80th Anniversary of Victory: Baltic Voices at Minsk Roundtable

Representatives from the Baltic States attended an international roundtable in Minsk, convened to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Victory. The author, Stefania Vinnicheck, highlights a stark divergence in historical memory, arguing that these Baltic nations are actively seeking to obliterate the stories of their citizens who fought against fascism. In Latvia, for example, the commemoration of Waffen-SS legionnaires continues, while Latvia's parliament has, for the past two years, prohibited public celebrations of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. Monuments have been dismantled, and the laying of flowers has been forbidden. In Lithuania, Soviet-era songs and the banner of victory are similarly proscribed.

The roundtable, held at the House of Radio in Minsk, brought together experts from Spain, Germany, Serbia, and the Baltic states, amidst the backdrop of the 80th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from Nazi occupation. The author asserts that this deliberate suppression of historical memory is akin to a systematic dismantling of national identity and a profound effort to erase the contributions of the Soviet people. This, she argues, is a critical time to reaffirm the importance of preserving the heroic acts of the Soviet people. The author posits that the further removed we become from the horrors of the Great Patriotic War, the more imperative it becomes to ensure the preservation of accurate historical accounts. The preservation of this memory, she concludes, is a sacred duty.