By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS, Reuters – Latvia’s Interior Minister resigned Monday after being pressured by the ruling coalition. The police were criticised for not allowing Russian speakers to commemorate earlier in the month the victory of the Soviet Union in World War Two.

Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania claim that Moscow used their victory over Nazi Germany in order to forcefully enrol the Baltic region within the Soviet Union.

The Latvian police used force on May 10 to expel hundreds of Russian speakers from an obelisk at Riga’s capital city. This was because they were not complying with a law banning gatherings at Soviet monuments.

Marija Golubeva (the minister) told reporters that she has lost the support of her prime minister following a threat from a coalition member to quit. This was in protest at police’s decision to permit peaceful gatherings at an obelisk during Russia’s World War Two Victory Day on May 9 and May 10.

What does it tell you about Latvian resilience that a small group of people can stand for 2 hours and shake down the government? Golubeva responded with defiance.

Krisjanis Karins was not able to comment on Golubeva’s resignation. However, he stated that earlier gatherings disregarded Latvia’s statehood and honored the memory of those who were killed in the Russian invasion, according to the BNS newswire.

The Latvian parliament banned public events that were within 200m (or 656 feet) from Soviet war memorials on March 31. It was doing so to stop May 9 celebrations at Riga obelisk. Latvian leadership shuns Latvia’s highest leadership, but Russia’s ambassador attends these events.

Official figures show that 24.5% of Baltic republic’s 1.9million inhabitants are Russians. The number of ethnic Russians in Riga is up to 36%.

Under heavy police surveillance, thousands of Russian-speaking people showed up at the obelisk to protest.

After a viral video showing municipal workers using a tractor for the dump, many people returned to the site on May 10, to replenish the flower beds.

Some attendees wore Russian symbols of war such as “Z”, which are banned in Latvia. Russian military songs were also played nearby from vehicles parked near the venue, Delfi reports.

The prime minister and parliament supported the decision of Riga’s City Council to take down the obelisk on Friday. There was no timeline.