Sochi residents criticize militaristic pathos of May 9 official celebrations

During the 1941-1945 war, Sochi, which was not affected by hostilities, was known as a "hospital city," but modern officials suggest that citizens celebrate May 9 by donning submachine guns, helmets and the roles of machine gunners, local residents have complained.

On May 9, the festive events on the occasion of the Victory Day were attended by about 25,000 residents of Sochi, an official from the Mayoralty told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to local residents living next to the memorial, works on replacing the tiles continued even at night on May 9. "They just made a show out of the May 9 holiday, and out of the memorial they made it into a source of laundering budget funds," Tatiana Maruschenko, a Sochi resident, has stated, noting that she treats expressions of grief and sadness as more appropriate for May 9 than songs and dances with aggressive slogans.

In central Sochi, officials organized an attraction: those who wished could stand behind a machine gun, aiming at certain objects, touch a mine, try on a helmet, or touch bandages and syringes for wounded soldiers.

"Why all this propaganda, instilling in the younger and older generations that war is a common occurrence and a human condition? No! War is scary; we must do everything possible to ensure that it never happens again," Victoria Melnikova, a Sochi resident, is sure. She recalled that the city of Sochi knew no war of 1941-1945, but was "a hospital city and a city of peace."

The attraction was also criticized by Antonina Sergeeva, another local. She has noted that the paraphernalia displayed in the square reminded her of the life of Ukrainians, and she treated the nature of the entertainments organized by authorities as "war propaganda."