Putin attends Moscow concert as Russians reflect on a year of war

Vladimir Putin addressed a cheering crowd of thousands of Russians at a concert held in Moscow today to mark a year since his invasion of Ukraine. 

Organisers said 200,000 people attended the event at the Luzhniki stadium in central Moscow, which hosted the World Cup final.

Many of the attendees waved Russian flags as they listened to a line-up of patriotic songs.

The musical programme included a Soviet war song rapped by a Russian soldier and children singing about soldiers returning victoriously from Ukraine.

“On 24th February 2022, the men of the Donbas went to defend the motherland,” the female host said, inviting a volunteer soldier to address the huge crowd.

“Our women, children and elderly people were suffering. We went to defend our land and relatives. We had no military experience, but we had hope of victory,” he said. 

Putin addressed the crowd, as he has done at similar events before, as he aims to galvanise support for his invasion, which is now stretching into its second year. 

“When we stand together, we have no equals! For the unity of the Russian people! Hooray! Russia!” Putin shouted, encouraging the crowd to join him in his chant.

But the chorus quickly faded away. There were reports that parts of the stadium were empty and that people were bussed in for the concert, held shortly before a national holiday and the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

Elsewhere on Moscow’s streets, there was less support for the war. 

“People are scared to express themselves. They are afraid to lose their homes, their work. Many have families or loved ones and are afraid they could now be sent to prison,” a man called Anatoly told ITV News in Moscow ahead of the February 24th anniversary.

Since the start of Putin’s so-called Special Military Operation, the Kremlin has cracked down on freedom of speech and silenced criticism of the war.

Maria Ponomarenko, a Russian journalist, was recently jailed for six years for posting that the Russian military carried out an airstrike on a theatre in Mariupol in Ukraine.

Hundreds of people died when the Mariupol theatre was bombed last March but Russia’s Ministry of Defence denied being involved.

Protests were briefly held after the launch of the war, and after President Putin mobilised men for his army in Ukraine, but were soon crushed by Russian police.

Russia now criminalises the spreading of ‘fake news’ about its war in Ukraine, threatening offenders with up to 15 years in prison. 

Now, some Russians say they are only able to express their true opinions inside their homes.

“We don’t communicate like we did before. We don’t even know our neighbours. We don’t talk outside of our house,” Anatoly told ITV News.

The streets of Moscow look almost the same as they did a year ago but in the last 12 months Russia has undergone a series of military and economic shocks which have left their mark on the capital.

“I’ve noticed the mood is subconsciously more aggressive. There’s been more violence. Of course, I don’t follow statistics, but I walk along the street and I see more arguments, this has definitely affected the mood in Moscow,” a man called Konstantin told ITV News. 

Billboards now show the faces of Russian soldiers taking part in Putin’s "Special Military Operation," in Ukraine, alongside slogans such as “Russia is proud of you,” and “Glory to the heroes of Russia.” Giant hashtag signs stand near the Kremlin proclaiming, “we are together.”

Many Western shops in central streets and shopping malls have also closed after they pulled out of Russia following the invasion, fearing reputational damage. 

While many companies continue to operate in Russia, brands like H&M, Zara, Chanel and Coca Cola have all left.

Their once-dressed windows are now empty, apart from small signs which often say they are closed “for technical reasons.”

“I’ve felt the difference in clothes. I am upset that H&M has gone and that Mothercare has gone. I used to buy clothes and shoes there, it was inexpensive,” Andrei told ITV News.

“Quality has been impacted, brands have left and there’s nothing to substitute them with,” Konstantin said. “Some products were imported from abroad and I’m now buying inferior products.”

“But my parents are pensioners, and their spending patterns haven’t changed: they buy potatoes and carrots and haven’t really been affected.”

“It’s unpleasant that this situation has happened. Certain brands like KFC, Starbucks and McDonald’s have left but we’ve already got used to it," a man called Ilya said, shrugging off their departure.

"They were considered national brands, but they’ve turned their backs on Russian consumers.”

While money can still buy you almost anything you want in Russia, many Russians are now confronting lives with fewer economic opportunities.

Travel has been made much more difficult as Western nations banned Russian airlines from their airports in response to the invasion.

Russians now hoping to make the journey from Moscow to London or New York need deep pockets and time to fly via Turkey or, for example, Dubai.

That journey became particularly treacherous when, in September, Putin ordered 300,000 men be mobilised into the Russian military to support his floundering war in Ukraine.

This triggered an exodus of military-age men who were desperate not to fight.

Around one million Russians are reported to have fled Russia during the war - many to neighbouring countries such as Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

At the border crossing between Russia and Georgia in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, men walked for hours and cycled into Georgia on children’s bikes after expensive flights sold out.

As the war drags on, many men in Russia still fear the threat of mobilisation.

“If I’m honest, I’m considering immigration. I’m trying to improve my language skills. I don’t want to take part in political games, and I’m scared that if there is a general mobilisation, I will have to go to the front line, Konstantin told ITV News in Moscow.

Over the last year Vladimir Putin has brought war not only to the whole of Ukraine but also to the doorsteps of his own people.

But despite that, some Russians still say they will fight and die for their country.

“My friend was killed. When mobilisation began, he went there [to Ukraine] as a volunteer to fight. He was there for 12 days and then died in hospital,” Evgeny told ITV News in Moscow.

“So many people have died, there is no point stopping all this now. If there is general mobilisation, I am ready for it because I am a patriot and I love Russia,” he said.

The Kremlin, via powerful state media, has spent the last year trying to foster feelings of patriotism in ordinary Russians to bolster support for Putin’s war.

State television programmes tell Russians that they are fighting for their own survival in Ukraine; that it is full of Nazis and that the West wants to bring Russians to their knees.

The propaganda campaign has been accompanied by the silencing of independent media - most of which now operate in exile.

“It's horrifying how people have got accustomed to the war and to wartime censorship,” Anna Filippova, a journalist for the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd (TV Rain) told ITV News.

“It’s awful to look at Russian society being changed in this monstrous way. You cannot say or think anything that contradicts Putin's narrative.”

For the first time in recent Russian history, the ongoing crackdown now extends beyond television to social media.

Russia now blocks popular sites and apps such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook under an ‘extremism’ law - making it even harder for Russians to hear alternative views on the war.

“There is limited opportunity to find information. Lots of people don’t want to install VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) because there is surveillance of everything. But what you read online isn’t all true; we all know that they hide things from us,” Andrei told ITV News in Moscow.

“We have access to information, but it’s too much information,” a woman in Moscow said.

“You can’t find the information you want because it’s like a swamp. There is too much information noise right now in Russia.”

While some younger Russians may be almost paralysed with confusion over the war, older Russians seem more likely to take it in their stride. 

Many Russians grew up during the Cold War and at a time of almost constant confrontation with the West.

In the nineteen nineties, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians lived through economic collapse as the currency devalued, prices skyrocketed, and law and order vanished.

For them, the disappearance of Western shops and limited travel is a blip in comparison to those dark times.

“We are in a state of stand-off with Europe and America. We don’t know what they’re going to do next, so we are worried,” Vyacheslav told ITV News.

“I understand why 20-year-olds are leaving because they don’t know what it was like in the nineteen nineties. But I do, that’s what I am comparing this to,” he added. 

Vladimir Putin is relying especially on this generation of Russians to continue supporting his war.

Polls suggest older Russians are more likely to think favourably of the Russian military and to support the invasion. 

Coupled with the fact that many people support the Special Military Operation in Ukraine and have seemingly accepted the new reality in Russia, some Russians believe there is little hope for change.

“I cannot see light at the end of the tunnel. It’s very depressing to be a Russian right now,” journalist Anna Filippova told ITV News in exile in Yerevan, a year after the invasion.

“With Russia functioning this way, I don't see how the war can end in a year nor how Putin will fail. He still has very broad support - especially given that most of his opponents have now left Russia.”

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