Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry has cancelled commemorative events, including a military parade, on May 9 to mark the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Political and economic factors appear to have played a role in the decision. Victory Day, as the May 9 celebration is known across the former Soviet Union, has become Russia’s primary state holiday in the years since 1991. Elsewhere in the former Soviet empire, the occasion has receded in significance. In Kazakhstan, a military parade hasn’t been on May 9 since 2019. Even so, commemorative events honoring veterans have continued to be staged across...