May 9 – Putin’s Villainy Day

Perverse. May 9 in Russia is known as “Victory Day,” a day of reflection on WWII losses by the Russian People and commemorating Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. In a twisted, Orwellian, morally perverse turn of events, Vladimir Putin – who has now killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians, targeting hospitals, retreating refugees, women, and children, and led more than 18,000 Russian soldiers to their death, will call May 9 “Victory Day in Ukraine,” and double down. It is nothing of the sort – it is Villainy Day.

History is so easily forgotten – and when twisted to perverse ends, bad things happen. Truth does set us free, as the bible says. The truth in WWII is the Russian People – then Allied with America – suffered terribly at the hands of Nazi Germany. 

While the Soviet Communist system, on which modern China is modeled, was evil – killing tens of millions over decades, the immediate cause of death for 27 million Russians in WWII was Naziism. The reason for Russia’s traditional “Victory Day” is that Nazi Germany killed 27 million Russians.

That number may seem inconceivable, but 10 million Russian civilians died at the hands of Nazis, 11.4 Russian soldiers, plus eight million from starvation, so the toll may exceed 27 million. All this is part of the great sadness – and cautionary lesson – of WWII. Unconscionable losses fell on Allied populations.

But this 2022. What Nazi Germany did to the Soviet Union, Putin is now effectively doing – mass murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, massacres, destruction, territorial conquest, and ideological deception – to the innocent population of neighbor Ukraine. The truth is, this is jaw-dropping evil.

Some will say keep perspective since world domination is not Putin’s stated objective. They will say do not overreact, as he only wants to conquer territory historically tied to Imperial and Soviet Russia. They will say Ukraine is not part of the Western NATO Alliance, and vigorous defense may be provocative.

Here is a counterpoint: The longer this international massacre goes on, the darker the shadow across Western values and the greater the risk that Putin’s perception of “right” – which is anything but right and shared by Communist China – may become the new norm. 

What did Edmund Burke write? In sum, all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. All it takes for Western values to fall, overtaken by Communist, Autocratic, Neo-Fascist, Radical Islamic, Neo-Totalitarian, or Anarchistic values – is for good and free countries to demur and go along.

Defensive weapons are being sent to Ukraine, more each day – have already, incidentally, been sent to Taiwan and other nations in Communist China’s apparent sights – but more is needed than the perpetuation of stalemate.

What we are witnessing on this memorable May 9 – in a torn Russia and tortured Ukraine – is another brutal, unapologetic, twisted autocrat, pseudo-messianic leader intent on twisting the truth, now aiming to use horrible, historic losses sustained by the formerly-allied Russian People – to his own evil ends.

To use the word evil – whether anew, quoting Edmund Burke, or drawing on the Bible – is a heavy turn. But think about the facts and ask yourself how much of what is happening is anything but evil? What have innocent women, children, and citizens at large of Ukraine done to deserve this? How can any of this killing and carnage be justified? 

Pointedly, has this May 9 “Victory Day” anything to do with moral or meaningful victory beyond the sobering reality of WWII? How can anything happening in Ukraine be grafted by Putin onto this day?

Yet that is what we are witnessing, the horror of truth twisted to serve more indefensible killing, maiming, and human agony. The world needs to speak louder to confront this assault on humanity, twisting of words and values, history, and ancient honor to serve patently evil ends.

This is no day of victory for Mr. Putin or the Russian People, despite Putin’s doubling down – the notion that his carnage is a “just war” warrants more conscription, loss, killing, or is a national crisis, except of his own making.

Soon enough, Russian mothers and fathers, sisters, wives, sons, and daughters will begin to understand that this is neither victory nor a worthy fight, that their loved ones in uniform, who stood up for Mother Russia, were betrayed by Putin, fed like fodder to a killing machine called unjust war. No, this is not a “Victory Day” for anyone; it is a “Villainy Day” for Putin and day of sadness for the world.