Russians embrace Kremlin-backed war ribbon
Use of the ribbon to mark Soviet victory dates back only around a decade
Millions of Russians will on May 9 don blackand-orange striped ribbons to mark Soviet victory in the Second World War, but critics accuse the Kremlin of using them to link wartime glory to current policies.
The ribbon is seen as Russia’s answer to the poppy widely worn in Britain to commemorate the sacrifice of service personnel in two world wars and other later conflicts.
With this year’s 70th anniversary commemorations attracting much patriotic fervour, the ribbon has become almost ubiquitous.
Three Russian cosmonauts at the International Space Station have already been seen sporting theirs, while officials such as Kremlin administration chief Sergei Ivanov have worn orange-and-black-striped ties.
The use of the ribbon to mark the Second World War victory, however, dates back only around a decade.
Russia’s confrontation with the West over Ukraine has breathed new life into the statesponsored ribbon campaign after a lull in recent years.
Dmitry Kiselyov, one of the country’s propaganda supremos who leads the campaign, claims the ribbon is a sign of support for pro-Russian militants fighting in eastern Ukraine, who have adopted it as their badge of honour.
Kiev supporters nickname them “Colorados”, referring to the Colorado beetle’s orange-and-black colouring.
“Do we feel solidarity with the people of Eastern Ukraine who today are forced to defend this ribbon ... with weapons in their hands?” Kiselyov, head of Rossiya Segodnya state news agency, said at the ribbon campaign’s launch. “Yes, we do.”
Responding to the ribbon’s controversial political symbolism, Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbours Belarus and Ukraine have each created alternatives.