Putin claims he's cancelling public celebrations over safety fears. The truth is more humiliating | Samantha de Bendern
May is traditionally a month for public celebration in Russia, with massive public processions on 1 May for Labour Day and military parades on 9 May for Victory Day, a holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.Not so in 2023.Russia's biggest trade union cancelled its traditional Labour Day demonstrations because of the heightened risk of terrorist activity, while regions near the Ukrainian border called off Victory Day parades so as to not provoke the Ukrainian army.