May 12, 2024

Snowing on Your Parade


Snowing on Your Parade
Delightful May weather in Moscow. Office of the President of Russia

Each year on May 9, Russia's leaders gather on Red Square for the country's main patriotic holiday: Victory Day, marking the defeat of the Axis in World War II. It's a dazzling sight: thousands of uniformed men and women, blaring marches, tanks, aircraft, and a speech from Putin.

Usually.

This year, however, was a bit... wonky. Here's what we noticed this time around. Check out a video of the entire event here.

Notably present:
  • Snow. Moscow saw an especially cold winter this past year, but one would think May would be a safe time (corroborated by hedgehog predictors). Not so: soldiers trooped through flurries, and Putin and other spectators wore heavy coats and hats.
  • An eclectic group. Victory Day's diplomatic guests often include foreign dignitaries from Russian allies, like Belarus and Central Asian countries. This year included the old standards, like our buddy Alexandr Lukashenko, and also the presidents of Cuba and Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau was not independent in the 1940s, although Cuba fought on the side of the Allies.
  • A garrulous veteran. Watch the stream to see Putin patiently indulge a talkative old man sitting next to him as he watches the parade, somewhat annoyed. Somehow it's strangely relatable to hearing out elderly relatives.
Notably absent:
  • A shoe. One unlucky soldier's shoe was left on the pavement, drawing social media ridicule. This is not the first time this has happened, but perhaps the first for Moscow.
  • Putin's voice. Putin's speech was, to be frank, a bit of a letdown. Lurching, abrupt, with a handful of fumbles (his voice catching, pages sticking, sudden moment of silence). The content was nothing special, either: the typical "fight against fascism" trope that's trotted out every year.
  • Badass military hardware. The highlight of the parade for our inner 13-year-old is the horde of tanks, trucks, and APCs that crawl across Red Square, followed by flybys of the latest in Russian military planes. This year, though, only one tank was present (an iconic WW2-era T-34), followed by missile trucks and light infantry transports. Two plane formations flew overhead, getting some (admittedly really cool) overhead shots of Red Square.  These were Su-25 ground attack aircraft (with smoke to appear like the Russian flag) and a small formation of Mig-29s and Su-30s. A far cry from just a couple years ago, when bombers thundered over the square in mid-air refueling and Red Square saw BMPT "Terminators" and the latest T-14 heavy tanks.

So what are we to make of it? Wartime shoestrings (thanks to the ongoing war in Ukraine)? Or just a couple blips? Hard to say. Maybe we'll have more to see next year, with the 80th anniversary of V-Day coming in 2025.

You Might Also Like

Victory Day and cheeky chess pieces
  • May 11, 2017

Victory Day and cheeky chess pieces

Victory Day meant full streets but empty skies. A hollow chess piece hides more than its next move. And a day in the life of an Arctic doctor. 
Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall
  • June 22, 2020

Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall

June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself.
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.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Frogs Who Begged...
November 01, 2010

Frogs Who Begged...

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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