Pobedobesie

Pobedobesie (Russian: победобесие, lit. 'victory frenzy, victory mania or obsession with victory') is a pejorative term used to describe the allegedly hyperbolic celebrations of Victory Day in Russia.[1][2] This has been dubbed the Victory Cult.[3]

2021 Moscow Victory Day Parade. Military parades and Soviet military symbolism play an important role in the 9 May celebrations across Russia.

The term has been further extended to refer to the weaponization of the legacy of the Second World War to justify Russia's aggressive policies and an increase of militarism, using the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes.[3]

Background
Main article: Victory Day (Russia)

The main state holiday of the Soviet Union was 7 November, the day of the October Revolution, with 9 May not being a holiday between 1948 and 1965. With the Brezhnev era, Victory Day became an important holiday. According to political scientist Maria Snegovaya, this was done partially to help legitimize the ailing Soviet system. Over time the Soviet victory in World War II would come to replace the October Revolution as the "story at the heart" of the Soviet Union, remaining the unifying story also in chaotic post-Soviet Russia.[4]

Propaganda and Putin
Further information: Putinism
Immortal Regiment in Moscow, 2019

Victory Day has become an even more central holiday under Russian president Vladimir Putin, who according to critics has nurtured a "'cult' of the Great Patriotic War".[1] Russia under Putin has also used the language of Russian victory over Nazi Germany to justify aggression towards Ukraine.[1][3] The Great Patriotic War has, according to Shaun Walker of the Guardian, gradually become the "centrepiece of Vladimir Putin's concept of Russian identity over his two decades in charge".[3] Russian propaganda expert and historian Ian Garner, states that Putin has reconstructed the Soviet "cult of the Great Patriotic War" in a "manner that has all the hallmarks of a religion", and that "the state's cult of the Second World War – has been incorporated into Orthodox Christianity, and vice versa".[5] Julia Davis, a Russian media monitor, describes pobedobesie as "an unhealthy obsession with military might and past victories".[6]

In a speech on Victory Day in 2000, shortly after becoming president, Putin addressed a group of veterans, stating: "Through you, we got used to being winners. This entered our blood. It was not just responsible for military victories, but will also help our generation in peaceful times, help us to build a strong and flourishing country."[3]

According to Euromaidan Press pobedobesie has become "one of the most important parts of the propaganda" in Putin's Russia.[7]

Noted elements identified with pobedobesie include Russian citizens "adding a papier maché turret to their child's pushchair to make it look like a tank, or daubing 'To Berlin' on their cars."[3] In recent years, slogans such as "We can do it again" have become popular.[3]

See also

References
  1. Marques, Clara Ferreira (10 May 2022). "Putin's Parades Can't Hide a Missing Victory". Washington Post. Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. Kireev, Maxim (6 July 2022). "Das erste Opfer der russischen WM-Euphorie". Spiegel. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. Walker, Shaun (6 May 2022). "How Victory Day became central to Putin's idea of Russian identity". Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. Snegovaya, Maria (11 May 2020). "A Backward Looking Nation". Center for European Policy Analysis. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  5. Garner, Ian (8 May 2022). "This year's Victory Day in Russia will be a confirmation, not a contradiction". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  6. Julia Davis on Twitter, published 6 May 2022.
  7. Hrytsenko, Hanna (5 May 2022). "Hunting fascism in Ukraine, you overlooked fascism in Russia". Euromaidan Press. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
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