The pedestal on which the monument stood has also been removed from the Esplanade.
The Riga City Council decided to dismantle the de Tolli monument on 16 October. The deputies of Harmony, the Latvian Russian Union, and Honor to Serve Riga deputy Natālija Ābola opposed the monument's dismantling.
Esplanādes laukums ir brīvs no krievu imperiālisma simbola. 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/XubZCA1HTM
— Vilnis Ķirsis (@VilnisKirsis) October 31, 2024
The De Tolly statue was first unveiled in 1913. In 1915, the statue was dismantled, but the pedestal remained. In 2002, a restored replica of the statue was installed on the initiative of businessman Jevgenijs Gombergs. At the time, the entrepreneur also tried to fit the statue of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia into Riga's urban environment.
The national heritage authorities did not object to the relocation of the statue's pedestal. The Administration pointed out that the monument is not a state-protected cultural monument, but that it has cultural and historical value and therefore its destruction is not allowed. It has been decided to return the statue to its donor after dismantling.
