On the 81st anniversary of Victory, the St. Petersburg authorities decided to hold a truncated parade: without modern technology, aviation and reducing the number of spectators on Palace Street by 18 times. Mobile phone operators announced in advance possible Internet problems, and the organizers of the “Immortal Regiment” prohibited participants from even bringing water to the procession. Correspondent of the Cooperative of Independent Journalists “Berij” He tellsHow enhanced security measures affected Victory Day celebrations in St. Petersburg. Meduza is publishing this report in full.
St. Petersburg is cool, sunny and smells like fresh leaves. Residents of the residential area jog along the park paths or walk their dogs. There are no D-Day attributes nearby. The only reminder of May 9 are the congratulatory posters that St. Petersburg authorities have installed on city lamps.
Passengers on the bus heading to the center scroll through videos on banned TikTok and Instagram along the way. Here the first harbinger of festive events appears: a short man of about 60 years old in a military uniform enters the salon. On his head is a blue Airborne Forces beret with a St. George ribbon. He sits and silently reads the news in a blocked telegram. Someone congratulated his seatmate on May 9 with a postcard on the blocked WhatsApp, and it took a long time to write a response.
The day before, mobile operators sent messages to city residents warning them that “in connection with the preparation and holding of mass events, there may be difficulties with the Internet.” The operators explained that “the restrictions are aimed at ensuring security measures” and recommended that St. Petersburg residents use Wi-Fi.
Deputy Chairman of the City Commission on Law, Order and Security Alexander Raven the day before I mentionedthat “unprecedented measures and forces” will be taken in St. Petersburg to ensure security, and in addition, citizens will face “extensive traffic restrictions.”
The entrance to some metro stations and some shopping complexes located in the city center were already closed on May 9. But real internet restrictions, unlike in Moscow, where the shutdown lasted for several hours, were never imposed.
Near the center, there are more and more people on the streets, and the number of military paraphernalia is also growing: St. George ribbons are increasingly seen on the clothes of St. Petersburg residents, and Soviet flags in their hands. Parents bring their children dressed in Soviet military uniforms with them to the center.
The song “Three Tankers” can be heard from a beverage shop near Sinaia Market. She was interrupted by an advertising note from a nearby kiosk: “Safety glass for 100 rubles. Safety glass for 100 rubles.”
Crowds flock to Nevsky Prospekt, where the Immortal Regiment is scheduled to start at 12 noon. The procession will start from Alexander Nevsky Square and head to Dvortsovaya. The main street of the city is closed with gray barricades and completely cordoned off by police officers, cadets of the Naval School and People’s Guards. For this reason, some residents of houses on Nevsky Prospekt found themselves Forbidden In their yards, Fontanka reported.
You can participate in the procession only by passing through one of the zones where boundaries are set and inspection is conducted (there are three such zones in total). This year, the city authorities banned bringing not only alcoholic beverages to the parade, but also water, food, power banks and flags of foreign countries.
Car traffic in the city center is limited, so it is unusually quiet near Gostiny Dvor and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. But just a 20-minute walk away, on Palace Square, the acting commander of the Leningrad Military District, Rustam Minikayev, is hosting the military parade.
This year, the parade in St. Petersburg is being held in a truncated form: about a thousand military personnel are marching through the square, including cadets from St. Petersburg Military Universities, institutes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Russian Guard.
There is no modern military or aviation equipment. Veterans of the Great Patriotic War were not invited “for security reasons” and the number of spectators, according to the website. Messages Fontanka was reduced by 18 times. For them, only one platform was installed on Dvortsovaya instead of the usual three.
You can watch the show on TV channels in the city. Before the start of the parade, participants in the war with Ukraine – the military members of the group – walked through the square.
Suddenly, the silence on Nevsky Prospekt was broken by an exclamation. “Happy Victory Day!” – shouts a man in a Soviet hat. In one hand he holds a smartphone calling someone, and in the other he holds his disgruntled son’s shoulder. Repeats his congratulations again on the smartphone screen, and the teenager smiles and also mumbles something to his father’s interlocutor.
People gather around the gray barriers, waiting for the “Immortal Regiment” procession to begin. “Citizens, let us disperse, there is no point in standing here,” the approaching policeman addresses them in a loud voice.
It is also impossible to get to Nevsky Prospekt from neighboring streets. All this causes misunderstanding among residents of St. Petersburg. Every now and then they approach the police to ask why access to Nevsky Prospekt is restricted, and how to get from one street to another. But they still fail to do so.
Soon, the fences in Isaakievsky are moved closer to the Horde, and now it will be difficult to see the participants of the “Immortal Regiment” from this place. The frustrated crowd disperses. Three comrades carrying the Wagner PMC flag stand against the background of the cathedral.
From the courtyard overlooking Gorokhovaya Street, you can hear a conversation between two women. Maybe they celebrate the holiday in the morning, so it is already difficult to understand their speech.
“Putin opened the Iron Curtain for us,” a plump woman of about 50 in a gray coat tells her friend. – Because everyone was always afraid of us. Especially Riga, Vilnius, Poland and all these areas around St. Petersburg. She looks around, realizes that the conversation is no longer secret, and adds in a low voice: “We now have Oreshnik.”
The second, wearing a warm jacket that was inappropriate for the weather, listened to her friend in silence. In his hand was a bottle wrapped in a bag.
There is also a crowd of people at the intersection of Nevsky and Admiraltyskaya streets. A short distance away, two friends were discussing the cost of drone components. One of them is wearing a military uniform, and appears to have been at the front recently. Bark breaks into their conversation:
“We invite you to a double-decker aircraft carrier,” he said, referring to the ship. – View the bar and restaurant program on board. Guys, let’s go to the fireworks! – Get out! – answers the military man.
A police officer asks people to disperse again.
At around 12 noon, the “Immortal Regiment” procession begins. The column is led by two police cars and several cars with government license plates.
They are followed by old equipment – this is a vehicle from the National Assembly collection. There are many old men sitting in cars. Local media explained that these are children of war. The entire column extends for a kilometer and a half, I mentioned “Fontanka”.
People carry black and white photos of participants in the Great Patriotic War. But among them are also colorful people – some residents of St. Petersburg came with photos of their relatives who died in the war with Ukraine.
One of these columns was led by several Wagnerites dressed in camouflage. They shouted “Hurray!” Pass Along Nevsky Avenue, they carry pictures of fallen soldiers and a large photo of the PMC’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash in the summer of 2023. In the front row, dressed in camouflage, was a girl about 12 years old, who was holding color photographs of two men.
“Hello! Russia!” – shouted the marchers. Some sang songs from the war years.
Two hours later, the last columns reached Dvortsovaya. The participants gradually dispersed: this year the city authorities decided to abandon the traditional ceremony on Palace Square in honor of Victory Day.
By lunchtime, the official part of the celebration in St. Petersburg was over: the barricades were removed, and most of the security forces left the center.
Due to all the security measures and restrictions taken, only 100,000 people participated in the “Al-Khaled Regiment” event this year. male In Smolny. Last year, when Russia celebrated the 80th anniversary of Victory, in the parade, according to official data, acceptable Participation of 1.1 million residents of St. Petersburg.
On the afternoon of May 9, 85-year-old Lyudmila Vasilieva, who had survived the siege as a child, was arrested in St. Petersburg. She was later released without protocol. Vasilieva was held in Solovetsky’s lap, where she held up a poster that read:
Do not cover up your crimes by supporting people.