Rarely has the “Victory Day” celebrated in Russia been as much a focus as it is now during the Ukraine war. But why is it only celebrated on May 9th?
On Monday, Russia celebrates its most important holiday, Victory Day, traditionally with a large military parade on May 9th. The German Wehrmacht had previously declared unconditional surrender.
The first document was signed on May 7th at the Allied Forces Headquarters in Reims. The capitulation and thus the end of hostilities were to come into force on May 8 at 11:01 p.m. Central European Time. In Moscow, further east, May 9 had already dawned due to the time difference.
Stalin also insisted on ratifying the document, which was signed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, Wilhelm Keitel, shortly after midnight at the Red Army headquarters in Berlin Karlshorst. Therefore, in Moscow, this date is celebrated as Victory Day.
World War II has a different name in Russia
The victory celebrations on May 9th do not take into account the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan at the urging of the USA in August 1945. The war in Asia ended on September 2nd with Japan’s surrender.
Russians generally do not mark the end of World War II, but the end of the Great Patriotic War. In Moscow, this refers to the phase of the war after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. The events of the two years before – the German invasion of Poland and the division of Eastern Europe according to the Hitler-Stalin Pact – are largely ignored. The Great Patriotic War is the name of the war in contrast to the Patriotic War of 1812, when Russia expelled Napoleon’s troops from its territory.
Military parades on Red Square have a long tradition. However, in Soviet times they were mainly held on May 1 (until 1968) and November 7, the day of the October Revolution. Only on major anniversaries of the end of the World War, in 1965, 1985 and 1990, were there also parades on May 9th. The annual military parades on this date have only existed since 1995.
Source: Stern
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