Putin hails Nazi defeat in Red Square parade

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the defeat of Nazi Germany at the traditional massive Red Square military parade in Moscow, which was delayed by more than a month because of the invisible enemy of coronavirus.

The parade is usually held on May 9 on Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, but was postponed until Wednesday due to the pandemic. But the timing allowed Russia to mark another significant war-era event — the 75th anniversary of the Red Square parade by troops returning home after the Nazis’ defeat.

“We will always remember that Nazism was crushed by the Soviet people – by millions of people of different ethnicity from all republics of the Soviet Union. At the front and in the rear, in partisan groups and underground resistance, they fought and worked relying on their courage and unity. Having defended their homeland, they continued to fight. They liberated European countries from the invaders, put an end to the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust, and saved the people of Germany from Nazism with its deadly ideology,” Putin said.

“It is impossible to imagine what would have happened to the world if the Red Army did not stand up to its defense,” he added.

Some 14,000 soldiers took part in the parade, including units from several former Soviet republics and from Mongolia and Serbia.

More than 230 military vehicles drove across the vast square in the Russian capital, ranging from renowned WWII- era T- 34 tanks to hulking Topol intercontinental ballistic missile-launchers. A flyover of helicopters, bombers and fighter planes completed the show of military might.

An estimated 27 million Soviets died in the war, either on the battlefield or as civilian casualties. Their valor and suffering has become key to Russia’s national identity.

“It was our people who were able to overcome a terrible, total evil,” Putin said. “This is the main, honest, in-no-way-unclear truth about the war. We must protect and defend it, pass it on to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

Putin and other Russian officials have frequently expressed umbrage at what they see as attempts by other countries to “rewrite history” by downplaying the Soviets’ role in World War II.

The appeal to Russian patriotism comes at an important time for Putin, with early voting beginning Thursday in a referendum on constitutional amendments that would allow him to run for another two terms as president, possibly in office until 2036.