Russia to mark scaled-back Victory Day: no fireworks, internet or military equipment, no parades in some areas

Iryna Balachuk - 7 May, 11:44

Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the 9 May parade in 2024. Photo: the Kremlin website

One-third of Russian regional capitals will not hold Victory Day parades on 9 May. In another 37, parades will take place without military equipment or with other restrictions, while celebrations have been cancelled entirely in at least 15 regions. [Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.]

Source: Russian news outlet Verstka and Russian Telegram channel Astra, citing statements by regional authorities and reports in the state-run media

Details: Astra reports that parades have been completely cancelled in Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Pskov, Ryazan, Saratov, Rostov, Kaluga, Oryol and Bryansk oblasts and Krasnodar Krai and Chuvashia.

Verstka calculated that 27 capitals of Russia's federal entities, or 31.8% of the total, will not hold parades, from Belgorod and Bryansk on the border with Ukraine to Arctic towns such as Salekhard and Naryan-Mar, and Magadan in the Far East.

In Moscow, there will be no military equipment on Red Square for the first time since 2007. Mobile internet and SMS services will also be completely shut down there. These restrictions are being introduced to ensure "safe celebrations" of Victory Day.

The parade in St Petersburg will also take place without military equipment.

Russia's usual 9 May Immortal Regiment march will be held online in most Russian federal entities this year.

Verstka calculated that parades featuring marching units and mobile ground equipment will take place in fewer than a quarter of Russia's 85 regional administrative centres, including temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol.

Events involving military marches and the passage of equipment, even if it is vintage cars or old tanks still in running condition, will take place in only 18 regional capitals, or 21.2%, including the cities of Yaroslavl, Volgograd, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Penza, Ufa, Gorno-Altaisk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

In 37 regional capitals, or 43.5%, parades will be held either without military equipment, as has already been the case in some regions for several years, or without confirmation that equipment will take part, or with other restrictions.

Why this matters: The Russian authorities began imposing widespread restrictions on Victory Day celebrations in 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Russia's modern history, similar restrictions had previously been introduced only during the coronavirus pandemic.

Background:

On 29 April, Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian leader, said that Vladimir Putin had held a phone call with US President Donald Trump, during which Putin said he is willing to declare a "ceasefire" on 9 May.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said it was "dishonest" of Russia to kill Ukrainians and then ask for a one-day ceasefire.
On 4 May, Russia's Ministry of Defence unilaterally declared a "truce" for 8 and 9 May and warned that if the Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May is "disrupted", it will launch a large-scale missile strike on central Kyiv
On 4 May, Zelenskyy announced a ceasefire starting from 00:00 on the night of 5-6 May. Russia did not respond in any way and continued its attacks on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stated that Russia has violated the ceasefire introduced by Kyiv since the beginning of 6 May and said Ukraine will respond in kind.
On 7 May, Russian authorities reported a large-scale drone attack targeting several regions of the country, with the Russian Defence Ministry claiming that their air defences have destroyed 317 drones. The authorities have not specified how many UAVs reached their targets.

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