Riga City Council votes to demolish monument to liberators

13 мая 2022
Apparently, the Latvian authorities have nothing sacred left. As it became known, the Riga City Council voted for the demolition of the monument to the soldiers-liberators. Contrary to expectations, the decision-making was delayed: even among the deputies there are people who consider the war on monuments and repressions against anti-fascists inadmissible. However, 38 deputies spoke in favor of this act of vandalism and 7 against. Riga they are ready to disperse the protest At this moment, indignant with such actions, citizens of Riga are going to protest against the demolition of monuments to soldiers-liberators and police actions on May 9. We should remind that at that time, participants in flower laying events were detained and given large fines. The authorities declared calls to go to the town hall square today "extremism" and advised the police to show "zero tolerance". Hundreds of police officers were brought to the center of Riga, ready to use force. Provocateurs with neo-Nazi symbols of the Azov battalion also appeared, but the police did not notice them. On the way to the square, the authorities detained a member of the European Parliament and a leader of the Russian community. Despite the intimidation, dozens of people gathered in the center of Riga at these moments. Action at Latvian embassy in Moscow Mass protest demonstration against repression in Riga and protection of monuments of the Great Patriotic War, which are being destroyed, was also held near the walls of Latvian embassy in Moscow. Hundreds of people brought flowers to the improvised memorial, which is a copy of the monument to the liberators in Riga. A line stretched for several blocks to remind the authorities of the Baltic republic that the Soviet Union had sacrificed millions, including on the altar of Latvia's freedom.