A DAY TO REMEMBER

May 14, 2009

Despite some of the heated emotions that Russian-Baltic relations often inspire, this year’s Soviet Victory Day passed peacefully – but that’s not to say emotions don’t still run high, simmering just beneath the surface.
Relations between Russia and the Baltic states remain strained today both on a political and personal level.

In Estonia a local artist Kristina Norman generated international headlines when authorities were forced to remove papier-mache replica of the infamous Bronze Soldier statue, painted gold.
The government’s decision to relocate the statue from central Tallinn to a military cemetery sparked mass riots two years ago.
While Norman denied she was deliberately inciting violence, her actions point to a deeper rift existing between citizens of Russia and the former Soviet States.
In Riga some 20,000 people, mainly of Russian origin, laid flowers and sang folk songs in commemoration of the fallen soldiers killed during the defeat of Nazi Germany.
While some arrests and cases of public disturbance were reported, the event passed largely without incident.

Attitudes surrounding the event stand in stark contrast to those surrounding Legionnaires’ Day.
The highly controversial memorial day, which commemorates the Latvian Waffen SS unit who fought in World War II alongside Nazi forces against Soviet Russia, has been a flashpoint for violence.
In the past the event has drawn protest from Russian nationalists and anti-fascists, who sometimes attempt to disrupt the event and prevent mourners from laying flowers at the Freedom Monument.
Debate about the legion’s actions remains muddied by the claims and counter-claims of each side.
In war time there are few choices and this instance in history is no exception

Soldiers and common people were faced with siding with Stalin’s Communists or the forces of Nazi Germany.
The violent and petulant actions that continue to plague Legionnaires’ Day surely only belittle the sacrifices made by those who gave up their lives in war time.
While the majority of people who attend these sorts of events probably do so out of patriotic duty and are sincere in their hearts, the question remains why is one event granted more tolerance over another?

For many Russians in the Baltics and even for some Latvians whose family died in the war, Victory Day is a very important, and a very personal holiday.
The same could be said for Legionnnaires’ Day -- an important milestone for the family’s of those fallen.
Soviet Union and Nazi Reich policies were very similar, and at the beginning of WWII the USSR and the Reich were allies.
Latvians argue they have nothing to celebrate on May 9 as their country ended up occupied for the following 50 years.

It can also be argued that the cruel regime of Hitler was replaced by the so-called lesser evil of Stalin when the Allies achieved victory in 1945.
Following Germany’s defeat the European continent saw no large-scale military conflict again for many years.

However, there remains one inescapable fact: War is awful no matter what side you fought on.

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