I've attended many Victory Day parades on Red Square. This year’s version felt very different.
No running was required this year. There were far fewer journalists at the event. Many international media organisations had not been granted access.
Once I was in position on Red Square, a Russian TV crew came up to me and started filming.
"Steve, you're proof that foreign media have been allowed in," beamed the reporter.
"Not really," I replied. "I can't see any others."
I was glad to be there, though. To see for myself what Victory Parade 2026 would look like.
As well as fewer journalists, there were fewer guests in the stands, and fewer world leaders had flown in for the spectacle.
But the biggest difference became evident once the parade got under way.
There were no tanks, no rocket launchers, no intercontinental ballistic missiles on display - none of the military hardware which the Kremlin normally showcases on Victory Day to project Russian military power on the international stage.
That's because this year's parade had been scaled back, citing security concerns that Ukraine might target Red Square with drones.
President Vladimir Putin will have been reluctant to pare back a parade that is always choreographed to portray Russian strength. But fear of a potential Ukrainian attack forced the change.
In the end, the parade passed off without incident. A last-minute ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by Donald Trump, reduced the danger.
On Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree "permitting" Russia to hold the parade - a troll not appreciated by Moscow.
And what about all that military hardware? We didn't see it on the square, but we did see it on giant screens - a video presentation of tanks, jets, and submarines.
"We always were and always will be victorious!" declared President Putin in his speech.
But the Ukraine war is a very different war. Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago. And, right now, for Russia, there is no sign of victory.