Putin Leverages Victory Day to Justify Ukraine War/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Vladimir Putin has made Russia’s World War II victory over Nazi Germany central to national identity and his political power. He uses Victory Day celebrations to fuel patriotic sentiment and justify the invasion of Ukraine by drawing false parallels with the Soviet fight against Nazism. Despite war-related tensions, the Kremlin is using the 80th anniversary to promote unity and military might.
Putin’s Victory Day Strategy Quick Looks
- Core National Identity: Victory Day marks Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany and is Russia’s most celebrated secular holiday.
- Massive Sacrifice: The USSR lost 27 million people in WWII, shaping national consciousness.
- Putin’s Personal Tie: Putin often recounts his family’s wartime tragedies to personalize and politicize the conflict.
- Narrative Tool: The Kremlin uses WWII nostalgia to justify its actions in Ukraine.
- “Denazification” Claim: Putin falsely claims Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis as part of his war rationale.
- Global Messaging: Putin invited President Xi and others to Victory Day celebrations to signal Russia’s global alliances.
- Public Parades: Military shows and Immortal Regiment marches reinforce patriotic fervor.
- Critics’ View: Analysts say the Kremlin distorts WWII history to fuel anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
- Parallels Drawn: Soviet victory is likened to Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine.
- Strategic Timing: Victory Day is used to distract from battlefield losses and wartime dissent.
Deep Look: Putin Turns WWII Victory Into a Rallying Cry for His War and Leadership
Eighty years after the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, Victory Day remains the most potent and politicized holiday in modern Russia. What was once a solemn commemoration of wartime sacrifice has evolved into a central component of President Vladimir Putin’s political ideology—and a primary tool in justifying Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin, who has ruled Russia for a quarter of that postwar period, has skillfully wrapped his own leadership and military ambitions in the historical symbolism of World War II. This year’s celebration, coming amid drone attacks in Moscow and ongoing battlefield losses, shows how the Kremlin is leaning even harder into the war’s legacy to promote unity at home and resilience abroad.
The Great Patriotic War as National Bedrock
The Soviet Union lost over 27 million lives during World War II, a sacrifice that left an indelible mark on its people. Known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, the conflict is widely seen as the USSR’s greatest moment of unity, strength, and global leadership.
For Putin, the legacy of World War II provides a rallying point for national pride, and a mythic narrative of Russian endurance in the face of outside threats. He routinely cites Soviet resilience to argue that modern Russia can survive—and prevail—against what he portrays as a hostile West.
In a 2020 essay, Putin underscored this view:
“The Soviet Union and the Red Army made the main and crucial contribution to the defeat of Nazism—no matter what anyone is trying to prove today.”
A Family’s Story, A Nation’s Myth
Putin often shares emotional stories from his family’s wartime experience, including the death of his infant brother during the Siege of Leningrad and his father’s survival behind enemy lines.
These personal anecdotes are intended to make Putin’s leadership feel more authentic and rooted in national suffering, reinforcing his image as a patriotic defender of Russian heritage. In one account, Putin’s wounded father returned home on crutches to stop morgue workers from burying his unconscious mother.
Such intimate stories are powerful tools in shaping the public perception of Putin as the custodian of a proud and painful national memory.
Victory Day as State Propaganda
Over time, Putin has turned May 9 into a spectacle of state power—a festival of tanks, missiles, and jet flyovers through Red Square. It is less about honoring the dead and more about showcasing military strength and validating Russia’s current geopolitical stance.
- Military Parades: Thousands of troops and heavy equipment are displayed nationwide.
- Immortal Regiment Marches: Citizens carry portraits of relatives who fought in WWII.
- Patriotic Messaging: State-run media links wartime victory with current national struggles.
Putin has used this year’s Victory Day to signal global alliances, inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow as his “main guest,” hoping to counteract diplomatic isolation caused by the Ukraine war.
Justifying War Through a WWII Lens
Perhaps most controversial is how Putin has exploited the WWII legacy to justify his 2022 invasion of Ukraine. By labeling the attack as a mission to “denazify” Ukraine, he invoked the ghost of Hitler to vilify a democratic neighbor led by a Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Kremlin has repeatedly invoked Ukraine’s controversial nationalist figures from WWII, like Stepan Bandera, to bolster claims that the Ukrainian government harbors neo-Nazi ideologies—a charge that Western governments, historians, and Ukraine itself vehemently reject.
According to political analyst Nikolai Petrov,
“The Kremlin has used the victory over Nazi Germany as a foundation for building anti-Ukrainian narratives. In Putin’s mind, defeating Kyiv is a modern-day continuation of that historic struggle.”
The War Narrative in Flux
This year’s Victory Day comes amid heightened domestic pressure and a war effort that is far from triumphant. Reports of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian cities, disrupted transportation, and economic fatigue have created cracks in the image of stability.
Still, Putin appears determined to hold onto the moral authority of WWII, even as modern Russia drifts further from the values of peace, diplomacy, and global cooperation that once defined the postwar era.
A Legacy Rewritten
For many Russians, Victory Day still represents a proud memory of resistance and sacrifice. But for the Kremlin, it has become a powerful propaganda tool, used to stir nationalism, suppress dissent, and justify military aggression.
By anchoring his policies in wartime myth, Putin has blurred the line between historic honor and modern conflict, making it harder for many inside and outside Russia to separate the past from the present.
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