‘You understand — now is not the time’: Russia cancels St. Petersburg naval parade for second year running
Russia’s Defense Ministry is not planning to hold the main naval parade in St. Petersburg this year, Fontanka, a St. Petersburg-based news outlet, reported, citing sources at the ministry. The parade, held in St. Petersburg on Navy Day since 2017, is observed on the last Sunday of July — which in 2026 falls on July 26.
“You understand — now is not the time for that,” a source at the navy told the outlet.
No presidential decree authorizing the parade had been published as of June 15, Fontanka noted, and sources who spoke to the outlet said that no order to begin preparations had been issued.
St. Petersburg’s main Navy Day parade is being canceled for the second year in a row. In 2025, the Kremlin said the decision was due to the “overall situation.” “Security considerations come first,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In 2024, the parade was scaled down: in Kronstadt, the naval portion of the event was canceled for the first time in eight years.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.