On May 9th, the Soviet Union and Russian celebrate Victory Day, the anniversary of Nazi forces finally capitulating, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Although the Nazi scourge had been defeated, a cloud loomed over Eastern Europe as the region entered a dark era of forty years of barbarism under Soviet terror reign, Russia has traditionally used this date for propaganda purposes. However, a this year’s Victory Day Parade, everything has been less triumphant, and the cracks are showing.
Since the 1960s, the Kremlin has organized military parades on Victory Day and May 9th has long been one of the most important dates on the political agenda. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia began to invite Western guests to Moscow in order to participate in the Victory Day events.
This (sort of) lasted until the 2010s, with the Russian Invasion of Crimea (2014) becoming a decisive U-turn in Western relations. Most Western European leaders have since boycotted the invitations in protest of the bloody invasion in Ukraine. The list of invited foreigners has gradually shrunk in the last years, especially with the full-scale invasion in 2022.
In the last year, Vladimir Putin has mostly surrounded himself with yes-men, often leaders of the third world and the few pro-Russian leaders that remain in Europe. On this year’s occasion, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić and Robert Fico were the only Europeans who accepted the invitation.
Their journey was complicated as the EU requested both would not go in light of Russia’s hideous crimes in Ukraine, which they both ignored. In retaliation, the Baltic States warned the pair could not fly through their airspace, forcing them to take longer and more hazardous routes.
If anything, this already makes the case for a humiliation, as Fico and Vučić continue to isolate themselves on the international scene. Russia’s international standing has soured to the extent that even pro-Russian Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán did not consider attending this year’s Victory Day Parade.
The BRICS+ nations in particular are key outliers. The group of emerging markets: Brazil, Russia, India and China, with other states like South Africa, Egypt and Indonesia joining the group more recently, have often tried to portray themselves as a united pact, but the (non)attendance of several BRICS+ countries has demonstrated they are far from united on the international front.
In fact, it is estimated that around one third of the invited countries will not attend, for various reasons. Even newcomers to the BRICS group, who one would assume would do everything to send their relegation to Moscow, have not done so. The UAE, which only joined the BRIC group last year, did not shown any interest in attending. South Africa, one of the key members of the union, only sent a defence minister to represent the country at the parade while India and Pakistan refused to participate due to the tension between the two countries in recent days.
The no-shows was already a major setback for Vladimir Putin, but the true humiliation came as a result of the Ukrainian reaction. For the Victory Parade, Russia requested a three-day truce, in order to portray a peaceful and powerful Russia. The truce was originally rejected by Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that he “could not guarantee the safety of Russia’s airspace on May 9th”. This may seem like a detail, but it reveals two things: Ukraine’s bravery, and Russia’s fear.
May 9th is supposed to be a day of victory, joy and a show of Russia’s might. None of it has been achieved in this year’s edition. The no-shows were one thing, but Ukraine’s latest strikes have demonstrated who’s in charge of the current tide of war.
Although more soldiers were featured in this year’s parade in comparison to 2024, it is still less than before the invasion. This is proof for a lack of available soldiers — as Russia struggles to mobilize more men for Putin’s blood thirst.
The display of might and the usual expectations have never been lower. Europe has barely seen mentions of the Victory Parade, a sign that it has lost any sort of importance in the Old Continent. It says a lot, as Victory Parades in earlier years were known as a spectacle observed across the globe. It should be mentioned several heavy tanks have been missing in this year’s edition, presumably because they were being used on the front instead.
The goal of victory day parades had nothing to do with reality — in the 2000s, they aimed to show Russia’s power, intimidating NATO. While Russia has been declining for a while as a superpower, it has never reached a level as low as it has this year.
There was nothing glorious about this years’ parade, and it portrays a great picture of the current Russia: Decaying and stuck in the past. Putin is also a good symbol for that, a relic of a time that is now passing.
In fact, he was rumoured to possibly not appear in the Victory Day Parade due to fears of Ukraine’s drones striking Moscow. He eventually did appear, and yet he remains isolated. There was no Victory Day parade; this was a parade of shame, fear and isolation. Putin has few friends left. The parade received no attention in Europe, nobody was intimidated. Instead of showing its power, Russia demonstrated that its days as a superpower are numbered.
Featured image via Eremin Aleksey/Shutterstock.
