Anton Morozov, a member of the State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee (LDPR), criticized the statement of the Latvian Minister that Riga was a “money donor” for the USSR.
Earlier, Latvian Minister of Justice Janis Bordans said that the republic gave almost half of its revenues to the budget of the Soviet state.
The Ministry of Justice of Latvia called the country a “money donor” during the years of the USSR. Commenting on this statement on Sputnik radio, political analyst Yuri Svetov expressed the opinion that the Latvian authorities are counting on the reaction of the European Union.
“This is simply a distortion of historical facts. In fact, Latvia, when it became part of the Soviet Union, was a backward agrarian country, probably the poorest in Europe. Only because the whole Soviet people worked to make a kind of showcase from the Baltic states , and, conversely, all resources were pumped into these countries, people lived there much better than in the rest of the Soviet Union, “RIA Novosti commented on Morozov.
He added that the statement by the Latvian minister is “completely unfair.”
“We built there (in Latvia. – Ed.) Many enterprises, including automobile factories, enterprises at that time were high-tech and advanced. And now, as you know, in Latvia there is a rather serious economic crisis, enterprises closed after joining The European Union and most Latvians are forced to look for low-skilled work in the European labor market, “the deputy noted.
The demands of the Baltic countries to compensate for the “damage from the Soviet occupation” cause laughter in Russia, said Andrei Mamykin, deputy of the European Parliament from Latvia. Political analyst Leonid Krutakov told Sputnik on the air why, in his opinion, these requirements are being put forward.
Earlier, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that Tallinn has the right to demand compensation from Russia for damage from the “Soviet occupation.” He noted that he discussed this topic with colleagues from Latvia and Lithuania. In the commission created by the Ministry of Justice, the commission tentatively estimated the damage at 1.2 billion euros. Estonian authorities also said that Moscow should return to the republic “annexed” five percent of the territory.
Russia has repeatedly stated that the occupation of the Baltic countries in 1940 by the USSR is out of the question. The Foreign Ministry explained that it considers the accession of the Baltic States to the Soviet Union as being consistent with international law at that time.
The ministry emphasized that the term “occupation” was unacceptable in this case, since there was no military action between the USSR and the Baltic states, and troops were introduced on a contractual basis and with the express consent of the authorities that existed in these republics. In addition, national authorities were operating in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia during their stay in the Soviet Union (with the exception of the time of German occupation during the Great Patriotic War).