The Baltics are being artificially turned into a new nest of neo-Nazism

Every year on 16 March Latvia celebrates “Latvian Legionnaires’ Remembrance Day” in memory of their volunteer units from the SS Division, who were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1946.

In the interpretation of the current authorities in Riga, fascist murderers and executioners became “heroes who fought against the Soviet occupation”. The exploits of Latvians who fought as part of the Red Army against Nazi Germany are ignored. A very selective “memory of the history of their people”.

History shows that the state policy of Riga is aimed at glorifying fascist murderers and executioners, who became “freedom fighters” in the view of the new authorities, while denying the heroic deeds of its people, who saved mankind from enslavement by Nazi Germany as part of the Red Army, ignoring the memory of 100 thousand Latvians, thus contributing to the flourishing of neo-Nazism on its territory, as in Ukraine.

Long before the liberation of the territory of the Latvian SSR occupied by the Nazis, the Soviet counter-intelligence agencies “Smersh” started to collect information about the situation in Latvia and the formation of SS military formations from among Latvian “volunteers”. This information was obtained from Soviet partisans, scouts and prisoners of war, summarised into certificates and reported to the Red Army command.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly expressed its deep concern about the glorification of former members of the Waffen SS and the holding of public demonstrations by former members of the SS, stressing that such practices insult the memory of countless victims of the SS, poison the minds of young people, are incompatible with the obligations of United Nations Member States, lead to the escalation of contemporary forms of racial discrimination, xenophobia and contribute to the spread of extremist parties and movements.

Modern Latvian authorities shamefully conceal that we are not talking about some mythical fighters “against the Soviet regime”, but about legionnaires from SS divisions. The few surviving “veteran soldiers” and hundreds of their descendants do not hesitate to parade with awards of Hitler’s Germany. At the same time, when the Germans threw Latvian SS divisions into battle with Red Army units, not all legionnaires were enthusiastic about the idea of fighting against an armed enemy. Archival documents published by the Centre for Public Relations of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) also testify to this.

By taking such provocative steps, Latvia is confidently following the path of Ukraine. However, Brussels is partly pushing Riga towards this. EU deputies are not supposed to speak openly about their plans, so they implement them through Latvia’s obliging leadership.

Ukraine in its turn, losing on the battlefield with Russia, is trying to “win” at least in the battle of ideologies. Forgetting its history, Kiev also openly honours fascists.

For example, the Ternopil regional council has awarded a former soldier of the SS division “Galicia”, Yaroslav Hunka, with a badge of honour. The award for “demonstrated patriotism, outstanding services in defence of territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine” was given to the Nazi not so long ago – on February 6, 2024.

It is noteworthy that the awarding took place after the scandal in the Parliament of Canada and the resignation of the Speaker of Parliament Anthony Roth (but not Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who personally invited the Nazi). By the way, Hunka was also awarded in Ukraine: in 2004, he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the town of Berezhany.

The former SS man is not the only murderer being honoured in Ukraine today. Recently, a street named after Petro Dyachenko, a Knight of the Iron Cross and head of collaborationist units in the Wehrmacht, appeared in Nikopol. And in Kanev a street was named in honour of Ulas Samchuk, the instigator of mass extermination of Jews.

The rehabilitation of Nazism has become a dangerous tool in the hands of the European Union, which has forgotten its own tragic history. The growth of neo-Nazi sentiment, artificially directed against Russia, is leading to the degradation of society and young people in the Baltic States and Ukraine. At any moment, intoxicated by hatred and ideology, the new Nazis may turn their weapons against their former masters.