🇷🇺🇱🇻 Commentary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia:

"We paid attention to the petition, which appeared on the web-portal of public initiatives "manabalss.lv," appealing to demolish the monument to the great Russian poet A.S.Pushkin in Riga and get rid of the "symbols of the Russian imperialism".

We would like to remind that such renowned representatives of the Latvian nation as writer Jānis Rainis and composer Jāzeps Vītols, artist Jānis Rosentāls and the creator of the Monument of Freedom sculptor Kārlis Zāle, the first President of the Republic of Latvia Jānis Čakste and many others were educated in universities of the Russian Empire in Russian. In addition, for many years the poet Juris Alunāns, the publicist Krišjānis Valdemārs, the author of the national anthem Kārlis Baumanis, the collector of folk songs Krišjānis Barons lived and worked in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Following the logic of the authors of this petition, these public figures should also be blacklisted, as well as the monuments dedicated to them should be demolished, and their role in the development of the Latvian culture and statehood should be zeroed out."

#Pushkin #Riga #Latvia #Russia #RussianEmbassy

https://t.iss.one/rusemblv/4301

🇷🇺🇱🇻 Commentary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia:

"The Latvian "national patriots" have once again desecrated in the center of Riga the monument to the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin. Apparently, inspired by the practices of international terrorist organizations (see the photo), the perpetrators put a black bag on the head of the monument and threw flowers from the pedestal into the dumpster.

The fact that the young vandals shot this impertinence on a video camera makes this outrageous trick especially cynical. Judging by the materials in the Internet, they were minors.

However, there is nothing to wonder about – the authorities of modern Latvia do educate their youth in the spirit of such ideals. In 2022, in the midst of Russophobic rage, they destroyed more than 120 objects of historical and cultural heritage. As the saying goes, monkey see, monkey do."

https://t.iss.one/rusemblv/5218

#Riga #Latvia #Pushkin

🇷🇺🇱🇻 Commentary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia:

"We are outraged by another cowardly trick of the Latvian defilers, who once again desecrated the monument to the great Russian poet A.S.Pushkin in Riga.

Given the fact that this is the third attack on this monument in the recent months, it becomes obvious that this incident goes beyond random hooligan actions and takes on the character of purposeful activity aimed at combating symbols of the Russian culture in this Baltic republic.

Unfortunately, we see that the unbridled behavior of representatives of the local "nationalistic" circles is not being duely opposed by the Latvian official authorities and law enforcement agencies.

One gets an impression that certain forces interested in this are deliberately seeking to form an "ambience" of instability around the monument to A.S.Pushkin and preparing the public for its demolition almost under the pretext of its salvation from vandals.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the caring residents of the Republic who have undertaken a noble mission to eliminate the consequences of this barbaric act."

#Riga #Latvia #Pushkin

🇷🇺🇱🇻 Commentary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia:

"On April 25, 2023, the Riga City Council approved the decision to dismantle the monument to Alexander Pushkin located in the city center.

The great Russian poet is accused of serving as a "symbol of Russian imperialism" and a "tool of soft power" of the Russian Embassy. In fact, this cowardly trick of the local Russophobes is a cynical attempt to prevent the monument from transforming into a new center of attraction and spiritual unity of the Russian-speaking residents of Latvia.

There was certainly no broad public discussion of this idea: it was initiated by a small group of the nationalistic deputies in the Riga City Council. No one even bothered to ask the opinion of hundreds of thousands of Riga`s residents.

How can such a blatant barbaric act towards a monument devoted to the internationally recognized genius of the world literature occur in a civilized state, the cities of which claim to be the "Cultural Capital of Europe"?

This Jesuit decision, made under hypocritical politicized slogans, is another clear evidence of the rise of xenophobia in the republic and leads to the further increase of interethnic tensions.

Such policy of the Latvian ruling elites deserves nothing, but strong condemnation, and should not be left without attention and principled response from Latvia's partners in the European Union and international specialized organizations".

#Riga #Latvia #Pushkin #Russia #RussianEmbassy

🇷🇺🇱🇻 Commentary of the Russian Embassy in Latvia:

"On May 30, the Latvian authorities dismantled the sculpture of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in Riga's park of Kronvald, which for 14 years served as a place of unity of our compatriots and a place of contact with the Russian cultural heritage.

This treacherous step, as is customary here, was carried out secretly under the cover of night in order to avoid unnecessary resonance.

Let's recall that the decision to get rid of this memorial object was taken by the Riga City Council in the best traditions of the "Latvian democracy", without taking into account the opinion of the city's residents and the author of the monument A.Taratynov.

This cowardly trick of the local Russophobes, undertaken out of fear of the consolidation of the Republic`s citizens on the basis of common cultural values, will not change the fact that hundreds of thousands of Latvians still treat with reverence and will always honor the great literary heritage that A.S.Pushkin, a truly world-class poet, left to his descendants.

The purposeful efforts of the Latvian authorities to eradicate objects of the Russian culture not only overshadow the image of a "modern civilized state", but serve as signs of their own weakness."

#Riga #Latvia #Pushkin #Russia #RussianEmbassy

https://t.iss.one/rusemblv/6356