People of pro-government groups, with Russian flags, dance marching through downtown Moscow to mark People's Unity Day, a public holiday, in Russia, on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Russia marks National Unity Day on November 4 to celebrate the defeat of Polish invaders in 1612. (Photo by Ivan Sekretarev/AP Photo)

Fireworks explode above St. Basil's cathedral during a rehearsal for the “Spasskaya Tower” international military music festival at Moscow's Red Square, September 4, 2015. Military bands from different countries will participate in the annual tattoo starting on Sunday. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

Manchester and Salford University students have been celebrate the last day of freshers week in Manchester, England on September 25, 2016. (Photo by Jordan Sinclair/UK News Pictures)

Kimono-clad women enjoy the view from Tokyo Sky Tree’s 350-meter-high observation deck in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on the Coming of Age Day, January 9, 2017. Sumida Ward invited about 430 local 20-year-old to the deck to celebrate them. Many city governments invite local 20-years-old to there’s symbolic places and celebrate for their Coming of Age Day. (Photo by The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images)

A young woman flashes the victory sign in front of a bonfire as Turkish Kurds gather during Newroz celebrations for the new year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2018. Newroz (also known as Nawroz or Nowruz) is an ancient Persian festival, which is also celebrated by Kurdish people, marking the first day of spring, which falls on March 21. (Photo by Ilyas Akengin/AFP Photo)

A young boy walks to his school bus on a foggy day in Dubai on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Chris Whiteoak/The National)

A rare fog bow over Needles Headland on the Isle of Wight in UK late Wednesday afternoon, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Paul Jacobs/Picture Exclusive)

Children carrying guns and flags or wearing Soviet-style uniforms have become a common sight at Victory Day parades and other events in Russian-controlled Crimea. Russian and Ukrainian human rights activists have warned that such displays point to a growing trend of promoting Russian patriotism among kids on the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Here: A young Crimean girl wears military-type clothes during a Victory Day celebration in Sevastopol on May 9, 2018. (Photo by Oleksandra Surgan/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)