Though Lee Hockstader might believe that Russian soldiers fought for lofty goals in World War II, as he wrote in his Feb. 9 op-ed, “Europe has a monuments problem of its own,” millions of people in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and other parts of Europe know otherwise. These soldiers pillaged, plundered, raped and forcefully occupied thousands upon thousands of homes, churches, schools and businesses. The monuments Joseph Stalin and his Soviet compatriots erected saluted Red Army soldiers who committed genocide. As a result, the people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia lived in terror for 50 years.
There is another monument I urge Mr. Hockstader to visit. The Victims of Communism Memorial in Maarjamae, Estonia, lists the names of thousands of people who were murdered, deported to slave labor camps and who died defending their country. Nearby are marble slates showing the locations of these Soviet labor camps. Remembrance carved into black marble.
Ukraine will create its own monuments to the thousands killed by the modern-day Stalin. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia is again committing genocide. Let us continue our support of Ukraine so that the new monuments are to courageous Ukrainians and all who supported them and nowhere — nowhere — to Mr. Putin’s genocide policy.
Maria Pedak-Kari, Damascus