May 9: How Ukrainians' Attitude Toward "Victory Day" Has Changed
Kyiv • UNN
Historian Oleksandr Alforov explained the shift in perception of May 9 due to Russian aggression. Now, for Ukrainians, victory means only the defeat of modern-day Russia.
In Ukraine, the attitude towards May 9 and the very idea of victory in World War II has changed significantly in recent years. While this date was previously associated with the Soviet "Victory Day," today more and more Ukrainians are re-evaluating it through the lens of Russia's modern war against Ukraine and the European tradition of commemorating war victims. Oleksandr Alforov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, spoke in more detail about how the perception of this date has changed in Ukraine to a journalist from UNN.
Details
The expert believes that the full-scale war has finally changed Ukrainians' ideas about what victory means. According to him, this concept is now directly linked to Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression. He also emphasizes that the modern perception of May 8 and 9 is increasingly moving away from Soviet narratives.
"May 9 has always been inseparably associated with the phrase Victory Day. However, today Ukrainians clearly have a different vision of what victory is. Victory is a victory over Russia. This war has completely ended the existence of any narratives that there is some other victory in the Ukrainian calendar besides the one that can be won over Russia,"
According to the expert, the tradition of celebrating specifically on May 9 in Ukraine remained a consequence of Soviet and Russian memory politics for a long time. Furthermore, he notes that the USSR deliberately formed a different interpretation of the end of World War II to shift emphasis and hide part of the historical facts. In particular, this concerns the role of Stalin's USSR in the start of the war and its cooperation with Nazi Germany.
"It was a Russian tradition. A Russian tradition that from the very beginning, from '45, created a substitution of concepts regarding the unity of the Allied bloc and the victory over Nazi Germany. At the same time, the whole world understands that May 8 is not the end of World War II, which reached its finale in September '45. However, the substitution of concepts practiced by Stalinist Russia aimed to tell as little of the truth about World War II as possible,"
He also emphasized that the Soviet authorities tried to hide their own role in the events at the beginning of the war. According to him, this refers not only to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact but also to the joint attack on Poland and the aggression against Finland. That is why, Alforov says, Russia has for decades built its own cult of "victory," separate from the general European tradition of remembrance.
"Stalinist Russia was one of the states that started World War II in the context of the attack on Poland together with Hitler's Germany. Secondly, Stalinist Russia was an aggressor state. And in particular because of this, part of Finland's territory remains in Russia to this day. Imagine that even today, Russia possesses territories it acquired through a conspiracy with Hitler,"
According to the speaker, this is why in Europe, May 8 is primarily a day of remembrance for war victims, while Russia continues to focus exclusively on the theme of victory. In his opinion, this is the main difference between the European and Russian approaches to historical memory. At the same time, this perception is also gradually changing in Ukraine.
"Russia has always tried to ensure that their dates were not aligned with the world's dates, because that way the emphasis was changed. And while all of Europe marks days of remembrance and honoring victims, for Russia, it is a victory,"
Currently, in Ukraine, May 8 is increasingly perceived as a day of remembrance for those who died in World War II, rather than a Soviet celebration of victory. Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has only intensified the re-evaluation of historical events and Russia's role in them. That is why for many Ukrainians, the theme of victory is now inextricably linked not to the Soviet past, but to Ukraine's modern struggle for its independence.
As a reminder
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy allowed a parade to be held in Moscow on May 9 by signing the corresponding decree.