Victory Day celebrations on 9 May are a central component of Russian memory politics. For years, the Great Patriotic War has been at the core of the official historical narrative, with which the Kremlin has attempted to shape the identities of Russians at home and abroad.

In the run-up to this year’s victory day, there were signs that a large-scale pro-war mobilisation around the victory day celebrations was on its way also in Berlin and in other places with sizeable Russian speaking communities. This comes at a time, when the Russian speaking communities are deeply divided about Russia’s war against Ukraine and rallies in support of Russia in several German cities have astonished the public.

With experts on Russian migration and memory politics, we discuss this year’s mobilisation of history at home and abroad and how it ties in with the Kremlin’s use of history before and during the ongoing war against Ukraine.

• Tatiana Golova is a sociologist at ZOiS. Her research focuses on civic and political activism, migrants from the post-Soviet space in Germany, and communication via social media.

• Félix Krawatzek is a political scientist. He is particularly interested in the role of youth in politics, the significance of historical representation in political processes, and questions related to migration and transnationalism.

• Travis C. Frederick is a PhD candidate at Princeton and currently a visiting scientist at ZOiS further developing his dissertation research on historical policies and collective memory of WWII in Russia.

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