Putin caps Moscow's Victory Day fervor with visit to Crimea
Putin praised Russia's 'iron will, fearlessness and steadfast courage' in World War II. He made only oblique references to the current crisis in Ukraine 鈥� but then headed to Sevastopol.
Russian troops ride an armored personnel carrier with a Crimean flag during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on Friday. Thousands of Russian troops march on Red Square in the annual Victory Day parade, a commemoration of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
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Tanks, troops, and patriotic fervor swept through Moscow鈥檚 legendary Red Square Friday as Russia of the end of World War II, a traditional celebration whose emotional resonance has been amplified this year by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin then capped the sense of triumph in Moscow with a visit to Sevastopol,聽Russia's newly annexed Crimean port.
Two days before pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine have vowed to stage a referendum on the future status of the region, President Putin used the military parade as an occasion to recall the historic defeat of Nazi Germany, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. But his nationally televised remarks skirted the tense situation in Ukraine.
鈥淭his is the holiday when the invincible power of patriotism triumphs,鈥� Mr. Putin , reports The New York Times. 鈥淲hen we all feel especially acutely what it means to be loyal to our homeland and how important it is to defend our country鈥檚 interests.
鈥淲e must remain worthy of our forebears鈥� deeds. They fought to the death with the enemy, defending their native land, and they vanquished Nazism,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Soviet people鈥檚 iron will, fearlessness and steadfast courage saved Europe from enslavement.鈥� 聽
The only mention of Ukraine in Putin鈥檚 speech in two oblique references. One was to the Dneiper River, which cuts diagonally across Ukraine and flows past the capital, Kiev. The other was mention of Sevastopol, the Crimean port for the Russian Black Sea Navy. Russia annexed Crimea in March after a stealth military incursion and a referendum whose results were ignored by the rest of the world.
About 11,000 military personnel, along with dozens of heavy tanks, armored personnel carriers, and strategic nuclear missile launchers, rumbled across Red Square鈥檚 cobblestones, in front of the Kremlin, St. Basil鈥檚 Cathedral, and Lenin鈥檚 tomb, which is typically hidden from view by the viewing pavilion for spectators.
Sevastopol, meanwhile, to hold a larger-than-normal anniversary parade, not surprising in light of Putin unannounced but triumphant visit to the city, his first visit since the annexation.
In Kiev, the embattled government opted to hold more modest ceremonies to observe the 69th anniversary of the war鈥檚 end, according to .
After months of mounting tensions, the Ukrainian crisis exploded in February when violent protests culminated in Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fleeing the country. Moscow has repeatedly accused the interim government of being beholden to 鈥淣azis,鈥� 鈥渇ascists,鈥� and 鈥渆xtremists鈥� seeking to repress ethnic Russians.
Moscow used the ouster as a pretext to wrest Crimea from Ukraine, using special forces and local paramilitary allies to help oversee a disputed referendum on March 16 that resulted in the peninsula鈥檚 annexation.
Putin has also staged thousands of active military troops on Russia's southwestern border, as pro-Russian fighters have seized dozens of government buildings in towns and cities in eastern Ukraine.
The insurgents, who claim the new government in Kiev aims to discriminate against ethnic Russians, have called for holding a referendum on Sunday to determine the region鈥檚 status. A vote for secession from Ukraine might give Moscow a pretext for sending troops across the border.
Putin earlier this week called on the insurgents to delay holding the vote, a move that appeared to back the interim government's plans for a national election in late May, 海角大神 reported. The Associated Press, however, that preparations have been haphazard, with ballots mainly being printed on a photocopier in the regional government building seized weeks ago in the city of Donetsk.
AP also that a poll by the US-based Pew Research center released on Thursday found that 70 percent of the residents of Ukraine鈥檚 east want Ukraine to maintain its current borders. 鈥淭hat suggests the referenda have a chance of failing, if opponents turn out in force and the count is honest,鈥� the agency reported.
Lilia Shevtsova, a respected Moscow analyst, argued that the Ukraine crisis is an example of the Kremlin鈥檚 efforts to bolster Putin鈥檚 popularity 鈥渂ased on a permanent search for internal and external enemies,鈥� she in an op-ed Thursday in The Washington Post:
鈥淭he dismemberment of Ukraine also exposes the mechanism of the Russian matrix, in which foreign policy is the main instrument of domestic agenda. Those worrying only about Russian imperialism are wrong: Land-grabbing and 鈥榙efending鈥� the Russian-speaking population in other countries are the means to turn Russia into a state at war, making Putin a wartime president and strengthening his position at home.鈥�