Stalin’s bust an insult to free world

European Parliament member Sandra Kalniete has sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, expressing bewilderment at the installation of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's bust at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, reports LETA.

The bust of the Soviet Union's wartime leader was unveiled at the National D-Day Memorial several years ago. The National D-Day Memorial honors those who fought and fell on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, Kalniete's parliamentary assistant Martins Spravniks said to LETA.

In her letter, Kalniete recalled that Stalin was responsible for the murder of millions, despite the fact that the Soviet Union, led by Stalin, helped defeat Nazi Germany. This does not lessen the atrocities of Stalin's regime against innocent people in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, writes Kalniete.

While the entire world watched with horror as Hitler occupied Europe in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet pact, Stalin's army occupied part of Poland and Romania, as well as the Baltic States.

"We are thankful that the United States never recognized the occupation and annexation of the Baltic States. The United States has always condemned human rights violations in communist-dominated Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. I was shocked at the bust's installation at the National D-Day Memorial. We must not allow glorification of the darkest pages in Europe's history. The bust is an insult to the memory of those who suffered and perished due to the Soviet regime," writes Kalniete.