Cīņa ar ēnu. Par pieminekļu derīgumu un kaitīgumu dzīvei

The essay examines the issue of the dismantling of monuments and commemorative signs built in Latvia during the Soviet occupation and associated with the ideology of the Soviet regime, which was launched in the summer of 2022. The author evaluates the historical and political context of these events, which is related to the invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine in the spring of 2022, the re-emerged awareness of the problem of the so-called ‘Soviet heritage’ in Latvian society, and the impact of the upcoming parliamentary election. Evaluation of the public attitude towards these issues leads to the argument that association of the cultural heritage with a specific political ideology is a historical phenomenon, the importance of which grows under the conditions of major political changes. Consequently, the public attitude towards the ideologically unacceptable part of cultural heritage results in the destruction of the respective part of the heritage, ignoring considerations related to its cultural, historical, and informative significance. Politically or ideologically motivated ‘cleansing’ of the cultural heritage can be compared to the phenomenon of the ‘shadow’ defined in Carl Gustav Jung’s analytical psychology, i.e. the pushing of the negative experience out of one’s consciousness. As the body’s reaction to a trauma, such behaviour is natural, however, it does not heal the problems caused by the traumatic experience. The ‘erasing’ of monuments from the public space of Latvia as symbols of the traumatic Soviet occupation will not solve the problems related to the Soviet occupation period in Latvian history or the social and psychological legacy of this period.