Each year Russia marks the V-Day celebrations with much panache.

But many analysts believe the fascination with all things military is a part of every-day life.

"Under [President] Putin, the cult of World War II has become the basis of state ideology. In Russia, in its past, in its culture there is nothing else that would unite society now," says Russian journalist Oleg Kashin.

BBC Monitoring speaks to one engineer who recently designed a pet house shaped like a tank.

Video produced by Jilla Dastmalchi and Vitaliy Shevchenko

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