April 21, 2024

No Victory for Russian Regions


No Victory for Russian Regions
A Victory Day parade in Moscow, in previous years. The Russian Life files.

The heads of multiple Russian regions and Russia-occupied Crimea have announced that they will not be hosting Victory Day military or Immortal Regiment parades, saying that the events are security risks.

Leaders of Bryansk, Ryazan, Pskov, and Saratov regions, as well as the Crimean territory Russia has been occupying since 2014, have all canceled this year's May 9 celebrations. In addition, Stavropol and Omsk regions will forgo fireworks this year.

Victory Day is Russia's major patriotic holiday, the equivalent of America's July 4. May 9 marks the victory over the Axis Powers in the Second World War and is honored with military parades and the Immortal Regiment, a memorial procession in which participants carry photos and relics of relatives who served in the war.

While Moscow is going ahead with its plans for its usual large parade, security concerns elsewhere likely stem from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

You Might Also Like

We'll Swim After Victory
  • October 15, 2022

We'll Swim After Victory

Our correspondent was offered a business trip to Odesa, Ukraine. He took it and brought this back.
Trekking In Partisan Footsteps
  • May 01, 2011

Trekking In Partisan Footsteps

Eastern Crimea was a center for partisan activity during the Great Patriotic War. In honor of the May Day holiday, we trek through this wild realm along the Black Sea.
A Wall of Resistance
  • February 27, 2023

A Wall of Resistance

A Russian shopkeeper's picture went viral after using the walls of his shop to express opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.
70 Years After Victory, the Battle for Stalingrad Rages On
  • May 08, 2015

70 Years After Victory, the Battle for Stalingrad Rages On

The Battle for Stalingrad turned the tide of WWII in the Allies’ favor. Marked by the loss of nearly 2 million lives, it is one of the most devastating battles of human history. Yet it also continues to be embroiled in controversy, given the complex relationship Russians have toward Josef Stalin. 
Putin's Victorious Summer
  • July 08, 2020

Putin's Victorious Summer

This year's Victory Day parade was a sight to behold⁠— and we might be seeing its effects for the next 16 years.
Searching for Nazis
  • June 05, 2022

Searching for Nazis

Putin says he invaded Ukraine to root out Nazis. Zelensky compares the defense of Ukraine to the heroism of the 1940s. Can both be right? No. No, they can't.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955