Kathrine Frich
Throwing a massive public celebration is always a major gamble for a world leader.
You polish the venue, send out the invitations, and wait eagerly by the front door.
But sometimes, the most important guests simply decide to stay home.
A lonely viewing stand
The Kremlin just wrapped up its most important annual propaganda event of the season. Russian President Vladimir Putin traditionally uses the May 9 military parade to project absolute strength and celebrate global partnerships.
That carefully crafted image completely crumbled this year. The ongoing invasion of Ukraine has drastically altered the diplomatic social calendar in Moscow, leaving organizers scrambling for relevance.
According to the Latvian news outlet LA.LV, the Russian dictator stood almost entirely alone on the viewing platform. Foreign leaders simply refused to associate their personal brands with the heavy military spectacle.
Skipping the main event
Some politicians still maintain working relationships with Moscow. Even they kept a very safe distance from Red Square when the actual marching began on Thursday.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited the city for bilateral talks, but he explicitly refused to attend the military display. Other frequent attendees quietly backed away from the cameras altogether.
The Ukrainian news site Dialog.ua noted that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić showed up last year, but he stayed home this time. The Serbian leader sent a standard congratulatory message through diplomatic channels instead.
Hungary also dodged the parade completely. Officials in Budapest kept their representatives far away from the political fallout surrounding the wartime celebration.
The biggest empty chair
The most glaring absence belonged to Moscow’s most powerful and vital international partner. Chinese leader Xi Jinping stood front and center as the main foreign guest during the high-profile 2025 celebrations.
This year, the total absence of politicians from Beijing proved deeply humiliating for the Kremlin. Chinese officials completely ghosted the high-profile event.
Organizing a massive military parade without your top allies sends a very clear message to the rest of the world. The diplomatic isolation surrounding the Russian government is now completely impossible to hide.
