Several Russian cities celebrate Victory Day despite restrictions

This Tuesday, several major cities in Russia celebrated Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, a source of “pride” for many Russians despite the stalemate in the conflict with Ukraine and security restrictions.

Dozens of people, including families with children, made their way to Gorky Park in Moscow, near Red Square, where the Russian military parade was held on Victory Day, this year more limited.

At the entrance to the park, several citizens were photographed near the large letters “Z” and “V”, which have become symbols of support for the military offensive.

“We have to continue (celebrating),” Muscovite Roman Gulydov, who visited the park with his son, told Agence France-Press.

According to Gulydov, “history is repeating itself” in Ukraine, which was captured by Russia in February 2022.

“During a military parade, there was always a sense of pride,” says Svetlana Trenikhina, dean of the Institute for the Development of Education in the city of Yekaterinburg (about 1,500 kilometers east of Moscow).

“We all hope and believe that there will be a victory,” he added.

The Russian military parade on Victory Day took place on Red Square in Moscow on Tuesday in the presence of the Russian president and a number of leaders of the former Soviet republics, under strict security measures.

The Kremlin acknowledged that the authorities had decided to cancel a number of mass events associated with May 9 (Victory Day) – one of the most important dates in the political calendar of Russia, marking the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

The usual march of the “Immortal Regiment”, as it is called in Russia, was canceled due to “fear of terrorist attacks from Kyiv.”

In the Great Patriotic War, as the Soviet campaign during the Great Patriotic War (1939-1945) is known, according to official historical data, 26 million Soviet citizens died, including eight million soldiers.

The military offensive launched by Russia on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries – from, according to the latest UN data, who classify this migration crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).

At least 18 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.

The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community as a whole, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.

The UN has presented as confirmed 8,791 civilians killed and 14,815 wounded since the beginning of the war, stressing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.