Authors

Discussion

My presentation looks at the debates over the fate of Lenin monuments in Latvia between April 1990 and August 1991. Starting with the example of the Lenin monument in Riga at the time of the 73^rd anniversary of the Great October Revolution, I aim to understand the hitherto unexplored strategies adopted and alliances made by the Communist Party of Latvia for the protection of Soviet monuments. Drawing primarily on the documents of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia (CPL) and the Bureau of the Riga City (Kirov District) Committee of the CPL, my argument is that the response of the CPL remained largely reactive and on paper during the period considered. The attempts of the CPL to mobilise concrete response and to gain the upper hand were unable to offer a comprehensive protection to the Lenin monuments in the republic. The response and strategies of the CPL were further hindered by the decline in Party support, weakening links with the Soviet administrative structures, its loss of political monopoly and transformation into the opposition party in the newly elected Supreme Council.