Memorial to those killed on Bastejkalns in January 1991
According to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia this memorial consists of «six memorial stones in the greeny along the canal, opposite Bastejkalns. Five stones were unveiled in August 1991, and the stone to Raimond Salmins was placed in August 1994 by sculptor Arvïds Voitkäns with friends and colleagues. At about 9 pm on 20 January 1991, an armed attack on the building of the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Latvia at 6 Raina bulväris began in the centre of Riga, with firing continuing near the Bastejkalns bridge. Several people lost their lives as a result of the shooting - E. Riekstiņš, V. Gomonovičs, S. Konoņenko, camera operator A. Slapiņš and G. Zvaigzne (injured, died on 5 February). This was an attempt to destabilise the situation in the capital, to provoke an armed conflict so that Mikhail Gorbachev would have a pretext to place Latvia under direct administration of the Soviet President by military force to «ensure order». This provocation failed.» These photos were taken in May 2024 and show a selecction of views ot the six memorial stones.