Putin has corrupted Russia’s ‘Victory Day’

The Victory Day celebrations on 9 May have been, under Vladimir Putin, through a dramatic mutation. In my childhood, in the late eighties and early nineties, it was, apart from the New Year, by far the best holiday of the year. You normally spent it outside, in excellent May weather with lilac blooming all over and war songs – like ‘Victory Day’ or ‘Katyusha’ – booming out from loudspeakers in the streets. We children presented flowers to the veterans, whose chests were sparkling with medals and decorations.

This day connected three generations: the veterans, their kids (our parents) and the grandkids – us. We regarded our grandparents as the ultimate heroes, demigods even, whose self-sacrifice and courage had laid the groundwork for our very existence. The guiding emotion of the event was ‘No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten,’ and of course ‘Never again.’ No aggressive international agenda was ever promoted: surviving veterans would probably never allow it.