Other events in Baltic States

National flags in black dress are out at all public buildings today as Latvia marks 61 years since the Soviet deportations took place on March 25, 1949. Commemorative events will be held all over the country, writes LETA.

Historians call the 1949 deportations to Siberia as one of the most tragic days in the modern history of Latvia.

From March 25 to March 29, over 43,000 innocent people were deported to Siberia, including some 10,000 children, as well as young people, mothers with infants, old and sick, even dying people.

Many of the deportees died on their way to the exile destination, others spent long and difficult years in the northern regions of Russia, fighting for their and their children's survival in inhumane conditions.

Those, who managed to return back home after years of exile, had strongly suffered morally and physically and had lost their property. Furthermore, the Soviet regime treated them with suspicion, making it difficult to obtain a relevant education and even to choose profession and place of residence.

The March 25, 1949 deportations concerned around 2.28% of all residents of Latvia.

Altogether, 9,000 families were included in the list of deportees, which was drawn up on March 17, 1949. 31,600 persons out of 43,000 returned back to Latvia in 1956.