The most popular connotation of Victory Day among Russians is military parade. This was reported by TASS with reference to the research data of the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion.
63% of respondents named the military parade as the key event related to 9 May. Slightly less, 58% of Russians go to St. George associates the ribbon with Victory Day and 54% with the Immortal Regiment campaign. Another 45% have Eternal Fire associated with Victory Day, 43% have songs about war, and 38% of respondents throw fireworks on the evening of May 9.
One third of our citizens pointed to the Victory flag (33%), insignia, medals and red carnations (31%). The VTsIOM report says options such as front porridge (22%) and “People’s Commissar’s hundred grams” (15%) are called less frequently.
At the same time, for the fifth time, the majority of Russians – 65% of those surveyed – called Victory Day the most important national holiday.
“But it wasn’t always like this: May 9 has been the leader in the holiday rankings for the past five years – starting in 2018, before that, the New Year was the first since the observances began in 2006. The importance of Victory Day increases with age, reaching 70% in the group of Russians over 60,” the VTsIOM statement says.
The survey results say that nine out of ten Russians surveyed have relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, young people know less about their relatives’ involvement in the war than older citizens.
Finally, 66% of Russians believe that the USSR could defeat Hitler’s Third Reich without the help of its Western allies, the USA and Great Britain. Another 25% of citizens believe that the Soviet Union would have been defeated by Nazi Germany without the loan and other allied help.
A third of Russians believe that the cause of the massive losses of the USSR (according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation – 26.6 million people died on the Soviet side during the Great Patriotic War) was the surprise attack of the Third Reich. . While 18% of the respondents said that the cause of the disaster was Germany’s military-technical superiority, 12% pointed to the cruelty of the Soviet state, which acted regardless of losses.
Only 4% of respondents pointed to the weakness and incompetence of the Soviet command.
The VTsIOM survey was conducted by telephone across Russia on April 23, 2023. 1,600 people over the age of 18 attended. Sociologists note that with a 95% probability the error does not exceed 2.5%.
Earlier, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing that the Victory Day parade in Moscow will be held as usual.
According to Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will perform at the parade. Asked by a journalist if there would be any restrictions, Peskov replied in the negative.
“An ordinary parade is being prepared … The President will perform as he usually does,” said the presidential press secretary.
Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center, previously told Interfax that partly cloudy and dry weather is expected in Moscow on Victory Day.
“On Tuesday, May 9, it will be partly cloudy anticyclonic weather in Moscow. It will be cold near zero at night, and maximum temperatures will be in the range of 10-14 degrees during the day,” the forecaster said, adding that these values will be 3-4 degrees below normal. .
Cool weather is expected in the capital on the weekend of May. It is expected to reach 7 degrees in the afternoon on May 6, up to – 10 degrees on May 7, – 11 degrees on May 8. Winds can reach speeds of up to 15 miles per hour in places.