The Kremlin's propaganda media have made a fuss about "another desecration of a Soviet monument", but in this case, the Russian embassy itself has coordinated the reburial of a high-ranking Red Army member, as they will get a new monument in the Soviet cemetery in Madona out of this. Two birds with one stone. The Red Army general was exhumed yesterday.
Neatkarīgā has already reported that “an important Red Army member will be reburied in Madona" - Major General Nikolai Yakunin of the Soviet occupation forces. Until August 26, his burial place was more some tens of meters from the Madona State Gymnasium building. That is what the Soviet authorities did to their dead - for ideological reasons, they scattered them throughout the occupied territory and erected monuments above them. But the dead must rest in a cemetery, not where the schoolchildren run around, even more so, an occupying army officer should not rest in the city center near the school, 30 years after the country has regained independence.
The situation is also understood by the Embassy of the Russian Federation, which has given the green light for reburial and also authorized its employees to supervise the exhumation work. However, this does not prevent Russian diplomats from playing both sides. In the public space - in the Kremlin's media and social networks, the removal of the monument and the reburial of the Red Army general in Madona are presented as blasphemy and desecration of the memory of the fallen.
Russian propaganda media Baltnews reports: "Under pressure from nationalists, a Soviet monument will be demolished in Latvia." And right next to it is the menacing publication "Soviet monuments will not be left without Russian protection." In it, an official of the Russian Foundation comments on the Baltic governments' attacks on Soviet monuments and links it to following the leash of the United States, anti-Russian sentiment in the Baltics, banning the Russian language, the situation with the non-citizens, and so on. Russian propaganda workers are asked to talk about what is important for Russia in the context of compatriot politics - the victory over fascism and the "liberation" of the Baltic states, not 50 years of occupation.
Of course, Russia's lamenting publications do not particularly emphasize the fact that, in the case of Madona, both the exhumation works and the dismantling of the stele are officially coordinated. The reburial of Major General Nikolai Yakunin is beneficial for the Russian Embassy, as it justifies the erection of a new monument in deoccupied Latvia - for the glory of the Red Army. The old monument will not be used for the construction of the Yakunin's resting place, but a completely new one will be built, and it will be located at the very end of the renovated Soviet soldiers' cemetery on the central high ground. Of course, made with the money of the Russian Federation. Only the embassy itself knows what will be written on the monument. In fact, nothing much has changed in this respect since the years of Soviet occupation, and Russia, acting cunningly, continues to build and polish monuments in Latvia to glorify the Red Army and Soviet power.
As for the Russian general, his exhumation was smooth and easy. Although some of the noisier admirers of the Kremlin had gathered with representatives of the embassy, they did not cause any conflicts. The work was performed by the men of the fallen soldier search unit Leģenda under the leadership of Tālis Ešmits. It started at ten in the morning, but around half past two the general's remains were already respectfully packed for delivery to the local morgue. The reburial of the Red Army member will take place until the end of September, but that part will be organized by the municipality together with the embassy.
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