Latest news with #OlegKozhemyako
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Russia: Instrumentalizing Soviets' victory over Nazi Germany
Vladimir Putin (AP) Babies in military uniforms, toddlers in cardboard tanks, primary school children marching in lockstep. Ahead of the big military parade on Moscow's Red Square on May 9, young Russians in other cities have already started commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. In the city of Kemerovo in southwestern Siberia, newborns in a maternity home were dressed up as soldiers, with little field caps on their heads, and wrapped in olive green sleeping bags. On its website, the establishment calls on citizens to join up, reminding users that even the smallest citizen of Russia is part of history and suggesting that the clothing symbolizes the "connection between generations." Meanwhile, hundreds of kindergarten children took part in a "military parade" that included homemade military vehicles and airplanes, in a residential district of the central Russian city of Voronezh. Operation Sindoor 'Pakistan army moving its troops in forward areas': Key takeaways from govt briefing 'Pak used drones, long-range weapons, jets to attack India's military sites' 'Attempted malicious misinformation campaign': Govt calls out Pakistan's propaganda In Vladivostok, in Russia's far east, more than 1,500 "great-grandchildren of victory" marched through the city center, in what the governor of the Primorye region Oleg Kozhemyako described as the "first children's parade in the region." He announced that some of those heading the columns had participated in the war in Ukraine: "Today, there are children whose fathers are fighting on the front marching in the columns. We are rightly proud of the courage and bravery of our fighters, and are certain that the enemy will be defeated, just as it was in the distant year of 1945." Victory Day has become 'an instrument of mobilization' For 80 years, many Russian families primarily associated "Victory Day" with commemorating the loss and devastation of World War II. But that is now shifting. Alexey Yusupov, a Russian political scientist at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation , told DW that increasingly, the state was instrumentalizing the May 9 Victory Day to shape a new identity and ideology. He explained that over the past two decades, the Kremlin had learned to "militarize this day, or rather to activate it, because it has become engraved in the collective memory of many Russians as something that united the country. It has become an instrument of mobilization for the regime." The Kremlin used certain particular dates, he added, such as this year's 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, to draw historical parallels between the Soviet Union and today's Russia, and to demonstrate the strength and legitimacy of the current regime. According to Ilya Grashchenkov from the Moscow-based Regional Policy Development Center, Victory Day is not only important for Russian families, but for the Russian government. "Over the past 20 years, the state has done everything it can to be an integral part of this commemoration. For [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the victory in World War II is a constant, on which the entire Russian state is based, and of which he as president is a part. " But he added that for millions of ordinary people, May 9 remained an anniversary that brought "tears to their eyes." He pointed out that for many years after 1945, May 9 had been a day of mourning without a military parade. Military parade is 'superfluous' in times of war The self-exiled Russian political scientist and former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov told DW he felt the May 9 parade in Moscow, at a time when Russia was at war with Ukraine, would be "superfluous." He argued that such parades were "a replacement for war that are needed in times of peace when the army is not fighting but wants to show itself." He said that given the fact that the Russian army had not yet achieved its main goals in the past three years, the parade would come across as not being "serious. " "Before 2022, everyone thought Russia was significantly stronger than Ukraine. But it's turned out that wasn't the case. Nobody can call this a high-quality conduct of war," he added. Grashchenkov expects that on this May 9, parallels will be drawn with the war in Ukraine, as was the case at the "first children's parade" in Vladivostok, but that they will not play a prominent role. Instead, he said that for Putin, it was important that the commemorations be as "international as possible." He pointed out that the foreign guests attending would be there to mark the historic victory of 1945: "The message of Victory Day is that Russia paid a very high price for peace in Europe. Putin will certainly project the victory of 1945 onto today's fighting in Ukraine. But he will not place a huge emphasis on it." Gallyamov said the parade was "a universal instrument" for the outside world, and for Russian society: "The propagandists will say that they are perpetuating the glorious traditions of the heroes of the victory of 1945. But Russian society will not be influenced by these narratives." He said that the parallels being drawn were too contrived, and that it was too obvious that the comparisons were not actually in the Kremlin's favor: "In the past three years, the Russians have not even had full control of the regions to which they lay claim, let alone managed to capture Kyiv. " However, he did say that Moscow's elites would be in a mood for victory on May 9. "We will see a lot of show," said Yusupov. "We will hear a lot of statements. We will see a lot of television programs." He added that the Kremlin would do its utmost to prove that today's Russia is the same "power for good" that it was 80 years ago.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia holds military-themed parade featuring seven-year-old children
A children's parade called Great-grandchildren of Victory has taken place in Russia's Vladivostok, featuring 1,500 primary school children dressed in uniforms representing various branches of the military. Source: Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of Primorsky Krai, on Telegram; Russian media outlets The Insider and Nastoyashcheye Vremya (Current Time) Quote from Kozhemyako: "The first children's parade in history was held in the capital of the Russian Far East. More than one and a half thousand primary school pupils from across Primorsky Krai marched in parade formations symbolising different branches of the military and volunteer units." A children's military parade in Russia. Photo: The Insider Details: Russian media outlets report that groups of first-grade pupils represented motorised infantry, tank crews, missile troops, artillerymen, engineers, signal corps, border guards, sailors, paratroopers and foot soldiers. A children's military parade in Russia. Photo: The Insider Units of radiation, chemical and biological defence troops, air and missile defence forces, Aerospace Forces and the medical service were also represented. A children's military parade in Russia. Photo: The Insider The parade was commanded by Russian servicemen and former combatants. The audience included children from North Korea. A children's military parade in Russia. Photo: The Insider The governor said the event was "grand", that he was "proud" of the children, and that he was grateful to their parents and teachers. He justified the presence of North Korean schoolchildren by claiming that troops from North Korea had "helped Russians" in their war of aggression against Ukraine. Quote: "Units of the Korean People's Army actively participated in the defeat of Ukrainian militants (as Russians refer to the Ukrainian armed forces, which are defending their country from Russia's invasion – ed.) in Kursk Oblast. They demonstrated courage and bravery… We will always be grateful to the Korean fighters." Background: Russia has waged an unprovoked war against Ukraine since 2014. Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has rewritten history textbooks and intensified efforts to involve schoolchildren and preschoolers in various "patriotic" activities. These include war-themed lessons in schools, promoting an alternative version of history, and organising so-called "military-patriotic camps" where children are taught to shoot and throw grenades. Participants in the war against Ukraine, many of whom were previously convicted of murder, are invited into classrooms to give lectures. Children are also told about the supposed benefits of sanctions imposed on Russia. In occupied territories, Ukrainian children are being forced to learn Russian language and literature, while older students are subjected to propaganda aimed at pushing them to join the Russian military. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
