No intelligence service, NATO report, or Western analysis has exposed the true state of Russia today as clearly as this year’s May 9 parade in Moscow. The Kremlin attempted to stage a demonstration of force, but instead produced something grotesque. It resembled late-Soviet political reenactments – ceremonies where everyone knows the system is collapsing, yet protocol is still followed because no one has the courage to stand up and walk away. That was the main impression from Red Square – not