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| World War II Victory Monument in Riga, Latvia |
The city council in Riga has voted to demolish a WW2 Soviet Monument, abrogating a portion of a treaty they signed with Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed. RT has the story. I'm posting this because I didn't find any 'good' pictures of the monument. I had to go to Google Maps.
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| The Two Sculptures at the Base of the Monument |
As you might expect, not all Latvians were happy about being part of the USSR:
Since its unveiling in 1985, the “Victory Monument” in Riga has been viewed as an ambiguous symbol. The divisive interpretations of the symbolism of this monument are focused on two decidedly different historical memories in Latvian society about the Soviet occupation from 1944 to 1991. Today, the monument has become the catalyst for nostalgia for the Soviet era among those members of Latvian society influenced by Russian media. But, the other segment of society views it as a symbol of Soviet occupation. As a result, this monument has become part of history politics used by Russia in an attempt to strengthen Russian influence in the post-Soviet sphere by using rhetoric that extolls the victory over Nazi Germany by the USSR in World War II as an instrument to construct the identity of the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Latvia. - The History of the Occupation of Latvia
Bonus word: monumentum - "The purpose of a monument can be found in the linguistic origin of the Latin word monumentum: a reminder of the significance of an historic event or personality."
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