Down at my local Moscow supermarket, western Christmas carols and songs are playing on a loop. This year Ding Dong Merrily on High and All I Want for Christmas Is You sound curiously out of place. That’s because from morning till night Russian TV channels have been telling the public that the west is out to destroy their country, that leaders in the west (not in the Kremlin) are to blame for the war in Ukraine, and that Russian values are more “spiritual” than western ones.
At least they still like our music. As I push my trolley down the bread aisle, Abba’s Happy New Year strikes up, sung in Russian. In Russia it’s new year, rather than Orthodox Christmas (7 January), that is the main national holiday.
Moscow is awash with tinsel, trees and illuminations. Along with the seasonal supermarket music, they help create an illusion, one that the authorities are keen to sustain and many Russians more than happy to embrace: the illusion of normality, the sense that this festive season in Russia is no different from what has come before. In truth, normality ended nearly two years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Walking around Moscow, life can appear normal. Until you spot the face of a Russian soldier staring down at you from a billboard with the slogan: “Victory will be ours”. Or you see a poster in a shop window advertising for army volunteers. Moscow 2023: the city of appearance and reality.
Movable feast
Instead of Santa, Russia has Grandfather Frost (ably assisted by his sidekick, the Snow Maiden). So, what will he be giving Russians for new year? Grandad Frost’s sack will, I suspect, be overflowing with Chinese goods. Many international brands have left the Russian market, but Chinese smartphones and tablets, washing machines and fridges have taken their place. There are far more Chinese cars on the roads, too.
Before they open their presents, Russians enjoy their traditional New Year’s Eve feast. Across 11 timezones, families will tuck into Olivier salad (potatoes, carrots, peas, pickled cucumbers, eggs, sausage and mayonnaise) and “herring under a fur coat”.
But ahead of the festive season food prices in Russia have been rising fast. According to official data, egg prices have soared by 40% since the start of the year. President Putin recently blamed this on the government and promised to correct the situation. The last thing he wants is egg on his face less than three months before the presidential election. Not that he’s in any danger of losing: his most vocal critics are either in exile or in prison.
Putin’s vox pop
Until recently you could be certain of two things in Russia. First, a white Christmas (well, a white new year). Second, that the Russian pop legend Alla Pugacheva would pop up on TV on New Year’s Eve.
Snow? That hasn’t gone away. But Pugacheva has. In a social media post last year, she noted that Russian soldiers were “dying for illusory aims that make our country a pariah” and left the country. Her husband, Maxim Galkin, a comedian and TV presenter, is strongly anti-war.
Turbo patriots have slammed Pugacheva, Galkin and other Russian celebrities who don’t support the Kremlin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. So, who will be on the box in Russia this New Year’s Eve?
You can be sure that pro-Putin pop singer Shaman will make an appearance. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 32-year-old had a hit song with lyrics such as: “I am Russian. I go all the way… I am Russian. To spite the whole world.”
• Steve Rosenberg is the BBC’s Russia editor
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