WATCH: Latvia dismantles monument to Soviet soldiers in capital city of Riga

WATCH: Latvia dismantles monument to Soviet soldiers in capital city of Riga

WATCH: Latvia dismantles monument to Soviet soldiers in capital city of Riga Credit: Radowitz/Shutterstock.com

The Riga City council of Latvia had previously announced that it was set on removing a monument to Soviet soldiers due to the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, with footage of the removal of the last statue circulating on social media on Wednesday, August 24.

Video footage of the removal of the monument to Soviet soldiers in Riga, Latvia, was shared on Twitter:

The removal of the monument reportedly began on Tuesday, August 23, but with three statues of Soviet soldiers taken down, the statue of a woman was still in place on Tuesday.

Work resumed on the morning of Wednesday, August 24, when the base of the statue had been crushed and the statue itself was held up by industrial jacks.

The statues are reportedly covered with scaffolding during dismantling, making it difficult for visitors to observe what is going on.

The central element of the monument, the obelisk, is still in place.

The dismantling of the monument has reportedly attracted attention, but many police crews are on duty in the area to keep order around the site.

In previous years, thousands of people gathered at the monument on May 9, to celebrate the victory of the Soviet Red Army over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Despite the removal of Soviet statues being widely debated in Lativa, the Latvian Parliament adopted a law requiring the removal of all non-grave monuments to the Soviet regime in Latvia by Autumn, as reported by Jauns.

The news follows reports of Estonia removing a WWII Soviet tank statue, threatening to revoke the residency of any foreign protesters.


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Written by

Joshua Manning

Originally from the UK, Joshua is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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