Latvian Charge d'Affaires has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry

Latvian Charge d'Affaires to Russia Dace Rutka has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over the destruction of Russian historical and cultural heritage on Latvian territory. This is reported on Friday, December 6, on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"A strong protest is expressed in connection with another wave of destruction of Russian historical and cultural heritage in this Baltic state. We are talking, in particular, about the dismantling of the monument to the military commander M. Barclay de Tolly, the memorial tablet of Alexander Pushkin, the bust of A. Kern", - stated in the message.

At the meeting, the diplomat was told that this is immoral in the civilized world.

The Russian side also calls on UNESCO and other international institutions to condemn such barbaric actions, the Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The monument to Russian commander Mikhail Barclay de Tolly in Riga was dismantled on October 31, shortly after the decision of the local council. The demolition was initiated by Riga Vice-Mayor Edvard Ratnieks, who considered the monument "a sign of glorification of the Russian Empire and glorification of Russification". Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it barbaric to dismantle the monument.

Latvian businessman Evgeny Gomberg in a conversation with Izvestia in October promised to take the monument to the Russian commander and install it on his plot in Jurmala. Monuments to noblewoman Anna Kern and Emperor Peter the Great were also moved there.

Russian Charge d'Affaires in Latvia Dmitry Kasatkin told Izvestia in September that the Baltic country continues to fight against monuments. Hundreds of Soviet and Russian memorials have been dismantled in the country over the past two years, the diplomat recalled at the time.