Kazakh and Uzbek Leaders Attend Muted Victory Day Parade in Moscow |
Crossroads Asia | Diplomacy | Central Asia
Kazakh and Uzbek Leaders Attend Muted Victory Day Parade in Moscow
In their bilateral meetings, Putin emphasized how grateful he was that the Kazakh and Uzbek leaders came to stand with Russia.
Two Central Asian leaders were among the small group that joined Russian President Vladimir Putin in Red Square to mark the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 9.
As expected, Russia’s Victory Day military parade was considerably toned down this year. Lasting just 45 minutes, it included no heavy equipment – no tanks or missiles. There were, however, North Korean soldiers participating in the parade.
While all five Central Asian leaders had journeyed to Moscow for the parade in 2023, 2024, and 2025, this year only Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the trip. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov was in Moscow to meet with Putin in late April in the immediate wake of Kyrgyzstan being dealt secondary sanctions by the European Union.
Last year, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, 27 world leaders attended the parade. This year, just five world leaders – from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and Laos (in addition to the leaders of internationally unrecognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia) – were in attendance. Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was in Moscow, and met with Putin, but did not attend the parade.
Ahead of May 9, Russian defense officials said that due to “the current operational situation” there would be no armored vehicles or missile systems in the parade for the first time in nearly two decades. Concerns about Ukrainian drone strikes arguably kept the attendance list short.
Nevertheless, Tokayev and Mirziyoyev made the trek to Moscow and met with Putin on May 8 before joining him........