Putin presides over Red Square parade
Russian President Vladimir Putin today presided over the annual Red Square parade celebrating the Second World War victory over the Nazis.
He paid homage to the elderly veterans who fought the battles that turned the tide for the anti-Hitler forces, but not once mentioned the Soviet Union’s allies.
Putin’s brief speech from a podium in front of Lenin’s Mausoleum reflected the current, uneasy period of discord with its one-time allies in the West, and was particularly striking in contrast with last year’s massive Moscow celebration including some 40 world leaders.
Putin called the holiday, Victory Day, “a day of great triumph of our people”.
He said the war effort represented the people’s unity. “And history before had never seen such unity, such sacred brotherhood, such powerful faith in victory,” Putin said.
He called for international solidarity in the face of current threats, saying “peace, freedom and good-neighbourliness between peoples are the bulwark of a just, democratic world order and global security”.
