In his speech, remarkably short by about eight minutes compared to last year’s, Putin defended the invasion of Ukraine and praised the Russian military. Putin has also drawn historical parallels between World War II and the fighting in Ukraine. “Today civilization is again at a decisive turning point, another real war has been unleashed against us,” Putin said.
“Today civilization is again at a decisive turning point, another real war has been unleashed against us”
Pride
“We are proud of the participants in the special military operation. The future of our people depends on you”, Putin continued, accusing the West of “destroying traditional values” and promoting a “system of robbery and violence”. “The goal of our enemies, and this is nothing new , is the disintegration and destruction of our country.”
Turn around
According to Bosman, this is the ‘strange turnaround’ the Russians have been making for over a year and a half: Ukraine is invaded, but Russia is attacked. Otherwise, Bosman had few surprises. Will his message still reach Russia? Bosman thinks so. “As long as you keep pumping it in. This is the hallmark of this propaganda. I think with a very large section of the Russian population this message still goes down like a drink in an elderberry.’
Putin gently reminded his audience (and the West) that the West must not forget who defeated the Nazis. A message that, according to Bosman, is mainly intended for domestic consumption. ‘It’s really for home consumption this one. It is breeding a hatred of the West, a hatred of the West. And show that Russia is at war with the West.”
“Western elite show hatred and phobia towards Russia and want to destroy Russia.”
Putin also spoke of a peaceful future, but did not clarify how he concretely imagined it. Bosman: “He believes that the unipolar West must end and that only in this way can a multipolar world emerge, which brings much more peace”.
Short but sweet
Like Putin’s speech, the military parade was also shorter than in previous years. “It gets smaller every year. This also has to do with the fact that there are simply fewer troops available to parade. There are many of them fighting in Ukraine and there is a shortage there too. Then you can’t expect a big parade on Red Square.”
According to Russian state media, the parade is attended by more than 500 Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine. The heads of state of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Armenia are also present.
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