[LINK] "Russia Is Losing World War II"

[rfmcdonald]

Bloomberg View's Leonid Bershidsky writes about the complexities of the Second World War in Russian national memory, as an anchor for propaganda and as a soruce of cotninuing pride.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his propaganda machine are often accused of exploiting the memory of the Soviet Union's victory over the Nazis -- even more than Soviet governments did. I'm more inclined to think Russia has simply buckled under the enormous weight of that 70-year-old victory. It's turned out to be at least as tough a trial for the winners as defeat has been for the losers.

Perhaps the strongest symbol of Putin's effort is the Georgievskaya lentochka, or St. George ribbon. The black and orange band is ubiquitous in Russia these days, tied around vodka bottles and lollipops, plastered across billboards and public toilets. When it appears in one of these inappropriate places, charges of sacrilege invariably appear on the Internet. It's OK, though, to wear the colors on your clothes (sometimes even as clothes) or tie the band to your rearview mirror. Lots of people do. "The situation borders on mass psychosis," cartoonist Andrei Bilzho, a psychiatrist by training, said in a recent interview.

The black and orange ribbon was part of the Order of St. George, established by Catherine the Great in 1769 as a military decoration. Stalin revived it in 1942 to distinguish the elite "guards" units of his army and navy. In 2005, Natalia Loseva, a manager at the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, came up with the idea of distributing the ribbons as widely as possible to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory over the Nazis. Pro-Putin youth organizations were charged with carrying this out, and the ribbons became commonplace.

Nobody was surprised when pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine wore this quasi-official badge of Russian patriotism on their uniforms. Ukrainians now call them Colorado ribbons after the orange and black Colorado potato beetle, a hated pest. Russians wearing the bands have gotten in trouble in Georgia, Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet countries, where the colors are seen as a symbol of aggression.

Even Loseva appears unhappy with the way her idea has developed. In response to numerous media inquiries, she posted on Facebook: "No, I've had nothing to do with this for several years. Yes, it could have been predicted. No, I always believe in intellect and taste. Yes, time will tell. No, I'm not sorry. Yes, the manure will dry and fall off. Sooner or later."