Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Terror in Latvia and Estonia (14/06)

Every year on June 14, Latvia and Estonia celebrate the memorable date — Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Terror and Mass Deportation.

On the night of June 13-14, 1941, more than 15 thousand residents of Latvia, among whom were 2.4 thousand children under 10 years old, by order of I. Stalin, were arrested without a court decision and deported to remote areas of the Soviet Union — to Siberia. Mostly families whose members held leadership positions were selected.

The men, totalling about 8,250, were separated from their families and exiled to Gulag labour camps. Women and children were taken to the so-called «administrative settlements» as family members of «enemies of the people».

Information about these events was hidden by official authorities. Relatives did not have the slightest opportunity to find out what happened to the deportees. No institution, including the militia, could provide information or assistance. Only a small proportion of those deported in 1941 later returned to Latvia.

Today, on this day, many commemorative events are taking place with the laying of flowers at monuments and memorials, lighting candles and memorial prayers, in which relatives of victims of repression, as well as representatives of the authorities and the public take part.

Riga has a museum complex dedicated to the period of Soviet presence in Latvia, called the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.

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