Flags, Fireworks and Designer Uniforms

MOSCOW, May 9, 2008 — -- You would be hard-pressed to find a more dazzling display of patriotic zeal and military might than today's Victory Day parade in Russia.

Initially, I was not terribly excited by the prospect of waking up at 5 in the morning and going through hours of security checks, before standing out in the cold for another two hours to watch Russia celebrate 63 years since the victory of the Second World War.

But as our bus pulled into Red Square all that changed. I looked around me at the soldiers in their smart, starched uniforms, and took in the mass of Russian flags, old red stars and hammer and sickle insignias, and I felt transported to a bygone era in Russia's history.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Victory parade has been a relatively modest affair, but this year, it was decided that a return to Soviet glory was in order, and glorious it was.

Soldiers goose-stepped to the marching band, tanks and nuclear missile launchers rumbled over the cobblestones, airplanes and fighter jets swooped down over the square, releasing fireworks at the end. All in all, it was a spectacle to behold.

However, the sudden extravagance of today's Victory parade raises some questions. Particularly, what is Russia trying to tell the world by flexing its military muscles so overtly?

During President Vladimir Putin's rule, which ended Wednesday, Russia poured money into its defense budget. It has pumped about 3 percent of its gross national product into procuring weaponry and instituting a series of reforms aimed at reviving its debilitated military, down to designing a new, natty uniform for the Russian army.

Alexei Arbatov, co-head of the Nuclear Proliferation Project at Moscow's Carnegie Center, explained to ABC News that "Russia is returning to an acknowledgement of its military power and defense capability."

"These new elements of Russian defense policy should be accepted as a signal to the West that the West has been pursuing very wrong policy with regard to Russia."

I asked Arbatov why Russia believes that it has been wronged by Western policy.

"The majority of the Russian population perceives NATO as a threat, perceives NATO expansion to Ukraine and Georgia as a major security problem. American policy of unilateral, arbitrary use of force abroad and dismantling of arms control and disarmament systems and regimes is perceived here as a threat, a much great threat than potential nuclear proliferation of weapons and technology, much greater than nuclear program of Iran or North Korea."

For many Russians, the parade was less about international politics than it was about paying homage to the bravery and suffering of Russia's World War II veterans. About 20 million Soviet citizens were killed during the war, nearly half the total number of casualties.

Sveta, a cleaning lady from Moscow, told me, "I found the parade incredibly emotional. Of course it is beautiful and great, but mostly I just look at the old veterans and the grandmothers and I feel like crying."

Vyacheslav Sedov, the press secretary for the Ministry of Defense, agrees that the parade is not political. "I remember as a boy being so excited to turn on the television on May 9. … We just want to pay tribute to our Russian heroes."

Earlier this week Putin handed over power to the new president, Dmitry Medvedev.

In a televised address, Medvedev denied that today's display of military might was "saber-rattling," calling it instead "a demonstration of our growing defense capabilities."

It is unclear what Medvedev's policies will be and how they will affect Russia's relationship with the West. But as Arbatov points out: "I think there is no reason for the West to panic about that. Russia is not a military state. Russia is not fighting a war anywhere. … Russia's defense budget is $45 billion… It's still 10 times smaller than America's."