Victory Day celebrations hide hidden tensions in Putin’s Russia

(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a brief Victory Day parade this Thursday, showing his country’s unity and determination to continue the war against Ukraine. However, the martial ceremonies also masked latent tensions within the Kremlin and Russian society.

At first glance, this year’s parade in Red Square was the usual well-choreographed display of military power: more than 9,000 military personnel took part, a thousand of whom were currently serving in what Russia still calls “special military Campaign” calls for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The mechanized column was led by a World War II-era T-34 tank, symbolizing the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

May 9 is more than a day to commemorate the more than 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians who died during World War II.

Under Putin, the Russian state has made the collective memory of the war something like a secular religion. It is a day of great solemnity: in recent years, Russians have taken part in “Immortal Regiment” marches carrying photographs of relatives who served in the war. Putin, who has prioritized “patriotic education”, traditionally places flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

However, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the massive military parade has been scaled down somewhat. Last year, the usual flyover of military aircraft over Red Square was cancelled, and this year’s parade included only one tank, the T-34, a museum piece. It appears that the priorities of the first line take precedence over function.

And as in previous years, Putin on Thursday presented the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the Russian Great Patriotic War, falsely claiming that Russia is fighting “neo-Nazism” in Ukraine. And although the war in Ukraine appears to be going better for Russia than it did a year ago, Putin has been calling on Russians to make more sacrifices in times of war.

“Russia is now going through a difficult, transitional period,” he said in a speech before the parade.

“The fate of the country, its future, depends on each of us… We celebrate Victory Day in the context of the special military operation. All its participants – those at the forefront of the contact fighters – are our heroes. We We salute your determination and selflessness. The whole of Russia is with you.”

However, this year’s Victory Day also comes against the backdrop of a bribery scandal that has rocked the Russian Defense Ministry.

Last month, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was embroiled in a corruption investigation, detained on suspicion of taking bribes of “particularly large size”. The scandal was further escalated by the arrest of two Russian businessmen suspected of involvement in bribery.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Ivanov has denied involvement in bribery and is willing to give detailed testimony to prove his innocence. And Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was Ivanov’s boss before he was removed from the ministerial post, played his usual role at this year’s Victory Day parade, reviewing troops and briefing Putin before the president’s speech.

Kremlinologists can draw some conclusions from Shoigu’s performance on May 9. But his protégé’s detention sparked speculation of infighting in the highest echelons of power and an uncomfortable revelation about what observers consider a culture of rampant corruption within the Russian military.

As head of construction at Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ivanov was responsible for overseeing projects such as the reconstruction of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was destroyed by Russian forces in 2022.

The reconstruction of apartment blocks in Mariupol has been a part of Russian government propaganda: Putin visited the occupied city last spring as part of a public relations campaign.

However, a visual investigation conducted by financial Times It was revealed that shoddy work had been done in Mariupol, leading to speculation that reconstruction funds had been misused by Russian companies receiving government construction contracts.

Ivanov has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union (EU) for his role in the war against Ukraine. But his former partner’s lavish lifestyle – who has a luxurious Parisian address and enjoys the ski slopes of Courchevel – was widely investigated by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF), which is run by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. There was an established investigation team, who had died. Earlier this year in a Russian prison north of the Arctic Circle.

Russia’s political opposition – which has been largely marginalized or driven into exile under Putin’s rule – has been shocked by Navalny’s death.

However, Navalny’s research foundation has grown as he continues to expose corruption in Putin’s Russia.

In recent weeks, ACF senior researcher Maria Pevchikh has dominated the online Russia conversation with the launch of a documentary series called “The Traitors,” which chronicles Putin’s regime against the backdrop of the political and economic battles in Russia in the 1990s. Traces the origin. Corruption is the original sin of today’s Russia.

But this is not the message Putin presents on Victory Day.

Despite heavy losses of men and equipment on the Ukrainian battlefield, defense spending has boosted the Russian economy. Putin’s technocrats have efficiently managed the economy amid international sanctions, returning the country to GDP growth.

However, the Russian economy remains famously inefficient and corrupt. Prestigious projects like the 2014 Sochi Olympics have long been dogged by allegations of corruption and favoritism, especially in the awarding of contracts. And the living standards of ordinary Russians are a secondary consideration in Putin’s war economy.

From this perspective, this year’s Victory Day in Moscow was a feel-good exercise, presenting contemporary Russia as the antithesis of the 1990s: proud, militarily strong, constantly on the move. And after spending a quarter-century in power, Putin presided over the whole affair with the same rhetoric of patriotism, sacrifice and love for the motherland.

Continuity has its own quality in Russia.