...the group’s absolute opposition to violence, a stand that infuriated Soviet and now Russian authorities whose legitimacy rests in large part on the celebration of martial triumphs, most notably over Nazi Germany in World War II but also over rebels in Syria.
Obviously, the writer did not know the stand that JWs take. No stand at all, absolutely neutral in political matters. Some confuse that for pacifism. I remember hearing from a brother that they were not pacifists because they were preaching about the greatest war on earth.