Why 9 May, Victory Day is such a big deal in Russia?

Victory Day has become a major national holiday in Russia, commemorating the conclusion of the war with Nazi Germany in 1945. However, it is only since Vladimir Putin’s reign that the day has included an annual parade complete with military weaponry and flypasts.

This year, it has taken on new meaning since, far from liberating Europe, Russia has launched the continent’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

There is no visible triumph to celebrate this year, so the Kremlin may have to settle for seizing most of Mariupol and declaring the defeat of the Azov Brigade, which Russia has wrongly labeled as Nazi. That would ring true on Victory Day when jets have been practicing Z-formation above Red Square – the emblem of Russia’s victory.

Because the Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War II, Victory Day is also a melancholy occasion. However, Ukraine suffered some of the worst casualties, and according to a recent opinion survey, most Ukrainians now see 9 May as a day of remembering rather than victory.

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