RIGA, Oct 16 (LETA) - The Riga City Council today approved the dismantling and relocation of the monument to the Russian soldier Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly in Esplanade Park.

The statue of Barclay de Tolly was erected in 2013, but dismantled in 1915. In 2002, on the initiative of the entrepreneur Jevgenijs Gombergs, a restored replica of the statue was erected. At the time, the entrepreneur also tried to "install'' a statue of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia into Riga's urban environment.

The National Heritage Administration have no objections to the relocation of the monument. The Administration points 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.

Juris Dambis, Head of the National Heritage Board, explains that, in view of the public and municipal opinion that the monument needs to be moved, the Board does not oppose the relocation, provided that the preservation of the monument's base is ensured.

The statue is to be returned to Gombergs after dismantling.

At the City Council meeting, passionate addresses were made in defense of the monument's preservation by city council members. The most active speakers were members of the Latvian Union of Russians, for example, Inna Djeri, who sees in the removal of the monument Russophobia, stupidity and a rewriting of history. She stressed that fighting monuments in Riga will not make the streets better and will not bring more money to the city.

City Council Member Natalija Abola (Honor to Serve Riga), on the other hand, stated that neither the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin nor Barclay de Tolly belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin. De Tolly's name also belongs to Latvian history.

City Council Member Davis Stalts (Code for Riga) referred to the State Security Service, which in its report had pointed to Russia's policy of using memorials and monuments to increase its influence.