Posted on 08/25/2022 11:58:22 PM PDT by dennisw
A concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars that was the centerpiece of a monument commemorating the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany has been taken down in Latvia’s capital of Riga
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars that was the centerpiece of a monument commemorating the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany was taken down Thursday in Latvia's capital — the latest in a series of Soviet monuments brought down after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Heavy machinery was spotted behind a green privacy fence at the foot of the nearly 80-meter (260-foot) obelisk shortly before it was felled. The column, which had stood like a high-rise in downtown Riga, crashed into a nearby pond, causing a huge splash at Victory Park.
A Latvian media outlet broadcast the event live as onlookers, some with Latvian flags wrapped around their shoulders, cheered and applauded.
The obelisk, made up of five spires with three Soviet stars at the top, stood between two groups of statues — a band of three Red Army soldiers and on the other side a woman representing the “Motherland” with her arms held high.
The monument was built in 1985 while Latvia was still part of the Soviet Union. It has stirred controversy since Latvia regained independence in 1991 and eventually became a NATO and European Union member.
On Twitter, Latvia's foreign minister said by taking down the monument, Latvia was “closing another painful page of the history and looking for better future.”
The country shares a 214-kilometer (133-mile) border with Russia and has a large ethnic Russian population. On Russia’s annual Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II, people gathered in front of the Riga monument to lay flowers.
Latvia’s parliament voted to approve the demolition of the Victory Park monument in May, and the Riga City Council followed suit. Work to clear away the monument started three days ago with the removal of statues. The area was then cordoned off and authorities issued a flight ban for drones. Police temporarily closed traffic near the park on Thursday, citing security reasons.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has prompted authorities in several eastern European countries to remove symbols from their communist eras.
The government in Poland -- another country once was part of the Soviet sphere -- said Thursday that a memorial site in neighboring Belarus containing the graves of Polish soldiers who died during World War II is being leveled to the ground by the Belarusian authorities.
Lukasz Jasina, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Twitter that the cemetery in Surkonty, where Poland’s resistance battled Soviet forces, is being “devastated by the services of the Minsk regime.”
The development comes a day after Poland said it was demolishing a monument to Soviet Red Army soldiers in Poland, one of dozens that have been marked for destruction.
They could have just put a hat on it and called it a conversion.
What’s worse, Russian corruption and authoritarianism on the east, or EU corruption and authoritarianism on the west?
Since all former captive nations in Europe are all joining the EU, the answer seems pretty clear.
This is finally showing respect to the 87,000 Latvians who volunteered for the SS and it is clearly the best way to advance peace in the region.
Poland or Hungary could each take care of Russia, based on the pathetic battlefield performance we’ve seen so far
The United States can’t even defeat Afghanistan !
The United States should no longer be considered a “superpower”, just a mid-level power with crappy equipment
Poland or Hungary could each take care of Russia, based on the pathetic battlefield performance we’ve seen so far
Define “take care of Russia”. Keeping the Russians out of your country is one thing, marching on Moscow is another.
IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING WHEN SOVIET MONUMENTS ARE TORN DOWN!
Yes! And since Latvia has Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires for it’s SS men, it’s inappropriate for there to be a monument to the men who defeated them!
Kiev just assassinated with car bomb the deputy police chief for traffic ticketing in Mariupol. Apparently they figure anyone who keeps civil order functioning in an “ occupied’ territory…is a collaborator.
Not sure they will have enough neo-nazis to run everything if or when they “ liberate” Eastern Ukraine, but there would be a lot of people rounded up and disaapeared…
So tell me, what did the Soviets do to anyone who continued being in the police under the nazis?
We are about to find out what the DPR/Russians ( not “Soviets”) are going to do to AZOV nazis when war crimes start this week in Mariupol.
Stay tuned.
What’s worse, Russian corruption and authoritarianism on the east, or EU corruption and authoritarianism on the west?
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Yeah, both sides are bad. But offhand I would say the guys standing on foreign land and killing people represent the biggest threat.
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