MOSCOW: Citing security reasons and attacks from pro-Ukrainian forces, several Russian cities have announced to scale back this year’s Victory Day celebrations.
Recently, there have been explosions and fires in Russia. However, some have argued that the scaled-back celebrations prove the Kremlin is concerned about the possibility of protests against its invasion of Ukraine. Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany on May 9, 1945, is typically marked by grand grandeur and displays of military force, according to Reuters.
The Immortal Regiment procession, which sees people marching across the nation bearing portraits of their relatives who served in World War Two, is one of the day’s most recognisable activities. Vladimir Putin, the president, led the march through Red Square in Moscow last year while carrying a picture of his father in the military. The Immortal Regiment, according to organiser and legislator Yelena Tsunayeva, “will be held in other formats this year for security reasons.”
Tsunayeva warned people who wanted to remember their ancestors to alter their social media avatars, put pictures of war veterans on clothing, or put them in car windows, according to a press release on the Immortal Regiment of Russia’s website.
According to some analysts, a physical parade of the Immortal Regiment might draw attention to the number of Russian casualties in Ukraine.
If the procession had not been cancelled, Dmitry Kolezev, an editor and journalist of a liberal news website who is currently living in exile, predicted that “almost certainly, people would attend the Immortal Regiment with photographs of those who lost their lives in Ukraine, and the number of recent photographs could turn out to be depressingly huge.”
Kolezev added that the government might be worried that a sizable crowd could turn into a demonstration of dissent. He wrote on Telegram, “History has examples of loyal celebrations turning into protests.
Former Siberian TV network editor-in-chief Viktor Muchnik, who has already fled the country, claimed that the Russian government was “maniacally suspicious” and more worried about image damage than a “hypothetical terrorist attack.”
The parade’s safety against “terrorist attacks” was being worked on, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. We are aware that the Kyiv government, which is responsible for several of these attacks and terrorist acts, intends to continue its campaign, as is only natural. He said that all our specialised services are making every effort to maintain security.
In the last few days, two separate fires have broken out at fuel storage facilities in Russian-occupied Crimea and southern Russia.
Goods trains were derailed by two explosions this week in Bryansk, near the Russian border, while a suspected explosive device damaged power lines in Leningrad Region.
Although Ukraine has not claimed any of these attacks, the military in Kyiv has stated that undermining Russia’s logistics was part of its preparations for its long-anticipated counteroffensive.
