The 5th Avenue of Havana was the scene this Friday of the march of the "Immortal Regiment", organized by the Embassy of Russia in Cuba to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The participants—Russian citizens residing on the island, diplomats, and their families—traveled along one of the main avenues of the Cuban capital carrying portraits of relatives who fought against Nazi Germany and singing songs from the wartime years.
The Russian ambassador Víktor Koronelli led the parade alongside officials from the diplomatic mission.
"Together with my compatriots and officials from our diplomatic mission, we marched today with portraits of grandparents and great-grandparents through Havana to commemorate the achievement of our ancestors who defeated Nazi Germany. Long live the Victory!" wrote Koronelli on his social media.
During the tour, the ambassador granted interviews to local journalists and to correspondents from Russian media accredited in Cuba. The main banner of the march displayed the inscription in Russian "Immortal Regiment • Cuba".
The day had a double symbolic significance: this May 8 also marks 66 years since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the then Soviet Union, which took place on May 8, 1960.
The embassy itself highlighted this in its publications: "We will continue working together for the benefit of our people. We are confident: we have new victories ahead!"
The "Immortal Regiment" is an annual tradition that began in 2012 in the Russian city of Tomsk, celebrated every May 9th — Victory Day — and has spread to dozens of countries.
In Havana, it has been celebrated since 2015, when Russian residents and Cubans marched along the Malecón carrying portraits of Soviet fighters. In the 2024 edition, around 500 participants walked the same 5th Avenue.
The event creates a political contrast that does not go unnoticed: the Cuban regime systematically prohibits public marches and demonstrations by its own citizens, yet year after year, itAllows and facilitates this parade organized by the Russian embassy, with security guarantees from the Cuban state.
The ties between Havana and Moscow have tightened in recent years. Díaz-Canel traveled to Moscow for Victory Day in 2024, where he met with Putin and delivered a personal letter from Raúl Castro.
In 2025, the Cuban leader repeated the trip to Russia in the same context, amid Havana's support for Moscow in the war in Ukraine.
In February 2026, Koronelli himself summarized the state of that relationship: “Cuba was, is, and continues to be our most important partner in Latin America”, asserting that bilateral ties are “on par with strategic cooperation.”
The Great Patriotic War cost approximately 27 million lives of Soviets, including both military personnel and civilians, and its commemoration holds a central place in the identity and propaganda narrative of Putin's Russia, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
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