Pro-Kremlin ‘Immortal Regiment’ March to Be Held in Washington for First Time Since Ukraine Invasion

A pro-Kremlin rally known as the “Immortal Regiment” march is set to take place in Washington DC on May 3 for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency, the event is being promoted through material distributed among Russian-speaking communities in the US. The march will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of what Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet term for World War II.

Participants are requested to gather in Washington’s Lafayette Square, near the White House, and proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the World War II Memorial. Promotional materials state the event will include an orchestra, Soviet-era songs, and portraits of Russian soldiers.

The materials feature Soviet symbols and the black-and-orange St. George’s ribbon - imagery that has come to be associated with Russian nationalism and military aggression, particularly following Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A flower-laying ceremony and a small concert are also planned close to the memorial, the organizers said.

Sources told Ukrinform that the organizers have already secured the necessary approvals, but it has raised concerns among observers who view the march as part of a broader Russian state-sponsored propaganda campaign.

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The Immortal Regiment march began in Russia in 2012 and has since spread to cities around the world where large Russian-speaking populations reside.

While originally intended as a grassroots tribute to Soviet soldiers who died in World War II, the campaign has increasingly been used by the Kremlin to promote patriotic narratives and bolster support for its military policies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally participated in past marches, including in May 2022, when he carried a portrait of his father, a World War II veteran, in a procession through Moscow.

The march has not been held in the US capital since the onset of Russia’s war against Ukraine.