What will have to be the destiny of monuments that glorify the Soviet regime positioned in Latvia? That’s the massive debate lately gripping the Baltic country.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Latvia has followed regulations to dismantle those Soviet monuments.
But memorials in graveyards that include human stays or are regarded as cultural landmarks will stay secure.
The town of Daugavpils close to the Belarus border has more than one Soviet landmarks and a sizeable ethnic Russian neighborhood.
For many Russian audio system, tearing down those monuments equates to rewriting historical past.
“A soldier is a soldier,” Igor Prelatov, a member of the Daugavpils City Council informed Euronews. “The war makes things clear. What happened, happened. The monument was built in gratitude for someone.
“If we return in historical past, whose territory this was… We can proceed debating ceaselessly. In my opinion, through taking down the monuments we erase historical past,”
But the situation is different in Riga, the country’s capital. Local authorities have not hesitated to dismantle the remaining Soviet monuments.
A massive obelisk commemorating the Soviet army’s victory over the Nazis became a contentious spot in the capital before being torn down.
Authorities claim that the memorial turned into a meeting ground for those pining for Latvia’s Soviet past and Russian war sympathisers.
According to Riga’s mayor, the city doesn´t want any more symbols of totalitarianism, especially following Russia´s invasion of Ukraine.
“We first considered renaming the monument. But this used to be no longer authorised through the inhabitants. After this proposal, folks began to donate to have this monument taken down. These donations lined the bills to demolish it,” defined Martins Stakis, mayor of Riga in an interview with Euronews.
Some landmarks which can be regarded as necessary may just finally end up on the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.
There, those historical artefacts shall be preserved and exhibited – a reminder of a nerve-racking bankruptcy in Latvia’s historical past.
Watch the entire Euronews Witness episode at 21.45 CET on Thursday 10 November.
