The Changing Significance of Russia's Victory Day

Russia's Victory Day parade was a diminished spectacle, featuring only one tank and no airplanes or shiny new missiles. Putin looked tired and miserable during the parade, which was overshadowed by Yevgeny Prigozhin's viral video criticizing the Russian leadership. The parade turned a holiday that meant something real and good to millions of Russians, Ukrainians, and other people in the former Soviet Union into a celebration of a de facto neo-fascist regime. Ukraine is distancing itself from May 9, historically recognized as Victory Day in the USSR, Soviet-bloc countries, and the post-Soviet successor states while Western Europe and the United States celebrated victory in Europe on May 8.