{"id":5537,"date":"2026-05-08T01:03:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=5537"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:36:07","slug":"may-9th-how-the-anniversary-of-nazi-germanys-surrender-became-the-chief-national-holiday-in-modern-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/may-9th-how-the-anniversary-of-nazi-germanys-surrender-became-the-chief-national-holiday-in-modern-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"May 9th: How the anniversary of Nazi Germany\u2019s surrender became the chief national holiday in modern Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day isn\u2019t just a celebration of military triumph \u2013 it is a celebration of victory over death<\/strong><\/p>\n

WWII Victory Day, celebrated in Russia on May 9,\u00a0has become a special holiday. The war was both the greatest trial and the greatest triumph in Russia\u2019s modern history. However, the celebrations acquired their current shape and form not so long ago, and some important traditions were established quite recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How it all started\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Third Reich was signed by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel on May 8, 1945, at 22:43 Central European Time. In Moscow, it was already the early hours of May 9th. That very morning, Russians found out that the war, which had claimed 27 million Soviet lives, was finally over and the enemy had surrendered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
A war that shouldn\u2019t have happened: How the USSR made its worst-ever mistake<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The first celebration of victory in WWII \u2013 or the Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia \u2013 took place that very day. Army reports instantly dropped their official tone and described how the residents of Prague pulled the troops off their armored vehicles to dance and drink together. In the provinces, people ran out on the streets and congratulated each other. Indeed, some fanatical Nazis continued to put up resistance, Europe was full of mines, and reports stated that there were many losses throughout the month of May. But the big war was over, and to the sound of fireworks, people returned home.<\/p>\n

No one doubted that victory in WWII was an incredibly important event. However, people were grieving the deaths of their relatives and friends, and their pain was great. May 9 was immediately designated a national holiday. However, lavish celebrations seemed out of place as the country was in ruins, and mentally and physically crippled soldiers, concentration camp prisoners, \u2018ostarbeiters\u2019\u00a0and refugees returned home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Western Ukraine and the Baltic States, battles against nationalist partisans continued. In those years, the Victory Day Parade was held only once, in the summer of 1945. During this grand spectacle, Wehrmacht and SS banners seized in Germany were thrown in front of the Kremlin. But in the following years, the celebrations became more modest. Every year on May 9th there was a fireworks display, but otherwise,\u00a0from 1947 it was a regular workday (even though a festive one), and veterans usually celebrated it with friends.<\/p>\n

\n
\n FILE PHOTO. A front’s regiment color-bearers, V-Day parade in Red Square, June 24, 1945.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Sputnik\/Loskutov <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Things changed in 1965. By that time, 20 years had passed since the end of the war. New Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, himself a WWII veteran, decided to once again\u00a0make May 9 a day off. From then on, military parades were held on Victory Day jubilees, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial was opened by the Kremlin wall, and the tradition of laying wreaths at the memorials was established. In short, the holiday acquired a grand scale and became quite solemn after the nation\u2019s pain had somewhat subsided.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The country is gone, but the memory remains\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The annual large-scale celebration of Victory Day, with parades held across the country and\u00a0a military parade on Moscow\u2019s Red Square, is a fairly new tradition. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an obvious question arose \u2013 what should be done with the country\u2019s communist legacy and symbology? For example, the Day of the 1917 Revolution was observed on November 7. It was replaced by another holiday, associated with Russian national heroes Minin and Pozharsky, who lived in the 17th century.\u00a0 But no one ever considered revising\u00a0May 9th as Victory Day.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"\u201cA
The Righteous: Smash hit movie tells the story of a Russian who saved hundreds of Jews from Nazi Germany’s holocaust<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, the authorities wanted to separate the holiday from socialist ideology. In the Soviet Union, ideology and victory were inseparable. But in the 90s, a new era had dawned. The USSR had collapsed. Moreover, many war heroes fell prey to new conflicts. For example, Vladimir Bochkovsky, a hero of the battles in Ukraine and Germany, became a citizen of the unrecognized Republic of Transnistria, which started a bloody uprising against the former Soviet Republic of Moldova. Meliton Kantaria \u2013 the standard-bearer who had hoisted the Soviet flag over the Reichstag \u2013 was forced to flee from Abkhazia when an ethnic conflict broke out between the Abkhazians and Georgians, even though by that time, he was a very old man. At that time, a question arose \u2013 what does Victory Day mean for the new republics?<\/p>\n

Opinions differed. In the Baltic states, national elites believed that in the 40s their countries\u00a0had been\u00a0held hostage by\u00a0two totalitarian regimes. Moreover, unofficially, the Nazis were preferred over the communists \u2013 for example, in Latvia, the memorial day of the Latvian SS Legion was officially celebrated for some time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In many other former USSR republics, Victory Day is celebrated in one way or another.<\/p>\n

In Russia, Victory Day has remained one of the most important national holidays, and a key moment in Russian history. However, the holiday has lost some of its political meaning. For example, Lenin\u2019s Mausoleum is draped on May 9 in order to avoid ideological ties, and a new symbol has been added to the celebrations \u2013 the black and orange St. George ribbon, which resembles both the ribbon of the Order of St. George (the highest military decoration in Imperial Russia) and the ribbon of the Order of Glory \u2013 a WWII soldier\u2019s award.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russian communists and leftists didn\u2019t like the fact that the Soviet symbols were replaced. However, for the majority of Russian people, other aspects turned out to be more important. WWII impacted almost every family in Russia, and most people consider the Soviet\u00a0era\u00a0as simply one period in the country\u2019s history. Therefore, national motives are considered more important than Soviet symbology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n Russian servicemen take part in a rehearsal for a military parade marking the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 Sputnik\/Alexander Vilf <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, an even more pressing question was how Victory Day would look and what it would mean following the death of most war veterans. WWII was mainly won by people who were born in the 1900s-1920s. The last generation which really participated in the war was born in 1926. By 2010, these veterans were already 85 years old.\u00a0 And today, most Russians do not personally know anyone who fought in WWII.<\/p>\n

The answer to the question \u201cWhat to do next?\u201d<\/em> was eventually found \u2013 and it was offered not by the state, but by the people themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An old holiday celebrated in a new way\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In 2012, three journalists from the provincial city of Tomsk organized a street march. The descendants of veterans marched through the city, bearing photos of their deceased relatives who had fought in WWII. This\u00a0event was dubbed the\u00a0\u2018Immortal Regiment\u2019.<\/em>\u00a0That year, 6,000 people participated in the march on May 9. And while for these people, the war was no longer a part of their own lives, it remained a part of family history. After all, nearly everyone had a grandfather or grandmother who fought, and if the word \u201cgreat-grandfather\u201d<\/em> sounded abstract to many, \u201cmy grandmother\u2019s father\u201d<\/em> felt much more personal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea of marching with the photographs of their heroic ancestors appealed to people all over Russia, and the very next year, Immortal Regiment events were held in almost all the major cities of Russia. The march instantly became a Victory Day tradition and the event gained official status. An online offshoot of the Immortal Regiment also appeared \u2013 a platform<\/a>\u00a0where anyone\u00a0can\u00a0publish information about their ancestors who fought in WWII. The number of such records on the website is approaching one million. Thus, May 9th acquired a new meaning \u2013 it became not only a veterans\u2019 holiday or a celebration of military triumph, but also a memorial march which allowed people to honor their personal family history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n FILE PHOTO. People carry portraits of World War II soldiers as they take part in the Immortal Regiment march during the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, 2015.<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9\u00a0 HOST PHOTO AGENCY RIA NOVOSTI\/AFP <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each country has its own memorable dates. For example, July 4th brings Americans together, but for the rest of the world, it is just like any other day. For China, October 1st \u2013 the Day of the Formation of the People\u2019s Republic of China \u2013 is one of the main dates in its history.<\/p>\n

For Russia, May 9th is a date that is permanently ingrained in the country\u2019s history and culture. During WWII, the people of our country, along with those of other USSR republics, survived a meat grinder that lasted four years. They did not allow themselves to be broken, but defeated the enemy \u2013 and then proceeded to rebuild their country from the ruins. Russia lost a lot of people in WWII, and victory came at an unthinkable price. But it was unconditional.<\/p>\n

That is why for Russians, May 9th isn\u2019t just a celebration of military triumph \u2013 it is a celebration of victory over death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day isn\u2019t just a celebration of military triumph \u2013 it is a celebration of victory over death WWII Victory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5544,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537\/revisions\/5544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}