海角大神

For Moscow, the war in Ukraine is a rerun of World War II

The atmosphere around Victory Day on May 9, a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the Soviet Union鈥檚 victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, is always charged with martial fervor and a sense of Russia鈥檚 enduring resilience. The intensity almost makes it feel as though the war ended only recently.

This year, it seems even more immediate.

With Moscow鈥檚 鈥渟pecial military operation,鈥� as its invasion of Ukraine is still officially known, well into its third year, there is a distinct note in official messaging that suggests that World War II never really ended. Victory is a concept that has morphed from the past to future tense.

Since the war in Ukraine started, the Kremlin has sought to conflate the Soviet Union鈥檚 20th-century struggle against Nazi Germany with today鈥檚 campaign to 鈥渄enazify鈥� Ukraine 鈥� a claim most in the West find incomprehensible. But the Kremlin appears to have convinced most Russians that they are not fighting a war for territory and regional control in Ukraine, but facing a recurring effort by the united West to subdue Russia.

In this reading, Ukraine is merely acting as the West鈥檚 battering ram.

鈥淔rom the Russian point of view this is an existential challenge that we face every century,鈥� says Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser. 鈥淯nited Europe turns and attacks Russia.

鈥淚n the 19th century, it was Napoleon. In the 20th century, it was Hitler. We see NATO threatening in the same way today. We always won in the past, and we shall win again.鈥�

Built in the West, captured in Ukraine

That idea has been made explicit in a major exhibition of captured Ukrainian military equipment, in Moscow鈥檚 central Victory Park, timed to coincide with Victory Day.

On display, in a square adjacent to a major war memorial, are around 40 tanks, fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers. Russian soldiers attend each piece, explaining to visitors which country built and donated it to Ukraine 鈥� most of them are NATO members 鈥� and the circumstances under which it was captured by Russian forces.

Huge crowds have thronged the exhibition since it opened on May 1, in a mood of excitement and intense interest. Visitors, many of them on a family outing, enter past a huge placard that reads 鈥淥ur Victory is Inevitable!鈥� and one of the first items on show is a World War II-era German self-propelled gun, displayed under a sign reading 鈥淗istory Repeats Itself.鈥�

The stars of the show appear to be a U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and a badly-battered M1 Abrams聽tank, whose progress from the battlefield in eastern Ukraine to Moscow was avidly detailed by Russian military video bloggers.

Other vehicles lined up in the open air include tanks, armored personnel carriers, and suchlike made in countries ranging from Britain to Turkey to Australia.

鈥淭he display of these defeated weapons will have a tonic effect on the Russian public,鈥� says Mr. Markov. 鈥淭here is still a great deal of respect among Russians for Western technology, so seeing these smashed weapons up close will temper that.鈥�

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova urged foreign diplomats to visit the exhibition to see how 鈥渢he West destroys peace on the planet.鈥� Russian TV later broadcast a visit by dozens of emissaries from countries of the Global South, escorted through the exhibition by Russian military brass.

NATO and Russian troops once marched in step

The Soviet Union used to celebrate Victory Day with a massive military parade only on key anniversaries, usually giving war veterans pride of place. Boris Yeltsin revived the tradition on the 50th anniversary in 1995, and Vladimir Putin has made it an annual event, involving huge Red Square reviews of troops and weaponry.

Also on display are features such as the 鈥渋mmortal legion,鈥� in which average citizens come out into the streets bearing photos of ancestors who fought in World War II.

Early in the Putin era the Kremlin tried to emphasize the shared victory of Russia and the West over Nazism, and it was common to see Western military attach茅s in Red Square reviewing stands along with Russian officials on May 9.

In 2010, NATO troops actually took part in the Red Square parade, marching under the gaze of then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Chinese leader Hu Jintao. But following Russia鈥檚 annexation of Crimea in 2014, Western leaders boycotted the event, though the Kremlin still tried to find ways to stress the element of common victory over fascism.

The war in Ukraine has banished any hope of reconciliation with the West, perhaps irrevocably. Russian leaders have been surprised by the extent and depth of Western support for Kyiv, and the Kremlin narrative has shifted from a limited 鈥渟pecial military operation鈥� in Ukraine toward the notion of a new chapter in Russia鈥檚 historic confrontation with the West.

Thursday鈥檚 big military parade will be opened by a contingent of Ukraine war veterans, marching through Red Square under the eyes of Mr. Putin and other top leaders, according to the Defense Ministry. Very few World War II veterans are still alive, though they will doubtless also be honored.

鈥淭he cult of victory has long ago turned into the cult of war, and the celebration of May 9th in the Putin manner should confirm this symbiosis over and over,鈥� says Andrei Kolesnikov, a Carnegie fellow who lives and works in Russia.

Dmitry Oreshkin, an independent political analyst, notes that wars have contributed much to President Putin鈥檚 popularity.

鈥淔or an average Western person it might seem a bit strange that people who don鈥檛 live all that well would put a stress on victory and high fighting spirit,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut remember that the events that have consistently strengthened Putin鈥檚 rating have all been military operations 鈥� Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Syria, and now the present war.鈥�