Russia: The more things change...

So Vladimir Putin plans to reintroduce the display of heavy weapons into Russia's traditional Victory Day parade. But perhaps to an even greater extent than in the old Soviet days, these parades, designed to show off military might, actually disguise the weaknesses of Russia's armed forces. So when you see the inevitable pictures of tanks trundling through Red Square, keep in mind that Russia's military remains in a parlous state, and is no threat to anyone beyond Russia's near abroad (it's nuclear forces aside, which are still absurdly large). 

And now for the real reason to write a post about the Victory Day parade: an excuse to link to this.