Put in more flags

摘要

Amid Russia's anti-crisis measures, the military parade on Red Square on May 9th was spectacular. Some 9,000 soldiers goose-stepped past political leaders. Tanks, rocket launchers and ballistic-missile carriers scratched the cobblestones; bombers, jets and helicopters flew above St Basil's Cathedral. The show is meant to mark victory in the second world war. But this genuinely national holiday has long been appropriated by the Kremlin for ideological ends. Rather than celebrating the war's end, this military parade represented Russia's readiness for a new fight.