At WWII Victory Day Parade, Medvedev Uses Putin Ploy To Imply Criticism of U.S.
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, May 10, 2008
MOSCOW, May 9 -- The Red Square parade, once a Soviet standard, enjoyed a revival Friday as phalanxes of military hardware, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, rumbled noisily over paving stones to deliver a message: The bear is back.
Moscow had not seen a show like this year's since 1990, when the Soviets last commemorated the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Within a year, the Soviet Union was no more.
In the mid-1990s, Russians began to celebrate victory in World War II with a parade on May 9. But the festivities were stripped of displays of weaponry until this year, the 63rd anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Eight thousand goose-stepping troops, glamorous in their newly designed uniforms, as well as tanks, armored vehicles and missiles crossed the square Friday. Strategic bombers and fighter planes roared above.
President Dmitry Medvedev, presiding over his first public ceremony, said Russia's military was "gaining in strength and power like all of Russia."
And drawing from the playbook of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, who stood beside him, Medvedev appeared to criticize the United States without actually mentioning it by name.
"We must not allow contempt for the norms of international law," Medvedev said, warning against "intentions to intrude in the affairs of other states, and especially redraw borders."
Russia has criticized Kosovo's recent declaration of independence from Serbia, which the United States supported.
"The history of world wars warns us that armed conflicts do not erupt on their own," Medvedev said. "They are fueled by those whose irresponsible ambitions overpower the interests of countries and whole continents, the interests of millions of people."
At last year's parade, Putin appeared to compare the United States to Nazi Germany. The Kremlin later denied that was his intention.
Putin, who is prime minister, and Medvedev watched the parade from a reviewing stand -- unlike Soviet leaders, who used to stand on top of the mausoleum containing the preserved body of Lenin, the first Soviet leader.
"This isn't saber rattling," Putin said earlier this week about the parade. "We're not threatening anyone, and we don't plan to do so. We're not imposing anything on anyone. We have enough of everything. This is a demonstration of our growing potential in the area of defense."
About 70 percent of Russians support the return of military hardware to Red Square, according to opinion polls here.
"The parade demonstrates that should anything happen, we will be able to beat any enemy," said Elena Volkova, 86, a retired teacher who celebrated Victory Day in a Moscow park. "Our military is respected again. And the West envies Russia and the Russian people because Putin was able to restore the country after such a deep collapse in the 1990s."
Under Putin, defense spending increased eightfold, to $40 billion annually. Russia has resumed long-range bomber patrols, which have buzzed U.S. ships in the Pacific and forced NATO jets to scramble in Western Europe. And it has threatened to target missiles at Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic in response to the expansion of NATO and U.S. plans to station a missile defense system in Central Europe.
Putin also restored the music from the Soviet anthem.
"Russia wants to create an impression of might, the revival of might, and the return of the Soviet-style parade is part of that," said Alexander Khramchikhin of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow.
But for all the martial tub-thumping, the Russian military cannot be compared to its Soviet predecessor. The military is accused of huge waste and corruption, which is blamed for preventing a large-scale modernization of its forces, from basic equipment to new weapons systems. And the army is regarded as such a bastion of brutality and hazing that most young Russian men try to avoid conscription.
A Pentagon spokesman earlier this week derisively dismissed the display of military power. "If they wish to take out their old equipment and take it for a spin and check it out, they're more than welcome to do so," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.
But many Russians, nostalgic for lost greatness and proud of Putin's efforts to restore it, dismiss such remarks as nothing more than foreign resentment. Russia, a major energy exporter, is flush with revenues from oil and gas sales, and the government has pledged to continue increasing spending on defense.
"The U.S. doesn't like it that Russia has become more powerful," said Zoya Khmyryova, 59, who was celebrating Victory Day on Friday. "The parade shows the might of our country."
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