Ukrainecast

Why is Victory Day such a big deal in Russia?

Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as Russia's president for a new six-year term, just days before Russia’s annual Victory Day military parade on 9 May.But why does this annual event, marking victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, matter so much to Russia now?We speak to Alexander Goncharov a former Russian military officer, who’s now head of the World War Two veterans organisation in Moscow.And we discuss Victory Day’s symbolism with Russia editor Steve Rosenberg and Patricia Lewis from Chatham House.Today’s episode is presented by Jamie Coomarasamy and Vitaly Shevchenko.
 
The producers were Charlie Henry and Arsenii Sokolov. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
 
Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord

The BBC’s only English language programme entirely dedicated to the war in Ukraine and its fallout, Ukrainecast, is your go-to podcast which investigates the biggest issues around the conflict. Could Putin push the nuclear button? How could Donald Trump end the war in 24 hours? What is the price for peace? The podcast is hosted by Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire and BBC Monitoring’s Vitaly Shevchenko. Ukrainecast covers the most important topics around the conflict and speaks to the real people who’ve lived through several years of war. It also brings you agenda-setting interviews with special guests each week such as UK foreign secretary David Cameron, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and pre-eminent Russia expert Fiona Hill.GET IN TOUCH: 
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