Latvia's Soviet past is finally being dismantled

When Latvia became independent of the USSR in 1991, its population was more or less evenly ethnic Latvians and Russians and other non-Latvian Soviets. The process of desovietisation since then has moved at varying speeds. The fear of Russia was one handbrake but now Latvia is a member of the European Union it has to protect its minorities. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 provided a further impetus to remove the symbols of Latvia's colonial Russian past. The Monument to Victory in Riga's Victory Park came down with little response from Russia, despite threats from the Russian government. The process of stripping Russian-speakers of Latvian citizenship has proven controversial and is lagging behind somewhat. 🔵 Subscribe and turn on notifications 🔔 so you don't miss any videos:    / @centreforeasternstudies   🎙️ Listen to our conversations on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/369Umim... 🔵 Follow us on Twitter:   / osw_eng   ➡️ More OSW long-form reports and analysis in English here: https://www.osw.waw.pl/en