Strains on the postwar relationship have been mounting for decades

Why so many no-shows for Russia’s WWII celebration?

By Carol J. Williams


Friends and foes have snubbed Saturday’s Red Square military parade, a dent in Russians’ pride over their World War II sacrifice and President Vladimir Putin’s reputation for throwing blowout parties.

Here’s why, little more than a year after Putin’s spectacular Winter Olympics bash, world leaders don’t want to be seen with him, even to celebrate the glorious defeat of Nazi Germany 70 years ago:

U.S. and European officials decided months ago to boycott the garish display of military might in protest of Kremlin aggression in Ukraine. Eight of Russia’s 14 former Soviet sister states are reportedly no-shows, signaling their dismay over Putin’s claim of his nation’s right to dominate the region. Even some of Putin’s new best friends — political outcasts such as Belarus and North Korea — sent regrets, claiming pressing domestic matters, the diplomatic equivalent of having to wash their hair.

During the Cold War, the leaders of Britain, France and the United States put aside ideological differences to honor their communist ally’s wartime role, attending the Victory Day parade on landmark anniversaries to show respect for the more than 20 million Soviet lives lost defeating the Nazis. In 2005, on the 60th anniversary, 53 heads of state attended, including President George W. Bush and nearly every European leader.

How did the country widely credited with bearing the brunt of the war effort evolve from victory’s standard-bearer to geopolitical pariah? Most of the new divide can be blamed on Putin, but strains on the postwar relationship have been mounting for decades.

• The Cold War ...
• An Operative in the Kremlin ...
• Russia’s “Sphere of Influence” ...
• Rival Parties ...
• Who Needs Them Anyway? ...

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