The city council in the Latvian capital, Riga, has agreed to remove a controversial Soviet monument in the city centre.
The decision was made at a special session on May 13.
Most Latvians see the monument in the center of the city more as a symbol of the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union than its supposed purpose to honor the liberation of the city from Nazi Germany in World War II.
It is not clear when the nearly 80-meter-tall obelisk and accompanying gigantic bronze statues in Victory Park will be dismantled, but the relevant city authorities have been ordered to remove it.
The issue of Soviet monuments in Latvia, which the Soviet Union occupied and annexed until 1991, shook relations between Riga and Moscow.
Moscow's relations with Latvia, which is a member of the EU and NATO, have been further strained by Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the Kremlin's heightened rhetoric regarding the Baltic states.
Police in Riga reportedly arrested several people at an unauthorized protest against the dismantling of monuments organized by members of the Russian minority in Latvia on May 14.
Demonstrations were also held in front of the Embassy of Latvia in Moscow.
On May 12, Latvian MPs approved a Draft Law that will enable the removal of the Soviet monument. The law amended the 1994 agreement between Latvia and Russia on the preservation of monuments from the Soviet era.
"Changed geopolitical conditions mean that Latvia cannot and will not be obliged to preserve monuments to the Soviet occupation," said Rihards Kols, chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee.
Kols added that Latvia will continue to fulfill its international obligations regarding burials and cemeteries where the remains of the Soviet military are located.
Latvia has passed many laws since independence aimed at removing Russian influence and strengthening the status of the Latvian language and culture.
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