Speaking at a splashy award ceremony at the Kremlin on Monday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin invoked the National Day holiday and appealed to his subjects’ sense of “patriotism” during a “difficult time.”
He did not elaborate on those difficulties, which included Ukraine launching a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia’s invading force and recapturing several eastern villages.
National Day, or Russia Day, is a public holiday adopted in 1994 to commemorate the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of its successor, the Russian Federation. National Day has long been used by the Putin regime to nourish feelings of patriotism, although many Russians either dispassionately view the holiday as merely another day off from work, or actively dislike it because they mourn the demise of the Soviet Union.
The Moscow Times saw few displays of spontaneous “patriotism” on Monday, despite hundreds of concerts, fireworks displays, and other festivities. The lack of enthusiasm might have been because “some people in the crowd were forced to join the celebrations.”
The Russian Defense Ministry pitched in with a commemorative video that mixed scenic views of Russia with soldiers expressing their devotion to the nation.
Former president Dmitry Medvedev, a pro-Putin firebrand who sporadically threatens to settle the Ukraine war with nuclear weapons, photoshopped the Russian flag flying over Kyiv and renaming its famed central courtyard, the Maidan as “Russia Square.”
“Kyiv is our direct target. It is a Russian city and it will return home. We will not rest until we recover it. Happy holiday!” exclaimed Medvedev aide Oleg Osipov.
Putin gave medals to “Heroes of Russia” at the Kremlin and saluted National Day as a symbol of “the inseparability of our centuries-old history, the greatness and glory of the Fatherland, and the unity of our multinational people.”
“Today, in a difficult time for the Russian Federation, they unite our society even more, stronger, and serve as a reliable support for our heroes, participants of the special military operation,” he said.
After the award ceremony, Putin visited the Vishnevsky Central Military Clinical Hospital, where soldiers wounded in his “special military operation” are recuperating.
“The state will certainly do and will be doing everything to support you, your families, and the families of our killed comrades. This is a sacred duty. We will do everything,” he told the soldiers.
Putin said the war in Ukraine was “not in the movies, but in real life,” and said everyone fighting in it should be recognized for their heroism.
“In the eyes of any normal person each of you is a hero. Just like the other guys who are fighting at the frontline in the zone of the special military operation. Artillery fire, tanks and armored vehicles – all of them are real. It’s all happening in real life,” he said.
Putin said veterans of the Ukraine conflict should be promoted to command positions in the Russian military.
“In the future, the command posts in the Armed Forces should be taken by people like you. You are the ones who have felt what combat operations are all about. You have not wavered. On the contrary, you continued to perform your duty to the very end. Of course, the Armed Forces need such people, baptized by fire and combat operations,” he said.
Putin said people living in the contested Donbass region of Ukraine should be considered patriotic Russians as well.
“Of course, special thanks to you for your service, for your loyalty to your oath, for your loyalty to your homeland, for your loyalty to Russia. I don’t need to tell you how important it is for the country, for it to be independent and strong. To protect people there. They are our people. They feel part of our people. And it is our duty to defend them,” he told the soldiers at the Vishnevsky hospital.
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