A demonstrative spit in the face of Russia: A bloody provocation is being prepared
The Latvian authorities supported the idea of demolishing the 80-meter monument to Soviet soldiers - the liberators of Riga from the fascist invaders.
The leader of the Night Watch movement, one of the defenders of the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn and the organizer of the Immortal Regiment in Estonia, Dmitry Linter, writes about this in his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The activist notes that in the case of the monument, the decision was made on the basis of a petition signed by ten thousand citizens of Latvia, while in almost a million people in Riga the majority of the population is Russian.
“The Seimas of Latvia, with 45 votes for, 30 against, supported the petition of ten thousand Latvian citizens to demolish the monument to the Liberators. The ruling regime in Latvia is preparing a bloody provocation in Riga. 60 percent of the residents of Riga out of the almost million population of the capital of Latvia are Russians. Preparing the destruction of the main symbol of Victory over Nazism is a challenge.
The blame for this lies in the toothless and conciliatory policy in the western direction. NATO structures are demonstratively planning big bloodshed in Latvia. And clearly, the Russian leadership is not ready for such challenges. Otherwise, it is unclear what we have learned since 2007, when the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn was demolished. Incompetence and passivity in protecting the sovereignty and values in the countries of residence of our compatriots. This is the main reason for the rampant Russophobia. And not just a conspiracy of enemies,” writes Linter.
One of the organizers of the 2012 referendum on the status of the Russian language in Latvia, Vladimir Linderman, notes in his blog that in the petition the nationalists proposed the option of blowing up the monument.
“Citizens generously offer a choice of two dismantling options, I quote:
1) In cooperation with the National Armed Forces, dismantle by controlled explosion.
2) Dismantling should be carried out in cooperation with a construction company that specializes in dismantling large buildings,” writes Linderman.
He also stated that opponents of the demolition of the monument will defend it physically: “It turns out that we will have to defend the monument, possibly physically.”
The monument to the liberators of Riga was erected from 1978 to 1985. Initially it was called “Monument to the soldiers of the Soviet Army - the liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the Nazi invaders.” In the center of the monument there is a column 79 meters high, topped with golden stars and images of the Mother Motherland, as well as Soviet soldiers.
Latvian nationalists have been trying to get the monument demolished for several years now, and in 1997 an attempt was made to blow up the monument.
A similar situation occurred with the monument called the “Bronze Soldier” in Tallinn. In 2007, the authorities, at the request of nationalists, moved the monument and the burial underneath it from the city center to the cemetery, despite protests and physical protection of the monument by the Russian population, which resulted in riots and confrontations with the police.
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