Why Putin Makes the Soviet Victory in World War II About Himself
After 25 years in power, what does Russia's leader have to show for it?
When I was a student living in Moscow in 2007, I didn't think too much about May 9, when Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. With the city center blocked off, a few classmates and I walked around other parts of the capital. In my blog, I observed that "people [were] just outside enjoying themselves [and] mediocre Russian disco concerts, good weather...It is definitely the type of holiday that means less and less as time goes on."
How times have changed. Over the past 15 years, Vladimir Putin has instrumentalized Victory Day into a defense of his regime. At this year's May 9 commemoration, Putin said on Red Square, "our fathers bequeathed to us to firmly defend our national interests, our thousand-year-old history, culture, and traditional values." Putin sees his country in a perpetual war against the West, which he sees as decadent and even depraved. Notably, Putin only mentioned his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in passing: to him, the war which failed to achieve a quick victory is just part of a larger military, political, and even spiritual campaign against the West.Â
May 9 has also become a tool for mobilization. As is the case with many totalitarian states, Russia practices youth indoctrination as a way to create loyal citizens capable of serving in the regime as adults. Deutsche Welle reported that in the city of Voronezh, "hundreds of kindergarten children took part in a 'military parade' that included homemade military vehicles and airplanes." In the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, more than 1,500 "great-grandchildren of victory" marched in the city center.
Putin has instrumentalized the Soviet victory over the Nazis as his regime has very few pillars of legitimacy left. It isn't democratically elected. The rising living standards I observed in the early 2000s are gone; the economy has stagnated and looks to be headed for decline with falling oil prices. Millions of its most talented citizens have emigrated. It has not defeated Ukraine on the battlefield. It is largely isolated on the global stage. (On May 9, a few world leaders like Xi Jinping of China, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia joined Putin to allay his isolation.)
After 25 years in power, one might think that Putin would have more to show for his rule. However, like many populists, Putin has not delivered on a better future, so he campaigns on a return to an imaginary past. Thus, he has turned a parade commemorating Moscow's apex of military and diplomatic power some 80 years ago into a tool of mobilization.
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