The May 1 parade in Moscow to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was the greatest Victory Day celebration since the Soviet Union's collapse.
Instead, Putin's high-profile guests included the leaders of China, India and North Korea, underscoring just how few friends Russia has these days.
A month later, Putin reinforced this image of Russians as the morally superior victims of a cruel and uncompromising West.
At the time, the military parade in Red Square – featuring almost 35,000 troops, up to 1,900 pieces of military equipment, and a 1,400-man orchestra – was a well-deserved pageant.
In 2005, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Putin held a major parade – one that Western leaders, believing that Russia might have a European future, did attend.
The parallels with Putin's Russia are clear. Putin views himself as a new czar.
Putin may try to portray his actions in Ukraine as a fight against fascism.
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