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Russian MP slams dismantling of Soviet monument in Riga as day of shame for Europe

Europe is turning a blind eye on the demolition of the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma and leader of LDPR, said

© Taisiya Vorontsova/TASS

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Europe is turning a blind eye on the demolition of the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders, but it will never be able to kill the historic memory, a senior Russian lawmaker told TASS on Wednesday.

"It is a day of shame for Europe," said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma (lower parliament house) and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). "The West kept silent when veterans of SS legions were marching down Latvian streets, when neo-Nazism raised its head in Ukraine. It is silent now again."

"But it is impossible to erase memory," Slutsky stressed. "Riga’s residents have demonstrated it more than once. I am sure that people will continue to bring flowers and candles to this site. Brussels is unwilling to see how Latvia’s authorities are killing European values they have been declaring, along with the monument."

"The hysteria will come to an end in the long run and they will finally see that relations with Russia would never be the same again," Slutsky added.

On July 14, Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the dismantling of 69 military monuments dating back to the Soviet era, including the monument in Riga’s Victory Park, memorials dedicated to the soldiers of the Red Army in Liepaja, Rezekne and Daugavpils. On August 3, a monument to Soviet soldiers was dismantled in Riga’s Pardaugava district.

The demolition of monument to the soldiers of the Red Army - the liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the Nazi invaders - began on August 23. According to Riga’s city legislature, the monument is to be completely dismantled by November 15. It is planned to spend around 2.1 million euro on that.

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