This year, Russia celebrated the New Year according to the same algorithm as all previous New Year celebrations—a tradition that originally began in Soviet times with typical television shows and music programmes.
It was supposed to be the same as many previous years, but this year's New Year's celebration was enriched with overwhelmingly noticeable wartime undertones, which suppressed the celebration itself.
Not only did the main Russian New Year's Eve TV show, "The Blue Light" (Goluboi Ogonek), differ significantly even from the two previous New Year's celebrations in 2023 and 2024 and the ongoing war, but this year's New Year also had a very striking nuance.
It is evident that the producers of "The Blue Light" intended for Vladimir Putin to watch it.
The culmination of aggressive patriotism
The programme was riddled with patriotism, anti-Western narratives, and calls for self-sacrifice.
Even by Russian standards, there has never been so much aggressive patriotism in a music and entertainment television programme.
There was a massive patriotic avalanche that descended on the Russian audience through the efforts of the invited guests and the singers loyal to the Kremlin who are still stationed in Russia.
The audience listened to tales about all the villains and lizards from overseas that Russia would eventually defeat
This included Vladimir Putin’s favourite chanson band, "Lube," and "Shaman," a hugely popular nationalist performer who entertains Russian audiences with his songs glorifying Russia and victory and telling his listeners how great and sacred it is to be a victorious Russian.
Between the singers' performances, viewers watched an animated film containing sketches and stories from old Russian folk tales. The audience listened to tales about all the villains and lizards from overseas that Holy Rus (Russia) would eventually defeat.
Unimaginable 15 years ago
In addition to this overdose of patriotism, the show "The Blue Light" was spiced up with constant interviews with war veterans who were invited as guests.
The veterans sat next to Russian singers or propagandists and told the audience episodically about the war and their heroic achievements.
Nobody could have imagined something like this 15 years ago
Nobody could have imagined something like this 15 years ago. At that time, Russia was much different and possessed the traits of a normal country.
Back then, there were satirical shows in Russia that not only made fun of corrupt Russian politicians but also of Vladimir Putin’s friends, right during the New Year’s programme "The Blue Light."
Celebration of another year of war
After 2014, everything began to intensify. It was the effect of a boiling frog.
Vladimir Putin was slowly adding heat, which enabled him to unnoticeably take the country and the majority of the Russian people back to 1984, when Russia was under 70 years of communism.
The heavyweights of the Kremlin were now guests in the studio and no longer the object of ridicule, as they had previously been - Mikhail Kovalchuk
The majority of people in the country have not noticed the slow-motion change that has taken place over the quarter of a century that Vladimir Putin has been in power.
The popular New Year's television programme was a triumph of this change, as the heavyweights of the Kremlin were now guests in the studio and no longer the object of ridicule, as they had previously been.
One of them, Mikhail Kovalchuk, who, together with his brother Boris, controls a large part of Russian television, was surrounded by war veterans, musicians, and other guests, including the most important war propagandists, Vladimir Solovyov, Dmitry Kiselyov, and Olga Skabeeva.
Altogether they looked like they were on a mission to entertain one man. It was clear to everyone else watching that they were witnessing the celebration of another year of war.
