There are no plans to preserve any part of the monument in Pārdaugava dedicated to the Soviet Army once the monument has been dismantled, as Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis told LTV programme Rīta panorāma on 3 August.
According to the politician, the monument complex will be removed piece by piece. Since the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia said none of the parts of the monument have any artistic value, the entire monument will be demolished.
On 4 August Riga City Council Financial and Administration Committee will meet. During this meeting it is planned to discuss the topic of funding for the removal of the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders.
Staķis said physical demolition of the monument accounts for only 10% of the entire project’s costs, because after that it is planned to transform the former monument complex area into a park.
According to unofficial information, it is planned to allocate EUR 2.1 million towards this.
The construction company has been selected for the job, but Riga City Council will not reveal the name of the company. For security purposes the start of demolition will be announced shortly before the start.
According to information from rigaspieminekli.lv, the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders was installed in Victory Park in 1985. It is an allegorical ensemble with a 79 m tall obelisk in the centre consisting of five pillars with stars at the top. These stars symbolize the five years of war and victory fireworks.
Throughout the years thousands of people gathered at this monument every year on 9 May, which is the day when many countries of the post-Soviet territory celebrate this date as the day of Soviet Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.
Some people in Latvia also keep this tradition alive and celebrate Victory Day. But in most Eastern European countries, however, this date has long since been associated with the occupation and annexation of Baltic States by the Soviet Union.
The question of whether or not Latvia has any room for monuments dedicated to the Soviet Army became a hot topic after the start of Russian- Ukrainian war. Discussions of this topic concluded with Latvia’s Saeima passing the law that states monuments dedicated to the Soviet regime and not located within burial areas are to be removed from Latvia’s territory by 15 November.