“Smell of gunpowder”: where and how in today’s world Victory Day was celebrated

78 years ago, the victory over fascism, obtained at the cost of the lives of our grandfathers, rallied the whole world around the winners. But today, almost eight decades later, the geopolitical tensions in the world are so high that some countries no longer consider getting rid of the Nazis a holiday.

We asked where this year May 9 was celebrated, except for the Russian Federation, and how exactly?

Until 2020, when Ukraine refused to officially celebrate Victory Day, May 9 was understood precisely as a holiday of the victory of Soviet troops and allied states over Nazi Germany, and was celebrated in all countries of the post-Soviet space, in the ex-social camp of Europe, as well as in part cities in the United Kingdom, the United States, in the Canadian province of Alberta and in the Australian state of Victoria. To date, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Canada and Australia have refused to celebrate May 9 – however, with varying degrees of straightforwardness. The authorities of Latvia, for example, went to the official ban on any festive events on May 9, equating them with “the glorification of totalitarian and occupation regimes.” In Estonia, not only celebrations are officially prohibited on this day, but even “a public demonstration of anything related to the USSR and the Second World War.”

Lithuania did not go into details and simply ignored the Victory Day, ordering the nation to perceive May 9 as the most ordinary everyday day. In Moldova, May 9 remained a national holiday, but a fine was imposed for demonstrating the St. George ribbon. Uzbekistan renamed the Victory Day into the “Day of Remembrance and Honor” and abandoned military parades, Armenia “got out of the situation” in much the same way, establishing its own holiday on May 9 – the Day of Victory and Peace. In Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, where May 9 remains an official holiday, not only are there no parades and demonstrations, but local authorities even appealed to the population with a request “not to turn it into a political action.”

“Apparently, we should quietly commemorate our loved ones at home, who gave their lives for us,” an indignant Dushanbe resident, still remembering the scale of the Soviet celebration of Victory Day. – But we, of course, still went to the military obelisks, laid flowers, bowed to the Eternal Flame. There were many of us in Victory Park, with photographs of fallen relatives and friends. The only pity is that mostly those who are over 50. There are very few young people. We did not instill in her respect for this day, this is our omission.

But the surprises are all the more pleasant: for example, in Turkmenistan, where May 9 is neither a state holiday nor a day off since 2017, people in the cities themselves took to the streets to pay tribute to the memory of the fallen, and also went with congratulations and gifts to the homes of veterans.

“We still have war veterans alive,” says a resident of Turkmenabat. – Of course, we go to bow to them, bring refreshments, sit with everyone, cry. Forbidden, not forbidden, but this is purely human. We also go to the families of the dead soldiers. We are all neighbors. 10 houses on the right, 10 on the left, everyone knows who fought for the life of us, our children and grandchildren. We know which of these families needs what, so we go and carry it, this is a must. People with flowers also go to the monument in the city, I have not heard that someone was stopped, it’s not human.

The celebration of Victory Day in Vietnamese Hanoi was held on a grand scale, which, apparently, is the merit of the local Russian-speaking diaspora – both the official (embassy and other organizations) and relocators. Official Russian representatives organized an exhibition dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, a concert and a film screening for local residents, together with the Vietnamese laid wreaths to the Vietnamese soldiers who fell in World War II, and then poured “front-line 100 grams” in the Russian House. And the Russian relocators in the resort of Nha Trang in honor of the Victory organized an amateur concert on their own and with the help of their children. On a large scale, without fear of sidelong glances from across the ocean, Victory Day was celebrated in Israeli Tel Aviv and Malta. Although not officially, but openly and sincerely celebrated May 9, the Russian-speaking diasporas in the American Miami, in Indian Goa, in China and in Germany itself (officially there celebrated the Day of Liberation from the National Socialist Dictatorship on May 8).

– Do not think that we, like Stirlitz, locked ourselves at home and baked potatoes in a stove, – a compatriot living in Berlin reacts to the question of whether it is necessary to hide the festive mood from the locals. We openly celebrate. Flowers were laid, the table was set. And the locals are with us, among my friends there are mostly mixed Russian-German families.

The mayor of Turkish Mahmutlar publicly congratulated all Russian relocators on Victory Day, after which, during an online discussion, one of the Turks questioned the “humanity” of this holiday, voicing the view of “the entire progressive world” on this. One of the Russian-speaking relocants immediately answered him: “Denmark fought the Nazis for 6 hours, Holland for 5 days, France for 1 month (the list can be supplemented), and Pavlov’s House in Stalingrad held out for 58 days. Therefore, we do not care about “the entire progressive world”, June 22 is forever a day of sorrow, and May 9 is the Day of the Great Victory. The impressed Turk immediately not only capitulated, but also thanked the Russian woman for the lesson: “You defended your holiday with honor in my eyes, now I understand why not only men, but also women brought victory closer to the Russians with their courage. Low bow to your veterans and you for not forgetting their feat!

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