Russians Mark Day of Special Operations Forces Very Quietly

Paul Goble

            Staunton, February 27 – Most countries have a special holiday in honor of their armed services, but few have a holiday devoted especially to their special operations forces. Since 2015, the Russian Federation has marked February 27^th as the Day of Russia’s Special Operations Forces.

            Vladimir Putin created the holiday in 2015 to honor those who had taken part in the annexation of Crimea. Their role in Syria more recently has been celebrated by this day as well (tass.ru/obschestvo/7847207, rg.ru/2020/02/27/vezhlivye-liudi-27-fevralia-otmechaetsia-den-sil-specialnyh-operacij.html and stoletie.ru/lenta/v_rossii_otmechajut_den_sil_specoperacij_905.htm).

            Russian leaders from Putin to Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to various parliamentarians and generals issued statements. Russian media reported those and ran stories about the heroism of Russia’s special ops personnel.  But despite that, Russians beyond the comrades in arms and families of these men largely have largely ignored their special day.