Victory Memorial to Soviet Army (Riga)

The Victory Memorial to Soviet Army (Official name: Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders) in Riga, Latvia was erected in 1985 to commemorate the Soviet Army's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It consists of a 79 meter tall obelisk and two groups of sculptures.

In 1997 it was unsuccessfully bombed by members of the Latvian ultra-nationalist group Pērkonkrusts, two of whom died during the bombing.

Nowadays the momument remains a controversial subject, as many ethnic Latvians regard it not only as the symbol of Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, but also Soviet re-occupation of Latvia.

Literature

 * Прибалтийские русские: история в памятниках культуры. Рига: Институт европейских исследований, 2010. Ред. А. В. Гапоненко, 736 с. ISBN 9789934811326 — стр. 600-602