Calculation of the Losses Caused by the USSR Occupation

MoJ: calculation of the losses caused by the USSR occupation will be completed this year

On Tuesday, 30 August, the Cabinet of Ministers considered the Interim Report on the

calculation of the losses caused by the USSR occupation and further action to be taken

to bring a possible claim for compensation against Russia as the legal

successor to the USSR.

“We must extend our sincere thanks to those who have been working courageously for

several years to calculate the losses caused by the Soviet occupation, enabling an

interim report on the calculation of the losses caused by the USSR occupation to be

submitted at today’s Cabinet meeting. This is a matter of Latvia’s and all three

Baltic states’ self-respect. We must be masters in our own country and take care of

it. This also includes understanding and analysing history and, in this case, identifying

the crimes committed during the fifty years of occupation, calculating the losses caused

and securing compensation for them.

Some members of society may still be afraid to speak about the years of occupation or

about relations with the neighbouring country in general, but crimes were committed

and losses were caused: people were killed and deported, and Latvia’s economic

development was impeded. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed Europe’s and the

world’s attitude towards the aggressor state and its efforts to occupy independent

countries once again,” emphasises Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice

Jānis Bordāns.

Commission 1 continues to compile materials from 70 studies and 62 expert assessments

and plans to submit a final report to the government in March next year on the

calculation of the losses caused by the USSR occupation, so that it can be used to

prepare and submit a possible claim for compensation to international legal

institutions.

The interim report submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers provides an overview of the

contents of the compilation being prepared and the calculation methodologies used to

assess the demographic, economic, financial, military-industrial complex and

environmental losses caused to the Latvian state as a result of the occupation.

1 Commission for Determining the Number of Victims of the USSR Totalitarian Communist Occupation Regime and the Locations of Mass Graves, Compiling Information on Repressions and Mass Deportations, and Calculating the Losses Caused to the Latvian State and Its People.

Gatis Krūmiņš, leading researcher and associate professor at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, notes:

“Identifying and calculating in monetary terms the losses caused by the USSR occupation

is our duty and forms part of eliminating the consequences of the occupation. The

current geopolitical context is particularly favourable for us to initiate the legal

procedures necessary to demand compensation for the losses caused by the occupation.

Russia’s actions in Ukraine have opened the eyes of many people around the world. In

my view, a critically important prerequisite for recovering the losses is close

cooperation among the Baltic states and agreement at the highest political level that

this step will be taken purposefully and decisively.”

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice will prepare for consideration by the

government a report on the considerations concerning the legal basis for the losses and

possible further action.

The interim report is available on the website for Draft Legal Acts. More information

about the Commission’s studies is available on the Commission’s website.

Evija Rimšāne

Ministry of Justice

Public Relations Specialist, Communications Department

Telephone: 67036861

Email: Evija.Rimsane@tm.gov.lv