Analysis of Russian TV's 2005 Victory Day coverage as nation-building propaganda under Putin

Stephen Hutchings examines how Russian television coverage of the 60th anniversary of World War II victory on May 9, 2005 served Vladimir Putin's nation-building agenda. Following Putin's 2000 election, state control over media intensified, with independent channels like NTV, TVS, and TV6 silenced by 2003. Channel 1's elaborate broadcast from Red Square featured a massive screen projecting Soviet-era footage alongside live reenactments, blending past and present. The program equated the Soviet war effort with contemporary Russia's "war on terror," particularly regarding Chechnya, while avoiding Cold War ideological clashes. Stalin's image underwent subtle rehabilitation through archival footage and public displays, though his terror remained unmentioned. The coverage employed individual veteran stories alongside collective pomp, creating tension between Soviet ceremonial formats and Western-style personal narratives. This media event attempted to construct a post-Soviet Russian identity that both replaces and differs from the USSR, highlighting contradictions in representing the Stalinist past. Since 2005, Victory Day celebrations have increasingly featured military hardware and anti-Western sentiment, while television's role in shaping national identity continues under Putin's media control.