.

Ukraine recap: diplomatic manoeuvres intensify in advance of a possible spring offensive

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 28, 2023
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The rising mercury has fuelled speculation that Ukraine’s much discussed spring offensive is just around the corner, the only questions being when and where Ukraine’s military planners intend to make their big push.

Key Points: 
  • The rising mercury has fuelled speculation that Ukraine’s much discussed spring offensive is just around the corner, the only questions being when and where Ukraine’s military planners intend to make their big push.
  • Some observers have noted that Ukraine has achieved a bridgehead on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, which could foreshadow a major push southwards towards Crimea.
  • You can also subscribe to our fortnightly recap of expert analysis of the conflict in Ukraine.
  • Moscow’s political objectives, Harink warns, might be as much about involving the west in a lengthy and debilitating conflict.

The Russian front

    • One of the centrepieces is the march of the Immortals Regiment in which thousands parade with pictures of loved ones who gave their lives in defence of the homeland.
    • Dina Fainberg, an expert in modern history at City, University of London, tells the story of how Victory day become Russia’s biggest national celebration.
    • Imagine if thousands of people turned up to march carrying pictures of loved ones killed in Putin’s “special military operation”.
    • Read more:
      'Stalin-style' show trials and unexplained deaths of opposition figures show the depth of repression in Putin's Russia

Further afield (and on sea)