SOVIET CELEBRATION: Thousands gather each year near Riga's Victory Monument to commemorate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. This year's event passed peacefully with nearly 20,000 people attending throughout the day.
RIGA - The celebrations of Soviet Victory in Europe Day on May 9 saw over 20,000 people, mostly Russians, come to lay flowers throughout the day in Riga's Victory Park.
By the end of the evening, 136 people had been detained by police in the area of the park for disturbing the peace, public intoxication and vandalism.
The event was held to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II. It involved singing and dancing, as well as giving flowers to elderly former Soviet soldiers and their widows.
Two days before the event, the Riga City Council approved a processional from the Red Riflemen Monument to Victory Park on the other side of the Daugava River. In anticipation of possible antagonism, the nearby Occupation Museum closed its doors early.
The city police said they did a good job in keeping the peace, but stressed the number of detentions was too large for such a small area and raised the question of whether such public events should be permitted the future.
Police spokesmen also said that Riga's center is not the right place for events like those that took place on May 9.
Among the high profile people detained were Vladimirs Lindermans, leader of Latvia's National Bolsheviks, and Aline Lebedeva, famous for hitting Prince Charles in the face with a red carnation during his visit.
GOLD SOLDIER
In Estonia, where Victory Day passed with little incident, authorities were forced to remove a controversial art installation from local artist Kristina Norman. Norman placed a papier-mache replica of the infamous Bronze Soldier 's which sparked widespread riots in Tallinn when it was moved to a military cemetary 's in its former location.
Although the authorities removed the replica within 30 minutes, it did not stop the story from circulating the globe.
Norman is due to represent Estonia at the 53rd Venice Biennale art exhibition with an exhibit that features an image of the Bronze Soldier. She claimed that she had no intension of causing offense with the placement of the statue on the symbolic day.
"I wasn't breaking any law in force in Estonia and I didn't intend to provoke anyone," she told the Estonian news Web site ERR Uudised.
The local Russian reaction to the replica was lead by Dmitri Klenski, who was heavily involved in the protests two years ago. He said the artist was making a social-political statement.
Klenski stated in Postimees that "this showed that the people are sick of political schizophrenia and that the soldier was put there by an intelligent artist."
Two years ago the government removed the Bronze Soldier statue from Tonismagi square in central Tallinn. They also removed the remains of Russian soldiers that were buried beneath it.
Although replaced in a military cemetery, the action sparked riots in Tallinn and significantly damaged Estonian 's Russian relations.
Estonian police told the Russian news agency Interfax that they did not plan to take any further action over the replica monument and that the owner could come and collect her property.
PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV
Much of the celebration in Latvia was organized and funded by leading Russian-Latvian political parties such as Saskanas Centrs (Harmony Center), and Par Cilveka Tiesibam Vienota Latvija (For Human Rights in United Latvia).
A newly revived Latvian party also took part in the celebrations, attempting to gain support for their political candidates, Vadims Putin and Nikolajs Medvedev.
The Za Rodinu (For Motherland) party bears the namesakes of some of Russia's top politicians in a ploy to not only appeal to the Russian-speaking minority in Latvia, but in hopes of better ties with Russia.
Putin and Medvedev are at the top of the candidate list for the party.
"Whenever relations between Latvia and Russia start to warm, some third party appears out of nowhere and spoils it. Since Latvia went sovereign, we have seen all the same faces in politics, and they are to blame for poor ties with Moscow. I'm here to change that," party member Vadims Putin told Russia Today.
The party represents the interests of ethnic Russians, who make up nearly a third of the Latvian population, including many non-citizens.
"We want these names to attract attention. In 18 years of Latvia's independence, not a single Russian president has visited our country, for some reason. And there are many issues for him to address in Latvia. We believe our namesakes can deliver this message better," said party member Sergei Zhuravlev.
Viktors Kalnberzs, a surgeon well known for performing the first sex-change operation in the Soviet Union, is one of the leaders of the party. Though not ethnically Russian, he vowed to work on behalf of minorities.
"I have faced injustice and cruelty here. All my ancestors are Latvian, but I was denied citizenship here when Latvia became independent. That is because of my professional ties with Moscow. I'm not Russian, but I want to fight for the rights of all minorities here Russians; Belorussians, Ukrainians," said Kalnberzs.
Latvians will go to the polls on June 6 to elect both municipal leaders as well as European Parliament candidates.
