This year celebrations of the Victory Day had particular political underpinning for the Russian authorities. After the Bronze Soldier brawl and Poland and Ukraine joining the initiative to remove Soviet war memorials the authorities had no other option but to make celebrations in Moscow a really Big Deal.   

This year the festivities were even more spectacular than in 2005 when the country celebrated 60 years of the Victory. This time members of the Russian parliament went into long-term debates about the Victory banner – should the traditional hammer and sickle be replaced by an incomprehensible white star or not (the MPs were not confused that it would make the banner look like the Chinese national flag). Opposition was busy discussing with the parliamentary majority twists and turns of the heraldry. It took the Federation Council pretty much of time and effort to finally end up with the unchanged Victory flag. These “developments” attracted all attention of the Russian near-welfare society that seems to have no other problems to occupy itself with.             

Meanwhile, the state propaganda machine was in full swing. The state TV channels broadcast old and brand new war movies. Despite previous anniversaries, this time TV bosses were smart enough not to interrupt heroic scenes with shampoo ads.    

But as to the films, I was disappointed with the mix made of old and new films about war. The 2005 film “Shtrafbat” (“Penal battalion”) is the typical new Russian film about war, a kind of ideological manifesto that translates attitude of the new Russian authorities to the issue. Films like “The Last Armored Train”, “Victory Day” and “Stronger than Fire” only copy “Shtrafbat” right down to quoting the whole episodes from the film. All these stories are about complicated relations of the members of the penal military units, the criminals and the prisoners of conscience; there are episodes where the commissioners make soldiers assault across the minefield; heroes are disenchanted with the Soviet regime; special agents annoy the soldiers even at the firing line. The only difference is that in the “Shtrafbat” project there were fine actors, talented operators and good crew – they at least were trying to be plausible. But still the film is all lies and falsification. It pretends that the Orthodox Church not the Communist party was the driving force behind the Victory. “Shtrafbat” was a talented and systematically implemented falsification of historical facts. All its “sequels” are about the same falsification but lacking talent, drive and plausibility. New script writers and film directors lack imagination; they fail to meet both ends meet in their stories.

All the battle scenes show that the members of the film crew have never seen military operations and, what’s more, their knowledge of history leaves much to be desired. The scenes, where our valiant fighters hammer away at the Germans right and left, resemble the movies released by the Tashkent film studio in the forties and that were made by the people on the home front. However, those films were aimed at calming the people fearing for their relatives who fought in the war. Since the 1960s films about war were shot by those who had witnessed the atrocities of the war.  That’s why the old Soviet films, which were shown before the holiday, are much more trustworthy. Of course, the films were censored and ideologized. But they are far truer, and, what counts most, their authors were sincere and willing to show something personal. The creators of the new movies thought only about money.    

The celebrations’ climax, as it is appropriate, was the parade on the Red Square. It was extremely vulgar. The soldiers demonstrated the “exhibition performance” manifesting that the Kremlin is guarded by a mediocre show group rather than a military unit. They made it clear that after serving in the army they can dance backup for a pop singer broadcasting over “Popsa” radio. At first, they laid the word “pobeda” (victory) with their rifles, and then drew up before the President depicting a flowerbed. 

I wonder what the veterans thought of all that, but I was ashamed…

Boris Kagarlitsky is Director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements.

May 28, 2007