美国国家公共电台 NPR--Latvia plans to destroy a Soviet-era monument, riling its ethnic Russian minority

Latvia plans to destroy a Soviet¹-era monument, riling its ethnic² Russian minority

Transcript³

RIGA, Latvia — Each year on May 9, Russia's Victory Day, thousands of Russian-speaking Latvians gather underneath⁴ this capital city's 24-story-tall Victory Monument to commemorate⁵ Soviet soldiers who died fighting Nazis⁷ in World War II.

"There is a concert, fireworks and marches. It's a huge celebration," says Riga resident Brigita Petrova.

But she says Russia's war in Ukraine cast a shadow over this year's celebration. "They lay flowers at this monument," she says, "but they're reckoning with how their homeland is bombing and killing⁸ people in Ukraine."

The city also seems conflicted. The morning after the holiday, Riga broke with tradition and sent a bulldozer to remove the flowers as quickly as it could. Hundreds among the city's ethnic Russian population responded by returning to lay more flowers at the monument, which then spurred protesters of Russia's war in Ukraine to arrive, resulting in clashes between the two groups that were later broken up by police. That led to the resignation of the country's interior minister.

The event prompted many Latvians to renew calls to destroy the monument, and a month later, Latvia's Parliament voted to do just that.

Petrova, one of the city's near quarter million ethnic Russians, thinks it's the right thing to do. "Previously⁹ I would have said 'no,' but given the war, I think yes, we should take it down," she says.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine rages on, former Soviet republics like Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are contending with their history — and in many cases renouncing¹⁰ it, often by demolishing¹¹ Soviet-era monuments. But none of the attempts loom¹² as large as Latvia's plans to dismantle¹³ Riga's Victory Monument, which is exposing long-held tensions between Latvians and their large ethnic Russian minority.

Erasing¹⁴ history or a necessary act?

"This is silly. It's such a stupid decision," gripes Svetlana, a retired¹⁵ Russian-speaking resident of Riga who doesn't want to give her last name for fear of being targeted because of the controversy¹⁶ over the monument.

She says her country's reassessment of Russian memorials and street names is erasing valuable history.

"Each year, I'd come here with flowers and a portrait of my grandfather, who fought in the Soviet army, and was wounded," she says. "It's very sad to see what's happening to it now."

Svetlana stands across the street from the monument in Victory Park, whose grounds are now overgrown with weeds. The Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist¹⁷ Invaders¹⁸ is a 260-foot-tall concrete spire¹⁹ topped with a star. It was built in 1985, during the waning²⁰ years of Soviet rule.

Since late May, the monument has been surrounded by a temporary wall patrolled around the clock by police. The city says it will dismantle the monument sometime before Nov. 15.

Ieva Berzina, a senior researcher at Latvia's National Defense²¹ Academy, says the ethnic Latvian majority of the country, who make up nearly two-thirds of the population, sees the monument as a symbol of the decades of harsh Soviet rule.

"For Latvians, it's a symbol of occupation and all the pain associated with that," she says. "For Russian speakers, it's commemoration of their ancestors that fought against Nazi⁶ Germany."

But Latvia's Defense Minister Artis Pabriks says those who want to remember war veterans, and their sacrifices, can do so at several other places. "Many people who support the continuous existence of such type of monument are simply pro-Putin people, because this monument is not a monument to fallen soldiers," says Pabriks. "This monument is not in a cemetery²²."

Instead, Pabriks calls Riga's Victory Monument an ideological²³ symbol. "And of course, in the current situation where Russia is waging a more aggressive war against its neighbors, I think it's a legitimate²⁴ question: Why do we keep any ideological monuments of occupation time in our country? What is the reason for this?" he says.

Fears of Russian retaliation²⁵

A poll by Latvia's public broadcaster LSM shows just 9% of the country's ethnic Russians support the demolition²⁶ of the monument, compared with 72% of ethnic Latvians.

Christina, who doesn't give her surname due to the monument controversy, supports the demolition but worries that Putin may retaliate²⁷ against Latvia. This week, Russian hackers²⁸ conducted cyberattacks on Estonia's government after it removed Soviet-era monuments.

"Russia can take [the removal of monuments] and use it as some kind of tool or reason why they would react," she says. "Because, as you see, it's very hard to predict what is up in this guy's mind, if there is a mind."

She's also worried about protests at the monument once it is dismantled²⁹, but Riga city officials have kept the date of the monument's destruction secret in order to try to prevent things from getting further out of hand.

Janis Laizans contributed to this report from Riga.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

5 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 renouncing   

v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• He enraged the government by renouncing the agreement. 他否认那项协议，从而激怒了政府。 来自辞典例句
• What do you get for renouncing Taiwan and embracing Beijing instead? 抛弃台湾，并转而拥抱北京之后，你会得到什么？ 来自互联网

11 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句

12 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

13 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

14 erasing   

v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵，挤出过去，吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
• Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然，恐惧淹没了渴望，泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

17 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

18 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

19 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

20 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

22 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

23 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

24 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

25 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

27 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

28 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

29 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。