A video, which was later widely circulated on several social media, was filmed on Daugavpils public bus 17A on June 2 after the Daugavpils City Festival. The VP has identified two of the nine "Katyusha" singers and asks the public to identify the others. One of the singers, who had already been caught by the police for a similar offense, was fined EUR 300. The amount of the fine for the other identified "Katyusha" performer is still to be decided. According to the VP, this song is considered a symbol of military aggression.
"We perceive it as the use of praising symbols in public," explained Ivars Kravcevičs, Deputy Head of the South Latgale Precinct of the Latgale Regional Administration of the VP. "The offense itself is, I believe, serious and there will be no small fines in these cases. The public has already been warned for several years. These offenses are punishable by administrative liability."
Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) said that punishment is necessary, otherwise "the expression of democracy and freedom of expression is misunderstood": "This simply cannot happen in the country we live in. We support Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor. This, I think, is very well understood at the level of the leadership of the VP and responded to appropriately."
Rihards Bambals, Head of the Strategic Communication Coordination Department at the State Chancellery, also pointed out that singing "Katyusha" is a glorification of the Soviet regime, which is particularly offensive in June, when we remember the darkest pages of history - the arrival of the Soviet army, the establishment of an occupation regime that devastated the nation, and the deportations of the population.
"At this time in particular, something like this should not be allowed in the information space. This is not just about the online space. To sing a song praising the Soviet army in person is also to celebrate both the occupation of Latvia and the deportations of people, tragic fates, but it is also, in principle, to support Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine," Bambals said.
Following the Daugavpils festival, several administrative proceedings were initiated, as well as criminal proceedings for the acquittal of war crimes.
