Aksiniya Titova

In 2024, the authorities of Kazakhstan canceled the holding of parades and marches in honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day on May 7 and Victory Day on May 9. This decision was announced by the Ministry of Defense.

Priorities over memories?

«The military parade is not planned due to budget savings, as well as the need to solve other tasks. In particular, a priority is maintaining the required level of combat readiness and mobility of the units of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan,» the department explained.

In the previous years of 2022-2023, Kazakhstan also did not hold military parades, explaining that it was better to spend the allocated money for the event on practical needs of the Kazakh army. During the period from 2020 to 2021, parades were not held due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to open sources, one military parade costs the country more than 4 billion tenge. According to the Minister of Defense Ruslan Zhaksylykov, funds from the budget are needed for fuel and lubricants, travel expenses, and food for personnel to hold the parade.

«And we considered that in this situation — we have just finished exercises — what was more important — to conduct exercises and check our combat readiness or to deal with the parade?» explained the head of the military department.

It should be noted that despite the absence of parades, Victory Day is celebrated in Kazakhstan, and in 2023, World War II veterans received the highest payments compared to other CIS countries. Each veteran of Kazakhstan was allocated $3288 according to the exchange rate of the National Bank on April 28, 2023. For comparison, in Russia, this amount was $123-308, which became the lowest indicator among the CIS countries.

We have the right

Interestingly, in Russia, where parades are traditionally celebrated on a large scale and where Victory Day is almost the main holiday of the country, veterans are actually in a rather difficult position. For whom is this holiday if not for those who fought for peace at the cost of their lives is not entirely clear. However, current representatives of the Russian authorities like to criticize other countries where it is not customary to spend large sums on parades or where they are not held at all. In previous years, the favorite topic of Russian propagandists was the cancellation of parades in Kazakhstan.

For example, in 2022, the Russian host Tigran Keosayan began to intimidate Kazakhstan on the air of his program with a repetition of the «Ukrainian scenario,» while trampling on the sovereign values of our country.

This year, the Federation Council also assessed Kazakhstan’s decision to refuse the Victory Parade. According to Senator Andrey Klimov, in a conversation with the VZGLYAD newspaper, Moscow should respect this decision, as post-Soviet states approach the celebration of Victory Day differently.

«Kazakhs, along with other peoples of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, defended peace. The Republic also suffered losses,» said Andrey Klimov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs. In his opinion, Astana can honor the memory of fallen heroes and thank veterans in its own way, informally approaching the celebration of May 9.

«It is their sovereign affair — what, when, and how to conduct,» emphasized the speaker.

Remembering without fanfare…

And yet, how does the cancellation of parades affect the consciousness of Kazakhstani society? Does this affect the collective memory of the war?

The cancellation of parades causes concern among some citizens, as our country made a huge contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. For example, 1.3 million Kazakhstanis were mobilized to the front, and half of them did not return. More than 500 Kazakhstanis were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their courageous exploits.

In general, Kazakhstanis adhere to different views on the need for parades. Here are some that citizens openly publish in Kaznet.

Here is how one of the users reacted to the news of the parade cancellation this year:

    The parade is already outdated, Soviet past… all this was done for the show to the country’s top officials, they brought schoolchildren, students, and budget workers with posters for the crowd, and everyone rejoiced at this…

    A country that does not prepare for war, does not feed its Army, will feed someone else’s. The military parade is first of all military-patriotic education. The victory in the Great Patriotic War is the Victory of our ancestors. As a grandson of a soldier who died during the Battle of Kursk, I am proud of the feat of our compatriots, and I am ashamed of the ostrich policy of our leadership. Following the imperial policy of the West, we are increasing our chances every day to become the second front of the USA against the future war between the USA and China,» another user believes.

Here is another opinion:

    Yes, probably it is better to rename the streets… Than to arrange weapon rattling every year… Militarization of the country and society is not needed by us… And the war is «longed for» by those who have not seen it. Those who fought know the value of life.

    Just tell the truth that there is no armament worthy of demonstration. There is nothing to rattle, that’s the whole truth. You scream that we need to purchase weapons, increase the army to 300,000, then no need for parades. But ordinary people want to know that they will be protected. And when there is a parade, usually children, youth are proud of the country. But… it’s not destiny,» an anonymous user believes.

    Your whole memory is built on parades… Isn’t it weak to silently grieve, to remember the millions who died in the war? You have been degrading for a long time… You have nothing to praise the present and the future, so some try to live by the past. Again, not their own… There are almost no veterans left, otherwise, they would have reminded you that they fought only so that such a bloody war would not be repeated in the future…

    This is a normal practice. We used to just have parades every year. They can be held much less frequently. And about memory and veterans, there are other events held in their honor.

By the way, about other events, that’s the way it is. Despite the cancellation of parades in honor of Victory Day in the country, patriotic and military events, honoring servicemen, work to perpetuate the memory of Kazakhstani warriors who died in the Great Patriotic War, and coverage of their exploits in the media have already begun in Kazakhstan. Not only at the local but also at the state level. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will hold an all-army meeting on May 5 as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and on May 9, in the capital, he will pay tribute to the memory of those who died in World War II…