, which has been used by the Russian military and
pro-Russian militias in Ukraine since 2014. , which was raised by the
Red Army at the
Reichstag during the
Battle of Berlin in May 1945, has been flown alongside the
Russian flag and the
Soviet flag in many parts of
Russian-occupied Ukraine. , in some cases, display the red-azure-gold
flag of the Ukrainian SSR as an expression of
pro-Russian sentiment. During the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Russian military vehicles have been seen sporting the
Soviet flag and the
Victory Banner. American political scientist
Mark Beissinger told
France 24 that the Russians' motivation for promoting the
Soviet Union was not necessarily rooted in a desire to re-establish a
communist state, but rather in a desire to re-establish "
Russian domination over Ukraine" and stand in opposition to
Ukrainian decommunization, which is aimed at shedding the legacy and influence of the
Russian SFSR. Soviet symbols
are illegal in Ukraine, and displaying them is also widely regarded as a provocative act in the other
post-Soviet states, excluding
Russia and
Belarus, which has
been involved in the Russian invasion. American historian
Anne Applebaum told
The Guardian that: "Because modern Russia stands for nothing except
corruption, nihilism, and
Putin's personal power, they have brought back Soviet flags as well as
Lenin statues to symbolise Russian victory." In many occupied Ukrainian towns and cities, including government buildings,
Ukrainian flags have been replaced with Victory Banners. The Victory Banner, which was raised at the
Reichstag to mark the Soviet Union's victory over
Nazi Germany during the
Battle of Berlin in May 1945, is used to represent the claim by Russian president
Vladimir Putin that Ukraine needs to be
de-Nazified. During the
Euromaidan in 2013 and 2014, many monuments dedicated to the Russian revolutionary
Vladimir Lenin were removed, and this process was accelerated during the
Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and again after the passing of
Ukrainian decommunization laws in 2015. Since 2022, however, a number of these monuments have been re-erected in
Russian-occupied Ukraine. ==Events==