Putin’s mass bathing in a patriotic act, on the eve of the anniversary of the war

As he has already done in several important moments and as a highlight of the previous years of election campaigns, President Vladimir Putin went to the famous large Moscow stadium Luzhniki this Wednesday to, this time, congratulate the Russian soldiers fighting on Ukrainian soil and the entire army in general . Defender of the Fatherland Day is celebrated across the country on Thursday, just one day before the first anniversary of the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin appeared on stage in the company of troops from the land, sea and air force who were previously reported to have fought in Ukraine. Before them, he expressed his support for the “brave fighters” who are fighting “on the historical borders of Russia”.

He said that “we gathered here on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day. There is something strong, great, I would even say mystical and holy in this sentence. It is not for nothing that one of the main prayers begins with the words Our Father.

He then referred to the “motherland” and stated that father and mother are the main components of Russian families “who support our army (…) they have the support of all of Russia.” Putin emphasized that “They protect our interests, our people, protect our culture, language and territories”.

The president insisted that the soldiers in Ukraine are “fighting heroically, bravely, we are proud of them.” Between prolonged applause, he confirmed that “when we are united, there are no equals.” For the unity of the Russian people, Russia, Russia, Russia!” he concluded. Then, after singing the national anthem, he shook hands with the army present.

“Patriotic” festival

This time, Putin did not lash out at the West. He conscientiously did this already on Tuesday during a speech in front of two houses of parliament. The last time the head of the Kremlin participated in a rally-concert in Luzhniki March 18 last year, also in the midst of the war, on the occasion of the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

His stage presence then lasted much longer. This time it didn’t take eight minutes. The stadium, which has a capacity for 80,000 spectators, just in the stands, was completely packed. The central lawn around the stage was also packed with fans. This “patriotic” festival was revived by artists loyal to Putin such as Gazmánov, Leps or the legendary group Liubé.

According to the Dozhd channel, banned in Russia and considered a “foreign agent” near Luzhniki, they installed this Wednesday Anti-aircraft defense system Pantsir-S1 in anticipation of a hypothetical missile attack. This time, however, they were more cautious and tried not to show snipers stationed on rooftops to protect Putin as happened last year, when photos of camouflaged soldiers armed with scoped rifles were posted on social media.