Russian expatriates in Ireland have staged a Victory Day rally which included symbols in support of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Up to 1,000 people attended the event at Naas Racecourse in Co Kildare on Sunday to mark the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany.
Victory Day has traditionally been a focal point from people who were from the old Soviet Union and who are living in Ireland with expatriates from all 15 former Soviet republics participating.
However, the event is now Russian-dominated as other nationals believe it has been hijacked by supporters of President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Footage has emerged online from the event of a woman wearing a T-shirt with the letter “Z” on it, a symbol of support for the war. Many of the cars that travelled in convoy to the racecourse had Russian flags and the black and orange ribbon of St George which Ukrainians also associate with support for the war.
The event at Naas Racecourse was organised by the Coordinating Council of Organisations of Russian Compatriots in Ireland, which is supported by the Russian embassy in Ireland.
Some cars carried the legend “CCCP” – the USSR in Russian and “T-34″, a reference to a Soviet tank which was produced between the second World War and 1958.
One of the attendees was Mikhail Baturov, a native of the Russian Federation who has been living in Ireland for 20 years.
“Soldiers from across the USSR, including Ukraine, fought against Nazi Germany in the war. This event remembers that and has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” he said.
He also pointed out that some Irish people were members of the British army, which also fought on the same side as the USSR and US.
Not all those present were Russians. Some claimed to be from Moldova, Lithuania and Latvia.
Members of the Ukrainian community have written to the Naas Racecourse management seeking clarification on why it was used for the event.
One Ukrainian national living in Ireland described it as a “fascist cavalcade” that should not be allowed in Ireland.
“My grandfather fought against the Nazis in the second World War,” he said.
“This circus is blackening his memory which I personally hate. I’m only glad he didn’t live to see it.”
Naas Racecourse general manager Eamonn McEvoy apologised and said he understood the “negative reaction” to the Russian flags on display. He told The Irish Times that the course is made available to community groups “wherever possible” and “on a good-faith basis”, and he granted permission for an “Eastern European Community Family Day” on Sunday.
“There were about 400 to 500 people in attendance, many of them families,” he said.” I attended personally throughout the day, spoke to those who had gathered and am very satisfied that those in attendance came from a range of countries throughout the former Soviet bloc and were there to commemorate the end of World War 2 – many with photos of their family members who had served in the war.
“However while there were flags of many nations on display, as well as historical flags from the WW2 era, there was an unexpected number of Russian flags on display. Notwithstanding that Russian flags are not ‘banned’ in Ireland (or sanctioned in any way) I fully understand the negative reaction of a number of people given the invasion and continuing war in Ukraine.”
He added: “Naas Racecourse was inadvertently drawn into highly sensitive geopolitical events and for that I would like to apologise to anyone who was offended by it.”
