Soon he removal of the remaining debris at the place where the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders once stood will be finished, said Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis at a press-conference on Wednesday, 5 October.
95% of work is completed. In the coming days the construction company will have completed removal of what remains of the monument. This will mark the end of the first phase.
According to the mayor, the bronze figures, the platform or the obelisk are all gone. The basin is in the process of being filled up. Work is mostly focused on the removal of debris.
It is planned to establish a Future Park in the place were the monument stood. There children and youngsters will be able to do sports and have fun at the skating park there.
Staķis said specifics regarding the plans for this territory will be presented to him in the next two weeks.
He added that the city council will need to decide on the skating park. However, it’s planned to allocate money from the next year’s budget.
Head of Ziedot.lv Rūta Dimanta reports that after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the organisation received requests from residents wishing to donate money to finance the aforementioned monument’s demolition. A total of EUR 268 385 was collected in donations. In accordance with the agreement with the city council, this money will be used to finance removal of the statues of the monument complex and the obelisk.
Dimanta reported that the new project’s design will be published once the security situation improves.
Reception of donated money will be decided by Riga City Council on 5 October.
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