For years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the annual Victory Day celebration on May 9, commemorating the Soviet victory over Hitler in World War II, to mark his own greatness. The Soviet triumph in 1945, has always been and remains one of very few historical events that truly unites the Russian people, and of course Putin, as his regime matured, could not help but take advantage of that. More than that, he personalized the event, appropriating its national meaning and even its public