World War II was a complicated affair in Latvia. The Molotov-von Ribbentrop pact allowed the Soviet Union to absorb the small nation in 1940; on June 14, 1941 there was a massive deportation of Latvians to Siberia. Eight days later Nazi Germany invaded the USSR.
Latvians, as well as Lithuanians and Estonians, can be forgiven if they initially viewed the invaders as liberators.
In 1943, the Nazis formed the Latvian Legion to fight the Soviets, and each March 16, there is a controversial parade commemorating the legionnaires in Riga, the Latvian capital. It's a contentious event, since almost half of the residents of Riga are ethnic Russians.
Mrs. Marathon Pundit was in Riga on the day of this year's parade, but was tending to her ailing mother. But she tipped me off to a YouTube video where a young Russian woman slaps and spits on a seventy-ish Latvian woman.
Oh, ANTIFA is short for "anti-fascist."
Technorati tags: Latvia Latvija europeeuropa international ussr communism history russia military armed forces military ussr soviet union world war ii
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