RIGA, February 21 (RIA Novosti) – Latvia’s parliament declined Thursday to consider proposed legislation that would have made it a criminal offense to deny that both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic state.
Under a bill introduced by the National Alliance, a right-wing nationalist party, offenders would have faced up to three years in prison if found guilty of publicly denying, justifying or glorifying instances of historical aggression against Latvia.
The draft legislation drew sharp criticism from Latvian human rights activists and Russia, which has long condemned efforts by the Baltic republics to liken the Nazi and Soviet regimes, and lawmakers excluded it from the agenda Thursday.
Latvia's official position is that it was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991, when it gained independence. Russia does not acknowledge that period as occupation.
Russia has long been at odds with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland, over what it describes as attempts to rewrite the history of World War II and diminish the Soviet role in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
While Russia maintains the Red Army liberated the Baltic States from the Nazis, many residents of the countries put the two occupations on a par, citing mass Stalin-era deportations and murders of the local population by the Soviet secret police.
Latvia is still home to a significant proportion of Russians, estimated at about a quarter of the population.
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