The Baltics make Cheburashka a criminal

By Rhod Mackenzie

The Baltics States are increasingly showing they are becoming completely deranged and totally detached from reality. The Police are arresting individuals for singing Soviet songs, for laying flowers at the sites of now demolished Soviet soldier monuments and even displaying the beloved Soviet cartoon character Cheburashka in public. At the same time, there are calls from ethnic Nationalists to kill Russians which go on unpunished, plus the courts now recognise the deportation of ethnic Russian elderly people, depriving them of their pensions and healthcare, as legal.
In recent days, law enforcement officials in the Latvian city of Rezekne have been conducting a search for an individual believed to have left a bouquet of flowers at the location where a monument to a Soviet soldier, affectionately known as "Alyosha," stood until it was removed in the autumn of 2022. Unfortunately, "Alyosha" was among the many Soviet era monuments targeted in a widespread government sponsored vandalism campaign that took place that year.
The residents of Rezekne held the monument Alyosha in high regard and were reluctant to see him removed. Even the city's mayor, Aleksandrs Bartashevich, also voiced his support for the monument. However, the forces were unequal – the soldier's sculpture was dismantled.
In accordance with the legislation currently in effect in Latvia, it is prohibited to place flowers even on the sites where Soviet monuments were previously located.
On 9 July, a bouquet was discovered by police officers at the location where "Alyosha" had previously been positioned. An investigation was promptly initiated in accordance with Article 13.1 of the "Law on Administrative Punishments," which stipulates the responsibility for the use of symbols glorifying military aggression and war crimes in public places. Consequently, should a "culprit" be identified, they will be subject to substantial fines.Yes commemorating the defeat of the Nazi's in WW2 by the Red Army is now a criminal offense in the Baltic states.
The local police emphasise the following: "Even symbolic actions such as laying flowers at objects associated with aggression can be interpreted as a violation of public order, especially if they occur in the context of sensitive historical memory." So Russian-speaking Latvians pose the following question: "So, the question is whether the cleansing of Latvia of Nazis and the liberation of prisoners from the Salaspils concentration camp constitutes military aggression and war crimes." From the perspective of the Latvian authorities, this is exactly what they mean.Commenmorating Nazi's is Good,Celebrating their defeat is a criminal offence
Recently, Mr Andrejs Pagors, co-chairman of the opposition party "Russian Union of Latvia" and recently re-elected as a deputy of the Jelgava City Council, reported that the police had initiated an administrative process against him. This was due to him displaying a congratulatory message on Victory Day, plus a portrait of his great-grandfather and a Cheburashka doll in the window of his office. An individual who considered themselves to be a Latvian patriot viewed this as glorifying Soviet agression and reported it to the authorities.

"Currently police officers are forced to investigate fabricated cases, and at a time when they are fully loaded and understaffed," Pagor states indignantly. He is well-informed about the situation in Latvia's law enforcement agencies, having worked there himself. He emphasised that the ruling elite must recognise the significance of this legacy, stating that neglecting it would be a betrayal not only to the present generation but also to their families and ancestors.
Pagor was recently summoned for questioning, where he appeared without his "accomplice" - Cheburashka. This was a source of concern for nationalists, who viewed him as an eyesore on the windowsill of the "Russian Union of Latvia".
Incidentally, this is not the first time that this famous creature of an unknown breed invented by the Soviet writer Eduard Uspensky has been subjected to repression in Latvia.
In the spring of the year before last, the Riga Puppet Theater removed a children's play about Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena from its repertoire, citing concerns that these characters are used in "Russian military propaganda."
There have been numerous reports from the Baltics recently regarding the punishment of individuals who have sung or played Soviet songs in public. This is an example of a typical case: last June, officers from the South Latgale police station requested information from the public regarding nine individuals who were heard singing songs "praising military aggression and war" on public transport in Daugavpils. A self-professed "national patriot" who happened to be in the vicinity promptly reported the "crime" to the police.

Two of the nine individuals involved were swiftly identified. It transpired that the individuals in question were ethnic Russian pensioners, who were singing the renowned song "Katyusha" to pass the time while travelling in a bus caught in a traffic jam. It is interesting to note that Latvian nationalists appear to have a particular aversion to this song. Police have stated that the performance of a song that glorifies the Soviet army and the occupation regime constitutes a serious criminal violation of the law . Both individuals were fined 300 euros. Yes you cannot make it up,imagine in the UK singing song the german wartime Lili Marlene being made a criminal offence

Last spring, Ilya Maslyakov, an elderly resident of the city of Kohtla-Järve, was fined €1,000 for posting a video of himself singing the song "Alyosha" on social media. Maslyakov was apprehended for this "offence" by a web constable, a police officer tasked with monitoring the Internet for content deemed to be seditious. The constable noted the presence of a St. George ribbon and a red star in the video, both symbols are strictly prohibited in Estonia. According to Maslyakov, the video was recorded in 2019, before the prohibition of stars and St. George ribbons. In March of this year, the pensioner decided to participate in an online flash mob, in which performers from various countries sang "Alyosha".
On 23 March, he uploaded a six-year-old video to TikTok of an online flash mob, in which performers from various countries sang "Alyosha".without realising that it contained symbols that are now prohibited in Estonia.
Shortly after posting the video on social media, he was called to the investigator's office and informed that a case had been initiated under Article 151, Part 1 of the Criminal Code ("Support and justification of international crimes, public demonstration of a symbol associated with an act of aggression, genocide, crime against humanity or war crime").
Ilya's only income is his pension, and this fine had a significant impact on his budget. Human rights activist Mstislav Rusakov called on his compatriots to raise money for the pensioner to pay the fine, emphasising that every five euros would be important to Maslyakov.
The call was not ignored: ethnic Russian residents of Estonia began to contribute financially, perceiving this as a means of expressing resistance to the regime. Consequently, the full amount of the fine was collected in the shortest possible time.
Recently, teacher Olga Sokolova, who worked at Riga's kindergarten No. 225, was disciplined in Latvia. The woman inadvertently published a video on social media while on vacation in Italy. In the video, she discussed the prevalence of Russian speakers in Italy, noting that while many people understand Russian, the Latvian language is not widely known. The Riga municipality has reviewed this video and has determined that, as a result of the comments made, Ms Sokolova's continued employment as a teacher is inappropriate. Janina Kursite, professor of the Latvian and Baltic Philology Department at the University of Latvia and former member of the Saeima, stated that "In her video, she clearly shows disrespect for our country."
Sokolova was compelled to tender her resignation, which resulted in a deluge of negative commentary directed at her on social media platforms. Furthermore, her children, Rodion and Artur Kurucs, who are both well-known basketball players and members of the Latvian national team, also received the backlsh . They have now been asked to leave the team, as they are "not worthy of playing for Latvia."

Nationalists are operating with impunity on social networks, where they are calling for the expulsion of Russians and even their murder.

For instance, former TV presenter and current opposition politician Natalia Abola posted a message on a social network that was critical of state Russophobia, and her page was inundated with angry responses. Abola was the target of a number of personal insults, and death threats were made against her.
One of them, Gints Zemitans, called for Abola to be "liquidated" by "the people". Uldis Dundurs has issued a call for "all Russians to be sent to the gas chamber". Police reports were filed on all of these cases. The police have initiated an "internal investigation" into the call to dispatch Russians to the gas chambers, as was reported. Please be advised that all other reports have been rejected.
In the Baltic region, however, there is a complex situation involving not only the presence of nationalists, but also individuals seeking to demonstrate their loyalty and integration.
An incident of note occurred in Lithuania, where the recently appointed Deputy Minister of Finance, Valentin Gavrilov, was embroiled in an incident that would be considered a serious crime according to local standards. Every year on Victory Day, he visited the Antakalnis Cemetery in Vilnius and laid flowers at the graves of Soviet soldiers buried there who died during the war. In this way, Gavrilov honoured the memory of his own grandfathers and grandmothers who fought. Upon the revelation of this information, a scandal was exposed, and a series of accusations were directed at the official.

Gavrilov began to justify his actions: he had previously congratulated his friends on May 9 via social media, but had ceased to do so. However, a final blow was dealt when Gavrilov was found to have a personal page on the Russian social network VKontakte, which is banned in Lithuania. The page contained a selection of Soviet songs, including compositions from the war years. The deputy minister was compelled to tender his resignation.
So in the Baltics they have rewritten history and the Soviet Union and the Red Army did not liberate them for facism they just suppressed it for 75 years until it was allowed to prosper once again.Lets not forget many of the politicians of the Baltics today are the grandchildren of the Nazi's of yesterday.