The obelisk – the centerpiece of a monument marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany’s occupation of the Baltic states in World War II – was built in 1985 when Latvia was still part of the USSR. Image: What the monument looked like. Photo: AP The structure, made up of five cones with three Soviet stars on top, stood between two groups of statues – a band of three Red Army soldiers and a woman representing the “Motherland” with her hands in the air. It was nearly 80 meters (262 feet) high in the center of Riga before it toppled over and crashed into a nearby lake in the city’s Victory Park. Heavy machinery was seen behind a green fence before it was removed. The statues had been removed earlier. Image: The concrete structure was demolished in Riga Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted: “Latvia is tearing down one of the symbols of Soviet occupation in Riga. Closing another painful page in history and looking for a better future.” The obelisk has been controversial since Latvia regained its independence in 1991 and eventually became part of NATO and also a member of the European Union. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February prompted authorities in several Eastern European countries to accelerate the removal of symbols from their former communist eras. Image: Photo: AP Latvia’s parliament approved the monument’s demolition in May, and Riga’s City Council followed suit. Russians make up about 25% of Latvia’s population.
