On the crimes of the Red Army soldiers in Tukums.
Several monuments to the Red Army have been erected in Tukums during the Soviet occupation. Today, they have still not lost their former Soviet ideological goals and continue to create the myth of the Red Army as liberators. There are many sources for the crimes of Red Army soldiers. One group of sources can be found in local newspapers, which vividly describe the Red Army's permissiveness and the scale of the crime.
(..) In Tukums, the Red Army killed several inhabitants [..] In these days and later, the Red Army raped women on a large scale. The works of power were carried out even on girls aged 12-14 [..] The Red Army took time for passers-by on the street, and when it was said, they took the clock. For many, wedding rings have been removed, bicycles have been taken away. It often happened that a Red Army shot into the air as he entered the house and then robbed the intimidated residents. (..).
(..) Almost no houses of Tukums residents have remained unattended. Watches, valuables, vodka, jam, honey - were the main values sought by [..] The Red Army detained approx. 30 years old woman and asked: "Pakaži zubi!" The man opened his mouth with several golden teeth. Mongolia, without thinking much, broke his unfortunate mouth out of the street and left (..) "
Newspaper "Tukums news". It's gone. August 29, 1944
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Monument for the Freedom-Fighters
It is located in Tukuma, Mālkalna, Jelgavas street 15A.
The monument was opened in 1975 to highlight the merits of the Red Army during World War II. It served as a means of Soviet ideology and propaganda, symbolically strengthening the presence of the occupation regime in Latvia and creating the myth of the Soviet power as "liberators". The author of the monument is sculptor and resident of Tukums Arta Dumpe.
After the capitulation of Germany on May 8, 1945, the Red Army perceived Kurzemi as a territory conquered from the enemy and not a liberated part of the USSR. The inhabitants of Kurzeme were enemies and their property was considered war trophies. The repressive authorities and the army began the "Cleaning of Kurzeme". Men aged 16-60 were detained, registered and examined. In terms of danger, the inhabitants of Kurzeme - men - were compared to the military personnel of capitulated Germany. The permissiveness of the Red Army and the wave of crimes began - murders, rapes, robberies, arrests and "disappearances of people". The only armed resistance was from the National Guerrilla groups. The Soviet authorities created fighter battalions, including in the Tukum district, to eliminate any counter-action. The wave of violence and terror reached its climax in 1949, when the population was deported throughout Latvia.
Today you can see the monument. Its symbolic meaning is explained in different ways - a battle scene or a mother holding her sons fighting on opposite sides. The monument is installed on a hill with an impressive view.
