CNN
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Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a simplified Victory Day parade on Thursday, demonstrating Russia's unity and determination to continue the war against Ukraine. But the military celebration masked smoldering tensions within the Kremlin and within Russian society.
At first glance, this year's parade on Red Square was the usual well-organized show of military might. More than 9,000 military personnel participated, including 1,000 who are still working in what Russia now calls “special military operations” (the official euphemism for the Russian military). A full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This mechanized column was led by his World War II-era T-34 tank, a symbol of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
May 9th is not just a day to remember the more than 25 million Soviet servicemen and civilians who died during World War II.
Under President Putin, the Russian state has elevated the collective memory of the war to something akin to a secular religion. This is a solemn day. In recent years, Russians have joined the “Immortal Regiment” procession, holding up photos of family members who served in the war. President Putin, who has made “patriotic education'' a priority, traditionally lays flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
However, since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, large-scale military parades have been somewhat scaled back. Last year's customary military aircraft flight over Red Square was canceled, and this year's parade featured only one T-34 tank, a museum exhibit. Frontline priorities seem to take precedence over ceremony.
And, as in the past, President Putin characterizes today's war in Ukraine as a continuation of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War, and falsely claims that Russia is fighting “neo-Nazism” in Ukraine. went. And while the Ukraine war appears to be going better for Russia than it was a year ago, Putin still called for more wartime sacrifices from the Russian people.
“Russia is currently undergoing a difficult transition period,” he said in a speech before the parade.
“The fate of the Motherland, its future depends on each of us… We celebrate Victory Day in the context of special military operations. All its participants, namely those on the front lines, those in contact with combat Those on the line are our heroes. We salute your patience, self-sacrifice and dedication. All of Russia is with you!”
But this year's Victory Day also takes place against the backdrop of a bribery scandal that has roiled Russia's Ministry of Defense.
Last month, Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was embroiled in a corruption investigation and arrested on suspicion of accepting “particularly large” bribes. The scandal escalated with the arrest of two Russian businessmen on suspicion of involvement in bribery.
Mikhail Klimenchev/Sputnik/Reuters
Under President Putin, Victory Day has taken on greater importance in national life.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images
The day is an opportunity to show off Russia's military might, even if the event is scaled back amid the war in Ukraine.
Ivanov denies any involvement in bribery and is prepared to give detailed testimony to prove his innocence, Russian state news agency TASS said. And Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was Mr. Ivanov's boss before he was forced out of his ministerial post, played his usual role at this year's Victory Day parade, giving an overview of the troops and giving Putin a speech before the president's speech. Reported to the president.
Kremlin scholars can draw little conclusions from Shoigu's performance on May 9. But the arrest of Mr. Shoigu's protégé has raised speculation about infighting in the upper echelons of power and shined an uncomfortable spotlight on what observers see as a rampant culture of corruption within the Russian military.
As head of construction at Russia's Defense Ministry, Ivanov was responsible for overseeing projects such as the rebuilding of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was destroyed and shattered by Russian forces in 2022.
The reconstruction of showcase apartments in Mariupol has become a staple of Russian government propaganda. President Putin famously visited the occupied city last spring as part of a PR campaign.
However, a visual inspection by the Financial Times pointed to shoddy construction work in Mariupol, confirming speculation that reconstruction funds were being siphoned off by Russian companies awarded government construction contracts.
Ivanov is facing sanctions from the United States and the European Union for his role in the war against Ukraine. But the lavish lifestyle of his ex-partner, who had an upscale address in Paris and enjoyed the slopes of Courchevel, was not covered by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, an investigative agency founded by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (deceased). (ACF). In a Russian prison north of the Arctic Circle earlier this year.
Russia's political opposition, which has largely been marginalized, marginalized or forced into exile under Putin, remains reeling from Navalny's death.
But Mr. Navalny's investigative foundation is pushing President Putin's relentless focus on corruption in Russia.
Stanislav Krasilnikov/Sputnik/AP
Putin said at the event that Russia was going through a “difficult transition period.”
In recent weeks, ACF chief investigator Maria Pevchiv has released the documentary series Traitors, which traces Putin's origins in the context of political and economic liberalism, and has dominated much of the online conversation about Russia. succeeded in monopolizing it. It all takes place in Russia in the 1990s. Some argue that corruption is the original sin of modern Russia.
But that is not the message President Putin is sending on Victory Day.
Despite heavy losses in personnel and equipment on the Ukrainian battlefield, defense spending has boosted the Russian economy. President Putin's technocrats have deftly managed the economy despite international sanctions and returned the country to GDP growth.
But the Russian economy will survive. It is notoriously inefficient and corrupt. Prestige projects like the 2014 Sochi Olympics have long been marred by allegations of corruption and favoritism, particularly when it comes to awarding contracts. And in Putin's wartime economy, the standard of living for ordinary Russians is secondary.
Seen through that lens, this year's Victory Day in Moscow is more of a feel-good exercise, presenting modern Russia as the opposite of the '90s: proud, militarily strong, and relentlessly moving forward. did. And President Putin, a quarter of a century after coming to power, presided over the entire situation with the same rhetoric of patriotism, sacrifice and love for the motherland.
In Russia, continuity has its own characteristics.
