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Patriotism, unease mix as Russia marks Victory Day in WWII

A car drives past a billboard with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin that reads: "For Russia" in Grozny, Russia, Saturday, May 7, 2022. Red Soviet flags and orange-and-black striped military ribbons are on display in Russian cities and towns. Neighborhoods are staging holiday concerts. Flowers are being laid by veterans' groups at monuments to the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is known in the country. At first glance, preparations for Monday's celebration of Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, seem to be the same as ever. But the mood this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying again. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) Vehicles drive through a street with the letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Victor Berezkin) People walk past a letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, displayed on a building in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) People walk past a letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, displayed on a building in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) Cars drive along a street with a huge letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military on a building in a street in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) Russian National Guard (Rosguardia) servicemen march through a street with a letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military on a building in Sevastopol, Crimea, Thursday, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo) People sit at a bus stop decorated by a letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military in Sevastopol, Crimea, Thursday, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo) A huge letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, is reflected in an office building in a street in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. Red Soviet flags and orange-and-black striped military ribbons are on display in Russian cities and towns. Neighborhoods are staging holiday concerts. Flowers are being laid by veterans' groups at monuments to the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is known in the country. At first glance, preparations for Monday's celebration of Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, seem to be the same as ever. But the mood this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying again. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) People walk along a street with a huge letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military on a building in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. The Russian holiday of Victory Day brings out patriotic displays of flags, military parades and marches by veterans groups celebrating the country's triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945. At first glance, the preparations for Monday's celebration seem to be the same as ever. But the mood this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying in neighboring Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) A food delivery courier rides a bicycle along a street passing a huge letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, on a building in a street in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 6, 2022. The Russian holiday of Victory Day brings out patriotic displays of flags, military parades and marches by veterans groups celebrating the country's triumph over Nazi Germany in 1945. At first glance, the preparations for Monday's celebration seem to be the same as ever. But the mood this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying in neighboring Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Patriotism, unease mix as Russia marks Victory Day in WWII