Russian military planes crash at Ledurga and Zvarde training grounds
In early 1992, two Soviet Mig-27 D aircraft crashed on one day under mysterious circumstances, 40 minutes apart, at the Lēdurga and Zvārde training grounds.
On March 25, 1992, two Russian, Soviet-made MIG-27D fighter jets crashed due to unknown circumstances. They took off on a training flight from the Russian Army Aviation Regiment stationed in Lielvārde and "disappeared".
The planes reportedly crashed 40 minutes apart. One fighter crashed at the Zvārde training ground, the other at Lake Aijaži near Lēdurga. The pilots of both planes died.
Eyewitnesses to the Ledurga disaster say that explosions were heard in Ledurga, which could mean that the Ledurga plane was in full combat gear, i.e. with missiles, which was actually not permissible at the time.
Fragments of the aircraft's tails were installed at the crash sites of both aircraft, but during the scrap metal "boom" of the 1990s, the metal aircraft fragments - the tails - "disappeared" at both sites.
Relatives of the deceased pilot from Ukraine have visited the Ledurga crash site.
https://replay.lsm.lv/lv/ieraksts/ltv/285472/tas-notika-seit-4sezona-ledurga
Diena, Nr.56 (26.03.1992) (periodika.lv)
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Soviet Army Observation Tower (Kurgan of Officers)
The "Officers' Kurgan" is located less than a kilometre from the ruins of Zvārde Church. The Kurgan is made of the ruins and remains of the surrounding houses and manor house, which have been bulldozed together. An observation tower was built on the kurgan. According to the inscription, the present tower was built in 1981. The tower was used to record bomb hits. The training bombs had a reduced explosive content, so their hits had to be watched more carefully. Unexploded bombs were neutralized immediately, but not all could be found.
The remains of the tower can be seen here today - the brick walls. As the barrage is relatively high, you can even see the Lithuanian oil refinery in Mažeikiai on a clear day.
Soviet air force target firing ground in Zvārde
Zvārde landfill is located in Zvārde municipality, Saldus region. It is a former military aviation training ground of the USSR, covering more than 24 000 hectares.
The territory of the former airfield is home to several sites: the Officers' Kurgan, the ruins of the Zvārde and Ķērkliņi churches, the Rīteļi cemetery, the former army base "Lapsas", and others. Until the Second World War, the site of the observation tower was home to the "Vairogi" house. During the construction of the polygon, what was left of the farm - walls, the remains of the apple orchard, and part of the ruins of the Veczvārde manor - was piled together to form a mound and the observation tower was built on it. It was used as an observation point for coordinating the army's training manoeuvres. This place is popularly known as Kurgan. The mound overlooks the former training ground and the wooded areas of Zvārde Nature Park and Nature Reserve. A good place for bird watching. The surroundings of Kurgāns are not landscaped.
Riteli Cemetery
After the airfield was established in this area in 1953 at the request of the USSR Ministry of Defence, the Zvārde Church, the Ķerkliņi Church and the Rīteļi Cemetery were actually located in the centre of the airfield - next to an artificial airfield with access roads and defence positions, which was used as a target by Soviet pilots. Planes flew here from airfields in Latvia and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. In less than 40 years, the church, the cemetery, the former manor house and dozens of surrounding buildings were reduced to ruins. Today, the site is cared for by the Saldus Martin Luther Church. The surrounding area is still contaminated with unexploded ordnance and it can be dangerous to walk off the roads.
Barbarism reached its peak in 1988, when the Rīteļi cemetery with its graves and monuments was bulldozed.
On 21 July 1990, in one of the first actions in which the Latvian population demanded that the USSR army leave the territory of Zvārde, a protest rally was held in Saldus, after which people went to the Rīteļi cemetery. The rally participants were allowed into the landfill site, and they cleaned up the cemetery a bit and dug white crosses.
The landfill continued to be used until 1992 and even as late as March 1992 a plane taking off from Lielvārde crashed in the landfill for unknown reasons. The Latvian Defence Forces started demining the site in May 1993, after the withdrawal of the Russian army. In 2008, Zvārde residents installed a memorial stone "Forgive us for not saving you" in the Rīteļi cemetery.
