Latvia demolishes Soviet monument in Riga – Russian embassy says demolition ‘treasonous’

With loud fanfare
Riga knocked the Soviet colossus to the ground

08/26/2022, 09:50 AM

It’s a relic from the Soviet past: the Victory Monument in Riga. The Latvians are now grinding this colossus with loud fanfare. The Russian embassy is outraged and condemns the demolition as “treasonous and unjustified”.

In Latvia, the Soviet Victory Monument in the capital Riga was demolished. At the behest of city officials, two excavators brought down the 79-meter-tall obelisk atop the Soviet star with pneumatic hammers. At 4:42pm local time, after several hours of work, the huge concrete pillar fell to the ground with a loud thud – to the applause of many onlookers. Before that, the metre-high bronze statues were removed with heavy equipment in earlier days.

In Latvia, all material glorifying authoritarian regimes must be removed by November 15, following a parliamentary decision in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The regulation specifically targets the demolition of the Soviet Victory Monument. “This monument was a constant reminder of our occupation, the fate of many people associated with it – deportations, repressions and so on. We do not need such a monument,” President Egils Levits said on Latvian television. A live stream. Riga Mayor Martin Stakis spoke of “a historic moment for Riga and all of Latvia” after the demolition.

The monument was erected in 1985 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Hitler’s Germany in World War II – “a monument to those who liberated Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German-fascist invaders”. During World War II Latvia was alternately occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union. After the end of the war, the Baltic states remained an unwilling part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

The monument is protected under a 1994 treaty between Latvia and the Russian Federation. In May, the Latvian parliament voted to amend the treaty, stripping the monument of its protected status. The Russian embassy in Riga condemned the move as “treasonous and unjustified”.