To bring his country in line, ruler Vladimir Putin starts with the small ones. When Russia celebrated the victory over the Nazis in World War II on May 9, some school children had to pose in military costumes. Pictures of kindergarten teachers in uniform caused outrage around the world.
Russia’s Victory Day was a day of war – also in Bern. Similar scenes took place there at a party in the Russian embassy. Boys of primary school age had to show up in military uniform.
Embassy school
The occasion took place on May 6, three days before the official victory day. The children’s military performance was organized by the embassy’s own school, which is run by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The students are children of employees of Russian representations or companies in Switzerland.
The celebration of 9. May has a long tradition in Russia. The fact that children are slipping into the roles of Red Army soldiers is not new. But the apartments have long been more than just memories. Putin is using the official holiday to educate an entire generation on military patriotism – and for war propaganda.
Russian Blick journalist: That is why so many Russians are behind the war(06:05)
Clothes are said to have been “voluntary”.
In the wake of the war in Ukraine, May 9 became particularly explosive this year. Vladimir Khokhlov, spokesman for the Russian embassy in Bern, sees no problem with the boys being dressed as soldiers. “We do not consider holding Russian holidays as propaganda.” Participation in the event was voluntary, as was the choice of clothes. “Not all children wore military uniforms.” Khokhlov also assures that the Ukraine war was not a problem at the event.
However, SonntagsBlick surveys show that timeliness was referred to during the celebration. And from Ambassador Sergei Garmonin himself. He greeted the audience with a speech in which he referred to the “crucial role” of his country in the defeat of fascism. Garmonin stressed the need to preserve the “sacred results” of the day. And he called for doing everything possible to combat “the current manifestations of neo-Nazism” in a number of European countries.
Molotov’s grandson talks about war
Vyacheslav Nikonov (65) is a deputy in the Russian State Duma. Above all, however, he is a grandson of Stalin’s confidant and longtime Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (1890-1986). More Soviet nobility is not possible! In Putin’s Russia, therefore, Nikonov also enjoys the solid privilege of not having to describe the war against Ukraine as a “special military operation.” Molotov’s descendants can call the case by its name. In an interview with Putin’s favorite newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda this week, Nikonov said: “At some point, the Ukrainian resistance will collapse. It is difficult to say when this will happen, as this is a war. War is unpredictable, and none of The greatest strategists in the history of mankind have ever predicted the outcome of a war in relation to specific dates. ”
Vyacheslav Nikonov (65) is a deputy in the Russian State Duma. Above all, however, he is a grandson of Stalin’s confidant and longtime Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (1890-1986). More Soviet nobility is not possible! In Putin’s Russia, therefore, Nikonov also enjoys the solid privilege of not having to describe the war against Ukraine as a “special military operation.” Molotov’s descendants can call the case by its name. In an interview with Putin’s favorite newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda this week, Nikonov said: “At some point, the Ukrainian resistance will collapse. It is difficult to say when this will happen, as this is a war. War is unpredictable, and none of The greatest strategists in the history of mankind have ever predicted the outcome of a war in relation to specific dates. ”
The Russian ambassador probably referred primarily to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the Kremlin has justified its killings by saying that the country should be liberated from the Nazis.
Sergei Garmonin was even clearer in a letter published on the Russian embassy’s website the same day. In it, he claims that neo-Nazism in Ukraine has “fully flourished again”. “Today, our warriors, like their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, have to wage an irreconcilable struggle against neo-Nazism.” As they did almost 80 years ago, people knew exactly: “Our cause is just, victory will be ours!”
From Zurich with connections to Moscow’s power apparatus
The embassy in Bern has long been the Russian propaganda headquarters in Switzerland. She spreads Putin’s rhetoric unfiltered on Twitter and Facebook. The diplomats take only a little diplomatic action against critics. Those who think differently are publicly pillaged and journalists discredited.
Daria F. * from Zurich also plays an important role in the Russian disinformation campaign. She has the best connections in Moscow’s power apparatus (SonntagsBlick reported). F. is the international spokesman for the organization Immortal Regiment, which initiated the students at the Bern Embassy to hold up pictures of veterans. Remember the dead soldiers – then as now.
* Name changed
ETH security expert Masuhr: “There is a stalemate – with benefits for Ukraine”(07:49)