LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Today, Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Yet another war, the war in Ukraine, served as a backdrop to the event. Joining us to talk about it is NPR's Charles Maynes. He was on Red Square this morning, and he joins me now. Good morning.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning.
FADEL: So, Charles, let's start with the parade. What caught your eye this year?
MAYNES: Well, you know, if last year was a fairly stripped-down affair - for example, there was just one tank - today was just bigger in every way - not just the hardware, but also the guest list. That included China's Xi Jinping, was billed as the guest of honor. And really, the whole thing was designed to showcase Russia's military might. You know, of course, there were plenty of tanks. You can hear them rumbling a bit here.
(SOUNDBITE OF TANKS RUNNING)
MAYNES: But it was also hard not to notice these massive nuclear missile launchers, which the Kremlin has used not as not-so-subtle pushback against Western military support to Ukraine or trucks loaded with aerial drones. These are weapons that have come to define the war in Ukraine for both sides and were making their debut in the parade. But, of course, there was also the more familiar Soviet-style aspects to the event - the marching band, the goose-stepping soldiers, more than 11,000 of them, including 100 Chinese soldiers, marching along the Russians. Quite a sight. As well as a speech by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who, after all, has presided over this ceremony for the better part of a quarter century.
FADEL: What did Putin say?
MAYNES: You know, it might be odd to say, this was surprising, but Putin really focused his remarks on history and the idea of preserving the memory of the more than 20 million Soviets who gave their lives in the war.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says, "the Soviets bequeathed us to defend the motherland, to stay united and firmly defend Russia's national interests - its thousand-year history of culture and traditional values - everything that's dear to us, everything that's sacred." Now, he did pay tribute to China's role against Imperial Japan, perhaps a sign of Beijing's importance to Moscow these days, and, of course, Xi's presence. He also said Russia was grateful for the contributions of Western allies towards that - the victory in World War II. You know, what he didn't do was condemn the West or draw these false parallels between World War II and Russia's current war in Ukraine as one continuous battle against fascism, you know, something he's done repeatedly since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
FADEL: That's really interesting. What explains the softer tone?
MAYNES: Well, you know, we can only guess it might reflect these ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration that are towards not only ending the war but resuscitating U.S.-Russian relations. It's also, perhaps because the visuals, you know, the military hardware, the presence of soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine in the stands and marching on the square, you know, that all supplied the narrative on its own. You know, it's not hard to make the connection that they had victory then, and they want victory now.
FADEL: As we've already mentioned, it was also well-attended by foreign dignitaries, including China.
MAYNES: Yeah. You know, the presence of dignitaries, nearly 30 foreign leaders, according - including, of course, Xi Jinping - that further amped the stakes for Russia as hosts. You know, making them comfortable meant making the rest of the city miserable. Traffic's been terrible because the police set up roadblocks. But, again, this was all in the service of today's event, which I must say, went off without a hitch, or it seemed to me.
FADEL: That's NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thank you, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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