Some two dozen world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, attended the Victory Day parade in Russia on Saturday marking 70 years since the victory over Nazi Germany. Global Times reporter Chang Meng, who covered the event, writes about her observations of the Russian people's response and their patriotism.
"Hey take it, ura!" A young man passed a Saint George ribbon to me in the early morning of Friday, just as I got out from the metro station upon my arrival.
The ribbon, in orange and black stripes representing fire and gunpowder that honor victory and bravery, which I tied on my backpack, brought me smiles from Moscow residents on the street, with the ribbon on almost everyone.
The Russian people were doused in celebration during the past weekend, as the country commemorated the 70th anniversary of its victory in World War II on Saturday, a national holiday for decades.
Thousands of people swarmed onto the streets since the wee hours of Saturday to take a spot in the first row behind cordons, on the bridge, or even on top of a crane jib, to watch the massive military parade that started at 10 am.
The crowd, from children to veterans with a dozen medals on their chest, cheered at the top of their lungs as the Russian military matrix marched through them along the Moscow River after returning from the Red Square singing wartime and military songs.
Nearly 200,000 people, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, joined the succeeding parade called "Immortal Regiment," marching along Moscow's Tverskaya Street to the Red Square and holding pictures of their loved ones who died in WWII.
The grand celebration, especially the massive military parade, was widely seen as Putin's declaration of Russia's power as its relations with the West have hit rock bottom. Putin warned of a "unipolar world" and "force of bloc thinking" in his parade speech with the absence of leaders from its ally nations in the war.
However, politics aside, the Russian people exhibited tremendous and genuine patriotic passion and sense of inheritance and unity, which is easier for me to empathize as China adopted much of the former Soviet Union's collective spirit.
To be honest, I was touched by many tiny details during the day. A soldier knelt down on one leg to accept a red carnation from a toddler as he matrix goose-stepped across the crowd. Even young people are familiar with wartime songs.
Young military cadet Alexander raced to his mother and little sister for a big hug as he was dismissed from the march, saying he can now take on his late father's responsibility to protect his family.
Young programmer Ilia said he is developing an app for people to upload old photos and videos in order to recreate the paths and events that their loved ones experienced during the war.
As two of the major WWII battlefields in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Russia and China suffered great losses and both have criticized attempts to tamper with wartime history, which have had a serious political impact on Russia's relations with the West and China with Japan.
In the Brookings Institution book Mr. Putin, authors Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy described Putin as a "Statist" who has been making consistent efforts since his first term in 2000 to restore order in Russia, as well the "Russia Idea" - patriotism, collectivism, solidarity and faith that Russia is always a significant player and will not suffer economic and diplomatic challenges for long. He believes a united Russia is intrinsically intimidating.
But for citizens in a country that lost more than 25 million people in four years, remembrance and cheering on their loved ones and the country are values that are both touching and respectful.
When you see a decorated 90-year-old veteran passing a red carnation to a young officer at Park Pobedy, asking him to honor past merits and pass on Russia's victory spirit, it is really not for us to judge other people's way of displaying patriotism, collectivism or individualism, at least not in a purely political respect.
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