Former MP George Galloway Attends Putin’s Victory Day Celebrations in Moscow
The leader of the hard-left Workers Party of Britain, George Galloway, has appeared in Moscow as Russia’s Vladimir Putin celebrated Victory Day with a huge military parade. According to a report by the Daily Mail, Galloway, who previously served as MP for Glasgow Hillhead, Glasgow Kelvin, and then Bethnal Green and Bow, travelled to Russia to attend Putin’s pageant through the city’s Red Square on Friday.
In a post on social media, Galloway described the Victory Day Celebrations as "moving, emotional, inspiring, humbling." Pictures posted by the politician show him and his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, posing for the camera on Red Square. The Daily Mail reports that the event was attended by more than 20 world leaders, including China’s President Xi Jingping, who sat next to Putin during the procession.
Galloway’s visit to Russia comes after he travelled to Tehran this week to collect an award in honour of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed last year in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital. The Daily Mail states that Galloway was given the Martyr Ismail Haniyeh award at a media festival held in Tehran in recognition of his "outspoken defence of Palestine." In a speech, Galloway said he was "honoured" to receive the award, and also bragged about having Haniyeh’s passport in his possession.
The Daily Mail reports that Galloway’s visit to Iran came as tensions between the UK and Tehran heightened last week following the arrest of four Iranian nationals over an alleged plot to attack Israel’s London embassy. Victory Day, which Russia marks on May 9, is the country’s most important secular holiday. The parade and other festivities underline Moscow’s efforts to project its global power and cement the alliances it has forged while seeking a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict in Ukraine that is grinding through a fourth year.
According to the Daily Mail, world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, along with the leaders of France, Germany, and Poland, travelled to Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of unity after Putin’s Victory Day parade. Britain has been highly critical of Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in what it calls the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche. The Daily Mail reports that the parade featured over 11,500 troops and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armoured infantry vehicles, and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine. As a reminder of Russia’s nuclear might, huge Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles launchers rolled across Red Square. Fighter jets also released smoke in the colours of the Russian flag over Red Square.
The Daily Mail quotes Galloway as saying that the parade in Russia was "emotional" and "inspiring." The article also states that Galloway’s visit to Russia and Iran has sparked controversy, given his previous praise for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a "martyr." Galloway’s actions have been seen as a provocation by some, given the ongoing tensions between the UK and Russia.
