At Russia’s Victory Day parade, a show of military might amid tensions with the West

MOSCOW — More than 12,000 troops and 190 pieces of hardware moved across Red Square on Sunday in Moscow’s Victory Day parade, an annual display of Russian military might. Under cloudy skies, the aerial show featured 76 fighter jets and helicopters — one for every year since the Soviet Union and the Allies defeated Nazi Germany in World War II.

President Vladimir Putin, seated beside Soviet war veterans for the festivities, used his address to denounce “Russophobia” and to warn that Russia “will firmly defend our national interests to ensure the safety of our people.” The message appeared intended for the West amid worsening relations. He did not mention any of the Soviet Union’s wartime allies.

Moscow is drawing international criticism for its military buildup around the Ukrainian border and its treatment of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Russia and some European Union countries have also been embroiled in tit-for-tat expulsions of each other’s diplomats. While the Kremlin typically invites world leaders to attend its Victory Day parade, a telling sign of Moscow’s increasing isolation is that just one was in attendance this year — the president of Tajikistan.

“Unfortunately, there are once again attempts to deploy many things from the ideology of the Nazis, those who were obsessed with a delusional theory on their exclusiveness,” Putin said. “And not only by all sorts of radicals and international terrorist groups.”

A year ago, with Russia under strict coronavirus restrictions, the country opted for a slimmed-down version of the parade and encouraged people to stay home. But this year, even with infections rising — Moscow has reported more than 2,700 new cases three days in a row — people lined the parade route downtown to catch sight of the green tanks rolling by. A recent survey by state-run pollster VTsIOM showed that 69 percent of Russians view Victory Day as the most important holiday on the calendar.