The word “victory” is being thrown around all over Moscow these days.
It's projected from giant LED screens at major intersections and along highways, and written on red flags fluttering in the wind. It stands out for its display of Western weapons destroyed on the battlefields of Ukraine and brought back to Moscow as spoils of war, but where else? — Victory Park.
The victory came just as 71-year-old President Vladimir V. Putin lauded with pomp and pageantry after a new electoral victory, while troops cleared Ukrainian villages in a surprising new offensive. This is the very message we have been trying to project.
“If we work together, we will definitely win!” Putin said at his inauguration ceremony last week, after securing a fifth term as president. Two days later, the country celebrated Victory Day, Russia's most important holiday, commemorating the Soviet Union's contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
In the first year of the invasion, many Russians were shocked and ashamed of the war. Hundreds of thousands of people left the country. In the second year, we were concerned about the possibility of a second wave of mobilization.
But as the war enters its third year, many Russians appear to have learned to accept it, according to interviews last week and recent polls. And “victory” is an easy sell in Putin's Russia.
Western sanctions have caused little economic hardship. Military news from Ukraine is becoming increasingly positive. Yes, soldiers are still coming back in coffins, but most of them are families from the hinterland, not Moscow's elite. And for many, the death only reinforces the idea, pushed by state news media and relentlessly hounded by Mr. Putin, that Russia faces an existential threat from the West.
“I feel like victory is near,” said Andrei, 43, who traveled to Moscow from the Chita region, about 3,000 miles from the capital, for the May 9 holiday celebrations.
Like others interviewed for this article, he declined to give his last name, indicating a clear distrust of Western news media.
He was among those who braved the cold and snow to visit a collection of recently captured Western military equipment. (Ukraine also displays a destroyed Russian tank in the center of Kiev). But the cheeky display in Moscow, in which the equipment was draped with flags indicating which country donated the equipment to Ukraine, fits into Russia's narrative of fighting and winning against the entire developed world.
“If you look at this or the flag, it's clear that the whole world is supplying weapons, and you can see that there is a world war going on,” Andrei said. “As always, it's Russia against the whole world.”
Ivan, who was also visiting Victory Park, waited his turn to pose in front of the massive, rusted, charred German Leopard tank, smiling and giving a thumbs-up as his friend took a photo. People were jostling for space next to a similarly destroyed American M1 Abrams tank.
“There was a lot of talk about Abrams and Leppard, but what was the result?'' Ivan, 26, said.
“They're all standing here and we're observing them and seeing what condition they're in. This is amazing!” he smiled.
The bravado displayed this month by Russians like Andrei and Ivan reflects Mr. Putin's confident attitude as he guides Russia through economic challenges and further advances on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The inauguration ceremony included a church service and was blessed by Patriarch Kirill I, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who expressed hope that the president would remain in power until “the end of the century.” did.
According to the independent pollster Levada Center, about 75% of Russians say publicly that they support their military's actions in Ukraine. (Public opinion polls and other studies show that about a quarter of the population opposes the war, but protests are effectively banned and repression is so intense that many people are anti-war or anti-war. afraid of acknowledging or sharing government content online).
Thousands of people who fled Russia have returned. Their lives have adapted to a new normal, and things haven't really changed as much as people in the West might expect.
“What is that, the 13th sanctions package they are making?” Ivan said with a laugh. “Right now, I don't feel anything.”
A robot developed by Yandex, Russia's homegrown version of Google, can be seen crisscrossing Moscow's sidewalks to make deliveries. At least for now, inflation is under control. According to a report by Forbes magazine last month, the number of billionaires in Moscow (in US dollar terms) has increased significantly, moving the city up four places in the world rankings behind New York City.
“Most of the brands that supposedly left Russia have not gone anywhere,” Andrei said, adding that he and his daughter had planned to have lunch at the rebranded KFC. What has changed, Andrei said, is that “social integration has taken place.” Not just the rationale for the war, but also the conservative social values that Putin promotes.
When the official results of his electoral victory, scheduled for March, were announced, Mr. Putin and his colleagues touted their apparent unity, with the incumbent winning a record 88% of the vote, a figure that was far behind Western democracies. They accused the communist countries of being a fraud.
“Russia is a very complex and multiethnic country, so it takes multiple terms to understand and govern it,” said Oleg V. Panchulin, 32, a veteran of the Ukraine war.
“If Putin becomes president, I would be happy if he serves 10 terms,” said Panchulin, who was recently injured by a Ukrainian drone near Zaporizhzhia.
Some civilians interviewed said they were satisfied with the president's hard-line conservative stance promoting traditional family values.
Zhenya, 36, and his girlfriend Masha expressed gratitude that the government had “finally addressed LGBTQ issues” by banning what they called the “LGBTQ movement”. The pair attended a 1940s-themed Victory Day celebration in a central Moscow park, where attendees fox trotted and waltzed to live military band music.
Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Moscow-based Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, said the general outlook is that Putin will remain in power as long as he is alive because there is no reliable replacement for him. said that he sees more and more possibilities for Russians.
“Everyone understands this is a long-term thing,” he said. “The longer he's in power, the more anxiety there is about who's going to be next and who's going to be the bad guy.”
Kolesnikov added: “We are approaching a scenario where Stalin's influence is visible, where after Stalin's death people were crying because they did not know how to live.”
Russian opponents of the government say they are increasingly worried that Putin will have to die before anything changes.
“I feel a very strong sense of despair,” said Yulia, a 48-year-old teacher who was visiting opposition politician Alexei A. Navalny's grave in southeast Moscow. Navalny, who died in February in an Arctic penal colony, was long seen as the only possible challenge to Putin. Yulia declined to use her last name for fear of his possible repercussions.
“I don't know how to get out of this situation,” she said.
“We are convinced that everything depends on the death of a person in a certain place,” Yulia's son Pavel said.His mother noticed the Russian National Guard in uniform and shushed him It was standing nearby. Navalny remains under close surveillance by the government even after his death. Even so, people continued to visit the grave.
On the other side of Moscow, a vigil was held to pay respects to the 145 victims of the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, one of the deadliest in Europe in the past decade. Customers were still coming. Wreaths, stuffed animals and photos of the victims were placed near the destroyed concert hall.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, and U.S. authorities blamed it on a branch of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). Still, the Kremlin has sought to shift the blame onto Ukraine and the West.
One woman, who declined to give her name, said she was convinced the West was behind it, even though the United States had warned Russia of an impending attack. According to the Levada Center, half of those surveyed believed Ukraine was behind the attack, and almost 40% said Western intelligence agencies were involved.
Vladimir, 26, who was visiting the improvised monument for the first time, said he did not blame the Kremlin for not heeding the warning.
Vladimir, a supermarket worker, said, “I want terrorists to be eradicated.'' But he said the president had done a great job. “He works very hard.”
“May God keep him alive and healthy,” he said. “What will happen to our country if President Putin dies?”
Anastasia Kharchenko contributed reporting from Moscow, Alina Lobzina From London.