Victory Day is one of the most important moments in the Russian calendar. On May 9, the defeat of Nazi-Fascism by the Russians is celebrated, marking victory in the Great Patriotic War.
During the celebrations on Moscow’s Red Square, the President’s speech has always been an opportunity to take stock of the Russian situation, and its relationship with the rest of the world.
Like last year, the eyes and ears of all states are particularly attentive to Vladimir Putin’s words. Here, then, is what the president said at the ceremony, and what it means for the Western world.
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What Putin said at the Victory Day parade
What Vladimir Putin said at the Victory Day parade actually came as no surprise to many. And indeed confirmed the line of attack at all costs that Russia is maintaining on the Ukrainian front.
At the same time, Putin spoke of Peace, and of Russia’s role in the defeat of fascism. All this takes on an even more pregnant value, if one remembers how the official narrative chosen by the Russians for the war in Ukraine is that of a fight against the Nazis.
President Putin thus stated that:
“A real war has been waged against Russia, but we have defeated terrorism.”
Seated between two veterans covered in medals, Putin then went on to verbally attack the West, accusing it of provoking ‘bloody conflicts’.
Thus shifting the responsibility for losses on the Ukrainian front to the West. And, of fomenting episodes of ‘Russophobia‘, claiming to ‘dictate its rules to all nations’ .
The words for Ukraine are again in the Western direction, as Putin described the besieged nation as ‘a hostage in the hands of the West’. Then accused ‘the Western elites’ of having ‘forgotten what were the consequences of Nazi claims to world domination’.
Once again, therefore, it is extremely interesting to observe how anti-Nazi rhetoric is equally used by both sides. Dangerous rhetoric, considering the epilogue of the historical event.
‘Nothing is stronger than our unity’: the words on the former USSR
Putin went on to say that ‘the future of Russian sovereignty depends on the participants in the special military operation’. Thus continuing to call the Ukrainian regime criminal.
Finally, Putin concluded by inciting the country to victory, reiterating that ‘Nothing is stronger than our unity’.
With regard to this unity, he then proposed a minute’s silence for the Ukrainian war deaths, noting the importance of the presence at the ceremony of several leaders of former USSR countries.
Among the first to congratulate Putin was North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, who said he was certain that ‘Russia will overcome all challenges and threats from hostile forces’, and against all ‘arbitrary practices of the imperialists’.
Read also: Putin’s war: what are the real and alleged targets of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
