Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Barricades 1991

We remember you...The tragic events of January 1991 unfolded in the Latvian capital after the adoption by the Seimas of the Declaration on the Restoration of the State Independence of the Republic of Latvia. Dual power reigned in the country for some time: all the structures of the USSR operated, and the parliament and government formed parallel structures of the Republic of Latvia. So there were two prosecutors, police and police, etc. The first victim of the barricade movement was the driver of the Ministry of Communications Robert Murnieks, who died from a OMON bullet on January 14, 1991, while unlocking fences in Riga near the bridge in the urban district of Vecmilgravis.

On the evening of January 20, 1991, when barricades were erected everywhere in Riga, the Riga riot police, who remained faithful to the allied oath, stormed the local Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the armed battle, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were killed - senior district inspector Sergei Kononenko and police lieutenant Vladimir Gomonovich, and in the neighboring park a stray bullet killed film director Andris Slapins, cinematographer Guido Zvaigzne was mortally wounded.

The day will begin with a minute of silence in honor of the dead. Senior officials will take part in laying flowers on the graves of the fallen in Riga and then at the Freedom Monument. In the evening, a divine service will be held in the Dome Cathedral, after which Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga will deliver a speech. The head of state will also meet with participants of the barricades on Domskaya Square. Here in the square at 19.00 will light memorial bonfires. A fire and a field kitchen will be at the Seimas building, as well as in other places throughout the republic.