Russia can hold its massive military demonstration in Moscow on Wednesday, June 24.
The incident has been re-scheduled due to a coronavirus pandemic.
It comes before a nationwide vote on constitutional changes aimed at legalizing amendments that would allow Putin to remain in office after 2024.
Russia is holding its annual Victory Day Parade in Moscow on Wednesday, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Nazi German capitals in World War II.
Along with the day of national celebrations, the parade will allow Russia to show the world its military personnel and equipment range. More than this, President Vladimir Putin sees the event as a way to strengthen Russia's patriotism and his power base.
This year's parade comes during an unprecedented global health crisis, and the event is scheduled for May 9 to June 24 from its original date.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed that more than 13,000 military personnel are involved in the parade in Moscow and 216 units of military equipment (from tanks to armored vehicles to rocket launchers and fighter jets). The previous fly had 75 military aircraft, including aircraft and helicopters.
Russian political analyst Anton Barbashin told CNBC that the Victory Day Parade means the Kremlin.
"The victory over Nazi Germany is the biggest and most important historical event for contemporary Russia. For the Kremlin, it is the most effective way to unite the diverse peoples of Russia. "The importance of the Kremlin is growing as it monopolizes its legacy," he told CNBC on Tuesday.
Russian referendum
This year's parade was originally followed by a nationwide referendum, which calls on the people (modestly) on changes to the Russian constitution. Among other things, Putin is free to continue in office until 2036, ending his current tenure. However, like the parade, the public vote has been postponed and will now be on July 1.
Barbashin said the June 24 parade was "a great end to the year of Putin's victory."
"The original Victory Day was considered a kind of celebration. A large number of foreign leaders to Moscow symbolized Russia's new constitution," he said.
Political experts like Barbashin rejected the popular vote on constitutional amendments, saying that the new constitution had already been effectively accepted by the Russian parliament, and that the popular vote would have been "a long-standing symbolic endorsement of Russia's new legitimacy." "
The parade, however, appears to foster national pride and public support ahead of Putin's vote, especially as the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis diminishes his popularity rating. Came.
Coronavirus distraction
Putin has found a "hands-off" way to deal with a crisis that has stiffened competition for ordinary Russians and the economy; Russia has the third largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, with over 600,000 cases to date. Experts viewed the parade as a way to divert the Russians from the crisis, and measures for a lockdown in Moscow were lifted earlier this month in view of the coming parade.
An additional sweetener came when Putin announced Tuesday that more financial aid for families, reducing taxes for the IT industry and increasing income tax on high-income people.
Victory Day Parade "is indeed a major, symbolically significant holiday for the Russian people, one of the few positive achievements of Soviet Union representatives," admitted Darag McDowell, head of Europe and leading Russian analyst at Verik Maplecraft. The time of the parade “clearly serves the purpose of proper election.
"At present, the damage to the economy and public health from the epidemic - and the government's inequitable response - are obvious to many Russians and there are indicators that Putin is losing popular support. Re-establishing a strong 'Russia, it avoids concerns about Putin's handling of the domestic economy.'
At regular times, Russia will use the parade to influence Russia's global leaders to attend the event and to show Russia's military presence to attend the event.
The coronavirus outbreak paid off this year, and the guest list was lacking. The Russian Defense Ministry said that 13 foreign state officials were involved in the parade, most notably the defense ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and India, and other Soviet states and others from Russia and the presidents of Belarus and Serbia. On Wednesday, Putin was seen greeting celebrities with a handshake.
The event invited Western leaders, including President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but many canceled their attendance due to the epidemic, and the rescheduling of the parade.
Barbashin said the domestic mood in the public is usually far from festive, and many Russian regions are still experiencing economic depression due to spikes and outbreaks of new coronavirus cases.
The Independent Levada Center regularly surveys Russian leaders on their views on country leaders, Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mikhailstin. In a telephone survey of 1,623 adults at the end of May, 59% approved of Putin's actions as president, while 34% disagreed. In February of this year, with the emergence of the coronavirus virus epidemic in Europe, Putin's approval rating in Italy was 69%.
Verdisk Maplecraft's McDowell said that Putin's announcement of further auxiliary measures for Russian citizens on Tuesday was designed to "counter the notion that the Kremlin is primarily protecting the economic 'oligarchy' rather than 'ordinary' Russians. Interested to do. It works to see if it works."
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