Latvian workers refuse to demolish Soviet memorial

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org/Александр Тимофеев

A few days ago we wrote about the despicable decision of the Latvian authorities to dismantle Soviet monuments, including the memorial complex dedicated to the country's liberation by the Red Army in Riga. 

News source from the Baltic country reported that workers refused to dismantle Soviet-era monuments in the eastern Balvi region. 

Like many other memorials of Soviet heritage, the monument that is dedicated to the partisans of the Red Army in the Balvi region is planned to be dismantled and transferred to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. According to a statement by the chairman of the regional Duma, Sergei Maksimov, local workers refuse to do this.

KKE: "Hands off the anti-fascist monuments of Europe”

“The Red Army's antifascist Victory cannot be erased! Hands off the anti-fascist monuments of Europe” points out a statement of the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) concerning the dismantling of the Soviet monument in Riga, Latvia on 23 August. More specifically, the statement (here in Greek) reads: 

“The decision of the authorities of Latvia and the city of Riga to destroy the entire complex of the anti-fascist monument, which was located in a central part of the Latvian capital and related to the liberation of Riga from the fascist invaders, is another step towards the rewriting of history. It took place in a country where anti-communist persecutions are practiced and which has already proceeded to the justification of the Nazi collaborators, the Nazi “legions” which officially parade ever year. 

The Shame of the Baltics: Latvia, Estonia dismantle Red Army memorials

Following the overthrow of Socialism in the beginning of the 1990s, the bourgeois governments in the former Soviet Republics of the Baltic region (namely Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) engaged in long-term anti-communist, anti-soviet campaigns. The activity of Communist Parties was prohibited, communist symbols were banned and socialist-era monuments were destroyed.

In a recent episode of this anti-communist hysteria, Latvian authorities decided to proceed to the the dismantling of a 1985 memorial dedicated to the Red Army. As a pretext for this shameful act the Latvian government used the Russian invasion in Ukraine! The first question that comes to our mind is: What does the ongoing war in Ukraine have to do with the Soviet Red Army? What kind of relation does capitalist Russia have with the Soviet Union?

Shameful billboard against Victory Day in New York's Times Square

The shameful billboard in New York City.

A shameful multimedia billboard appeared in Times Square, New York City, on Monday 9 May, calling the victory of the Soviet Red Army over the Nazis a "day of shame"! 

The billboard, paid by the campaign "Unite with Ukraine", was referring to Russia and the ongoing imperialist war in Ukraine. 

"MAY 9, RUSSIAN VICTORY SHAME DAY" was the message written in the billboard, provoking numerous negative comments in social media. 

KKE: Statement on the 77th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples

On 7/5/2022, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece  (KKE) issued a statement (here in Greek) on the 77th  anniversary of the Great Anti-fascist Victory of the Peoples, which notes, among other things, the following:

“The 9th of May inspires the peoples, it teaches them to have faith in their own power.

The USSR managed to achieve the feat of the anti-fascist victory thanks to the superiority of the socialist system, workers’ power, and the advantages of the socialization of the means of production and the central planning of the economy, which today are derided by the leaders of capitalist Russia (...) The workers’–people’s forces in Greece and all over the world will always commemorate the 20,000,000 Soviet soldiers and people that fell victims with admiration and respect.(...) 

Azov neo-Nazis demolish Zhukov statue in Kharkov

Neo-Nazis belonging to the Azov Battalion, supported by the Ukrainian authorities, demolished the statue of the legendary Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov in the city of Kharkov. 

The dismantling of the monument reportedly took place on Sunday 17 April. 

Koatiantyn Nemichev, an ex-combatant of the neo-Nazi Azov Regiment and head of the Kharkov branch of the National Corps, published a video of the demolition of the monument, stating that it had been dismantled by KRAKEN special forces. The video shows the statue being taken to a landfill. 

Last surviving Soviet soldier who participated in Auschwitz liberation dies at 98

David Dushman, the last surviving Soviet soldier involved in the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, has died at the age of 98.

In January 1945, Red Army tank driver David Dushman saw Auschwitz survivors stagger out of the concentration camp, amidst the dead victims of Nazi terror. "They staggered out of the barracks, sat and lay among the dead," Dushman told the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) newspaper six years ago.

The memory of the Antifascist Victory does not fade away — Socialism is the future!

Statement by the Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative for the 76th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. The statement reads:

76 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the Reichstag, marking the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. That was a fierce and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union with the decisive contribution of many anti-fascist, partisan movements, with the Communist Parties at the forefront.

Russian communists honored the Red Army anniversary

Despite the freezing temperatures and the restrictions due to the pandemic, hundreds of workers, young men and women, members and supporters of Russian Communist Parties and Communist Youth organizations honored the Day of the heroic Red Army on February 23rd.

In Moscow, people with red banners gathered at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall where they laid flowers in memory and honor of the Soviet Red Army's legendary fighters. The event was attended by a delegation of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) headed by the its Chairman Gennady Zyuganov. 

Pablo Neruda — Song of Love to Stalingrad (1942)

Pablo Neruda, the emblematic communist Chilean poet and diplomat — one of the 20th century's most influential Latin American cultural figures — was significantly inspired by the heroism of the Soviet people in the Second World War. He was particularly impressed by the brave struggle of the defenders of Stalingrad in a battle that played a decisive role in the outcome of the war. 

In 1942, Pablo Neruda wrote the "Song of Love to Stalingrad" (Canto de Amor a Stalingrado), praising the bravery of the Red Army and the Soviet people. What follows is a English translation of this extroardinary poem:

Russian athletes propose Soviet song 'Katyusha' to replace the national anthem

Despite the decades of anti-communist propaganda, the memories of the Soviet Union and the immense contribution of the Red Army to the victory against fascism in WWII are still alive in capitalist Russia. 

A recent example of this is the proposal by the Russian Athletes Commission to play the famous Soviet song 'Katyusha' at international sporting events for the next two years, while Russia's national anthem is banned over doping violations. 

State vandalism in Ukraine: Lviv authorities plan to dismantle monument dedicated to the Red Army

Another disturbing episode of anti-communist frenzy comes from Ukraine as the local authorities of Lviv are planning to dismantle the city's Monument of Glory – a memorial dedicated to the heroic Red Army soldiers - by the end of February 2021.

The decision was strongly condemned by the country's communists. Petro Symonenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, said that the dismantling of the monument is “an act of state vandalism and moral terrorism” and added: “This is a crime against the memory of the soldiers of the Red Army, a crime against the memory of compatriots who died in the fight against the fascist infection, it is a slap in the face of the international community and all members of the anti-Hitler coalition”. 

Who saved Europe from the Nazis? The Soviet Union's triumph and the falsification of history

By Nikos Mottas.

“Anyone who loves freedom, owes such a debt to the Red Army that it can never be repaid”. This phrase of Ernest Hemingway encompasses the whole symbolism of the 9th May 1945; the day of the Great Antifascist Victory of the people. 

The day when the red flag with the sickle and hammer raised over Reichstag, in Berlin, thus marking the triumph of the Red Army and the Soviet Union over the monster of Nazism.

75th Anniversary of the Victory over Nazis: Joint Statement of Communist and Workers' Parties

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the historic Victory of May 9, 1945, Communist and Workers' Parties from all over the world issued a joint statement, pointing out the following:

In the name of freedom, peace and truth — Against fascism and war.

The victory over Nazi-fascism in the Second World War is a major event in History, the memory of which must be preserved and defended in the face of repeated attempts at historical falsification aimed at making us forget the decisive role played by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by the communists and by anti-fascists from around the world. 

9 May 2020: The European Communist Initiative for the People's Great Antifascist Victory

Statement by the European Communist Initiative on the 75th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of 9th May 1945:

75 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the heart of Berlin,signaling the great anti-fascist victory of the peoples and the defeat of Nazism, after a hard and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union, to which decisively contributed many anti-fascist partisans and movements, led by the CPs, from many countries who responded to the call, committed to crush the reactionary forces headed by Italy and Germany.

75 years since the liberation of Vienna by the Red Army — 75 Jahre Befreiung Wiens

On the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Vienna by the Red Army, the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA) issued the following declaration:

75 years since the liberation of Vienna

75 years ago, on 13 April 1945, the Red Army of the USSR won the Battle of Vienna. This ended the "Vienna Offensive", which cost the lives of almost 170,000 Soviet soldiers. 

Communists, Anti-Fascists denounce Czech authorities over the removal of Konev's statue

Members of the Communist Party (KSCM) protest the
removal of the statue in Prague.

As we wrote on April 3, the local authorities of Prague 6 municipality proceeded to the removal of the statue of Soviet Army commander and WW2 hero Ivan Konev. In a statement, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) strongly protested the decision, pointing out that the "ruling elites of Prague" have no respect for the city's history and those who liberated the country from the nazis. 

The Party calls the removal of Konev's statue a "brutal and amoral act" and urges the people of the country to express their disagreement with this decision. KSČM demands from the Czech government to restore the statue immediately, while members of the Party organized a protest in the square where the statue of Konev was located.

Prague authorities show ingratitude towards Ivan Konev: Soviet hero's statue removed

Showing complete disrespect towards the city’s history, the municipal authorities of Prague 6 district proceeded today to the removal of the statue of Second World War hero and Red Army commander Ivan Spepanovic Konev. 

For a long time, under the tolerance of local authorities, the statue had been a target of vandalisms. Last August, unknown thugs had desecrated the monument with spray paint writing anti-soviet slogans. The attack took place on the eve of the 51st anniversary of the Soviet intervention against the counterrevolutionary uprising of 1968. 

Klostermarienberg 1945 — 75 years since the liberation of Austria by the Red Army

Joint declaration of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA) and the Communist Youth Eisenstadt/Burgenland, 29 March 2020:

Exactly 75 years ago, on 29 March 1945 at 11.05 a.m., the first units of the Red Army of the USSR entered Austrian soil. This date therefore represents an important step in the liberation of Austria from fascist dictatorship and German foreign rule. 

Mobile motorized units of the Soviet 6th Guard Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (led by Colonel General Andrei Kravchenko) crossed the border between Hungary and the province of Burgenland near Klostermarienberg (municipality of Mannersdorf an der Rabnitz), which at that time marked the German Reich border. 

Dmitry Yazov, last Soviet Marshal who opposed the USSR dissolution, died at 95

Dmitry Yazov, the last appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday in Moscow after a long illness. He was 95 years old.

His career extends from the Siege of Leningrad to the formation of the State Committee on the State of Emergency (SCSE, GKChP) which tried to prevent the domination of the counterrevolutionary forces in 1991.

Born in 1924 in the Omsk oblast, Yazov enlisted in the Red Army in 1941 at age 17. During World War II he would be honored for his service on the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, thus laying the groundwork for his ascension through the ranks of the Soviet military. He participated in the battles of the Siege of Leningrad, in the offensive operations of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, in the blockade of the Courland Pocket.