The Red Square Victory Day parade is about aesthetics too, and military hardware in particular. It is a chance for the Kremlin to show off its latest weaponry.
It was the Armata T-14 tank that turned heads on Victory Day in 2015, but it has been conspicuous by its absence in the war in Ukraine, because it is not yet ready for frontline combat. Ukraine says it has destroyed well over 1,000 less modern Russian tanks on the battlefield.
There will be less hardware and fewer troops this year than in 2021. But there will still be some 10,000 troops and 129 pieces of military equipment, according to an analysis by BBC Russian. Gone will be one of Russia’s newest tanks, the T-80BVM, as well as the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system.
The aerial display will be just as big as before, with 77 planes and helicopters, and the air force has been rehearsing over Red Square in a Z-formation – the controversial symbol adopted by invading forces.
But there will be no foreign leaders this year, which the Kremlin puts down to the 77th anniversary not being a significant event in itself.
Most of the messaging around Victory Day is directed at the Russian population anyway, says Olga Irisova. By harnessing the Nazi narrative from World War Two, the Kremlin is able to stir up strong feelings because most Russians have relatives who either died or struggled in the war.
While events will take place across Russia, in neighbouring countries 9 May has become less and less significant. Ukraine saw some of the greatest losses in the war and a recent opinion poll suggested that the date should be seen as a day of remembrance rather than victory.
Kazakhstan has cancelled its military parade for a third year running and Latvia has declared it a day of remembrance – for victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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