Introduction to some Monuments in Riga, Riga, Latvia

Riga was a city in which I quickly felt very comfortable. It has a compact old town with plenty to see but not too ‘aspic-like’; by which I mean that it felt both touristy and homely at the same time, somewhere I could imagine that the locals don’t feel too overwhelmed by the history and the visiting population. It is also a city of monuments.

I have posted previously about the giant snails and many cats I encountered in Riga, and its Art Nouveau treasures. Here, for the Photographing Public Art challenge, are a few of its other striking monuments.

In the Ratslaukums near the Museum of the Occupation is this very solid-looking, brutalist-style granite monument dedicated to the Latvian Riflemen. The Latvian Rifles was a division of the Soviet Army formed during the First World War to try to repel the advances of the German Army. After German occupation of Latvia they fought in the Russian Army. By 1917 there were eight Latvian Riflemen regiments. The majority of them transferred their loyalty to the Bolsheviks and became known as Red Latvian Riflemen. Today we might view them as traitors, as they fought for Soviet rule on the side of the Red Army in the Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920). It was to these Red Latvian Riflemen that this monument was originally erected by the Soviets. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).