The Russian Embassy in Latvia on Monday denounced the removal and demolition of Soviet monuments in the country and called on the international community to reproach this attitude of the Baltic country’s authorities.
The Russian diplomatic mission in Vilnius has expressed its disagreement with the removal of the monument to the fallen in World War II located in the town of Daugavplis, as well as the tributes to Soviet soldiers on the Mount of Friendship.
According to Russian diplomacy, Latvia has «grossly ignored» the guidelines of the UN Human Rights Committee and criticized Vilnius for «not giving a damn» about the opinion of «hundreds of thousands of residents of its own country».
«Latvia’s ruling elite continues to cynically and defiantly mock the memory of the fallen heroes who saved ethnic Latvians from total extermination, to tear down the memorial structures erected in their honor,» the Russian Embassy has denounced, TASS news agency reports.
In this context, the Russian authorities have appealed to the international community, various international organizations specialized in the matter, as well as NGOs to «provide a consolidated assessment of these barbaric antics of the Latvian ruling elite».
Latvia has been one of the main countries that, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, has taken the opportunity to remove numerous Soviet monuments scattered throughout its public space, while adopting political measures aimed at distancing itself from Russian influence, such as the use of the Russian language in classrooms.
