Soviet Monuments News Today

During the Singing Revolution, statues of Lenin disappeared from Latvia's public spaces, in line with other nations freed from the Soviet yoke. The occupation monument in Riga, much like the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn, became a major point of contention, political scientist Veiko Spolitis writes.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it summoned Norwegian Ambassador Robert Kvile over the attempts to disrupt the ceremony of honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers in Kirkenes in the northern part of Norway.

I suppose it is true that while we restored our independence de jure in 1991, the Soviet period has continued mentally. People who are truly free would not develop such anxiety disorders and twitch whenever painful topics are mentioned, Maarja Vaino writes.

On Thursday morning, work began on the removal of plaques and memorials featuring symbols which commemorate Red Army units, from state-owned land in Tallinn's Maajamäe Memorial complex.

Three World War II mass graves in Viljandi Municipality were being excavated by the Estonian Military Museum on Tuesday, the latest Soviet memorial sites to be taken down.

The remains of several hundred people were found in a Soviet-era grave site in Tartu this week, far fewer than initially reported in data from the time.

According to a report by Latvian national broadcaster LSM, Daugavpils City Council has submitted a timetable for the demolition of two objects glorifying the Soviet regime. Mayor of Daugavpils Andrejs Elksniņš (Harmony) made the announcement on September 13 during on Latvian current affairs talk show "Šodienas jautājums."

Work began on Monday morning at 8am, to remove a Soviet-era war monument from Tartu's Raadi Park. The remains of those buried in the graves at the site of the monument will also be removed from the site for reburial in a more suitable location.

History is not being destroyed but the way people remember is being changed.

The Lääneranna Municipality in Pärnu County has relocated five Soviet monuments to a museum in Virtsu.