Barricades: 30: Maltas History Museum identified new memories

On 13 January, a period of 30 years has passed since Riga has entered the Latvian people and the time of the baricades of the People's Unity. January 20 is a 1991 barricade defender.

THE History Museum OF Maltas, wishing to remind about this important anniversary, published in the “local Latgale newspaper” on January 8, fragments from the Maltese Valdis Krūzas and Diana Lubartes (deletion). Kruze) memories (thank Diana for the really unique message - barricades time for the eyes of the child).

Currently, THE following members of the barricades have been identified in THE parish OF Maltas: Janis Koroļonks, Arthur Ludboržs, Arthur Zeile, Arvīds Romanuks (they were the first to be in Riga after the manifestations); Ganadijs Strods, Joseph Kuzmins, Janis Zarembo, Janis Krūza, Valdis Krūza, Vladislavs Noviks, Arvds Anjevs, Juris Shuukstelis, Victor Mawhisper, Diana Pavlovska, Vladimir Kokoyev, Anton Pranch, Joseph Silent, Aivars Ushmis, Aivars Carwitness, Ruth Mika, Aivars Smirnova, and Juris Smirnov, Ruth Mika, raisa Smirnova, and Juris Gaigals (court, then living in Riga). There is also a “barricades photographer” – Maltas parish-born photohistorian Peter Korsak.

The museum has contacted the members of the barricades so far, and also found some new facts and personalities who had gone to Riga at the time. A special thanks to Vladimir Kokoyev, who currently lives in Great Britain, but with great interest in the call and submitted both his memories and photographs, two of which were used in this publication. Thanks to Juris Schmaukstelim, Valdis and Antoņinai Krzas, Diana Lubara for the memories of memories, as well as Jānis Krūzam for the valuable testimony of the museum, the fur with which he participated in the barricades. Thank Lija Kļavinai-Lozda for the opportunity to publish a 1991 barricade participant's certificate and memorial mark in the newspaper. Thank Anna Babrei and Antoņinai Ostrovsk for the barricades and awakening time memories.

Once again, we invite everyone to be aware of the importance of memories and sign them into the museum where the staff will do so. As far as it is known, not all of you have received barricade participants' certificates, the first step is the submission of memories, in this case Maltas for the history museum. Come, because you deserve it as witnesses of the history of Latvia.

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THE Maltas History Museum offers chronological fragments from some malignancies:

JURIS SCHUMUKSTELIS:

– On 16 January, the director of the “Garkalni” sovhoza, Joseph Kondrats, called me to the office and said that a bus to Riga was sent from the Rēzekne district, to the barricades, or did not want to join. I agreed. Jānis Zaremba, Jānis Koroļonks, and Victor Mawhisper also went with me that day.

We left Rezekne with a bus in the afternoon, and somewhere around 1900 we were in Riga. Our area of responsibility was the Zakusalas television centre. When we got out of the bus, we were instructed and each of them issued a certificate of order. Then we found out that the first victim was already, OMON had shot the driver Roberts on one of the bridges.

I remember, somewhere before midnight, the news that THE U.S. had embarked on war in Iraq was also available for transmission for these events. The most anxious period was after midnight when a possible OMON attack ON THE TV centre was reported, and cars with beacons and sirens were often driving across the bridge.

I remember, we were in the area at the entrance TO THE TV center. There were boys from Saldus District. I talked to them, so the tension came back and around. On 3 night, the alarm was cancelled. Our call ended 8 in the morning. The bus was filled free of charge at the service station and the way home.

It was, of course, the unity of the People's unity, which was in the days of barricades. The fires were burned, songs sang. We met tea and sandwiches. When we went into THE center of THE TV at night, there was no hot tea, coffee, and snack. There were a lot of young people on the barricades, there were people in the years. But no one was sorted, we were all united, friendly, with anyone to speak, there was no boundaries of the day, which is usually among the unfamiliar people.

I am grateful to the fate that there was a chance to be in barricades between ordinary people, to feel unity and friendship, which cannot be expressed by words.

VLADIMIR KOKOVIEV:

- On 18 January, i met the secretary of the sovhoza “Garkalni” Aivars Biukšana. He said, “From the Rēzekne district, people are going to Riga to barricades.” I said, “I'm going to go too.” I told my wife i was going to the barricades. She read everything in silence and said goodbye. I took the food from home and went to Malta, where we, sovhoza people, took the bus to the cultural house (me and Sergei Smirnov with his wife Ryce). There were people in the bus.

There were enough people in Riga for that moment, but they had to be in Zaķusala, at the television centre. We went there. When we arrived, we explained that THERE might be AN OMON attack, but they were very distracted by witnesses of their aggressive behaviour. We had a gas mask if we had an attack with poisonous gas. We were burning fires on the island, we warmed. We rest in buses. We, rural people, did not need a great comfort. It wasn't hard, the frost wasn't strong, there was no wind. In the centre of the television centre, catering with warm food was organised, as well as telephone contacts with Latvian districts. We called the relatives, reported that we were alive and healthy. The members of the television centre went downstairs, talking about the latest events. It was alarming, but encouraged by the conviction that we were going to be a fair case. People from different regions of Latvia grew more. Especially on 20 January. All around were the same thinking people.

Today, there is even more confidence in the country's right choice. Look at how hard it is in the struggle for freedom and democracy for the Belarusian people. The darkest time before dawn …

VALDIS KRUZA:

– was Sunday, January 20, 1991. My family had been visiting the family. During the party, there was a need for a change of clothing for the smallest child, so his wife hurried to a nearby home. The fate's finger, just at that moment, was struck by a stationary phone call. The caller was Antoņina Ostrovsky, a member of the People's Front. Returning to the party, his wife told him about the call and the call to go to Riga to defend his country. After a discussion with the party, i decided not to stay aside and participate in the barricades, although the family members and the other relatives were against my decision, motivating the fact that the family had little children and it was not known how dangerous the situation was in Riga. He was immediately agreed with the celebration host Vladislav Novik, who in turn called his colleague Aivars Carwitter. I informed my brother John Kroes about the situation. After a brief consultation, they were willing to take part in this trip. The visit was interrupted immediately and i hurried home to prepare for the journey.

Our chatter was waiting for the parish building at the time (at the time it was 1. On May Street). Rēzekne was led by THE President of the Council of Maltas, President of the Council, Viktor Kancans. Several dozens of people gathered in Rēzekne. The bus to Riga was organised by the President of Rezekne City Council Aleksejs. The bus to the centre of Riga drove along the coast street as far as it could be done. Then we went to Zaķusal, where our task was to protect Zakusalas strategically important objects. A staying place was held until the morning of the next day. The area of the television tower was full of people, burning fires everywhere. The building itself was guarded from the building blocks. The driveways were blocked by heavy machines. On the day across the island, public transport was still hauling, but the entire transport movement was closed in the evening. Heavy agricultural machinery was healed on the bridge and the entire driveway from both sides of the bridge was blocked.

The barricades organization was very good. Hot tea and sandwiches were delivered by night. Each group of participants was given the location to be located and the on-call schedules were prepared. There was no fear in his eyes, but it was clear that the case was serious. We stayed at the fire, people were friendly, and nobody was important who had any nationality. The situation in other Rīgas of Riga was reported regularly. There was information that THE OMON unit was moving in our direction, but it did not happen. There were also foreign correspondents among the barricades. On their question, how we defend the area, we said, “with plenty of hands and confidence in victory!” We all agreed on something very important – a common idea of Latvia's independence.

On the morning of 22 January, the next group of people from Rezekne arrived, but we went home. A long time in the barricades was the smell of smoke from the clothes i had on the barricades.

DIANA ACCESS:

– the brightest moment of memory: in the evening at home on the sofa, with the pillow leaning against the living-room wall, her mother sits, and her brother is wrapped in her arms. I fell into my mother's next door. A woman's voice is excited from the television, and then a dark night of night shows, and a white flesh flies from time to time, a stifling noise. I ask Mom what it is and what it shows. Mom, just in a moment, replies that they're shots and there's our dad on the barricades.

With the barricades, i knew the structure from the blankets, which, in support of the chairs, could create a cottage in which you could play just like a tent (apparently, this idea had come to me, because the adults, seeing such cottages, used to say, “What kind of barricades?”). The seven-year-old had a total incomprehension. First, why did Dad go to Riga to sit in a blanket? Secondly, why does Daddy sit there if there are white stripes on all sides of the sky? Thirdly, if the white flies are shots, do n't they introduce them? Fourthly …

I wanted to ask these questions for my mother, so i turned to him, but i didn't ask anyone because … i saw the first time that Mom was crying … quiet and unbearable tears like creeks flowing through her cheeks, along her nose to her chin, and then falling on a blanket that had my brother wrapped in. The dark tears of tears soaked and punctured his brother's blanket. I knew the adults were crying when someone died. So the conclusion in my head wasn't supposed to wait, Momma was crying without stopping, so Daddy wouldn't come home again. It was a heavy emotional experience for a seven-year-old girl, so much incomprehensible and frightening.

ARVĪDS ROMANUKS there was one of those who had been on 21 January (memories of Elman's pinka in 2016): “I first went to Rezekne, where there were representatives from Rezekne.” There was a thermosis with food. Our destination was the Latvian television centre in Zaķusala. The building and the tower were protected from a wall of building blocks. The entrance to the building was denied. There was a row of trucks around the wall, and there were a lot of fires. On-call schedules were created. People were friendly, there was no human attention. Even at night, tea and bread were delivered. Foreign journalists asked how we would protect the area. We said, “with plenty of hands and confidence in victory.” “When I looked around, there was no fear, there was a strong belief that something had to be changed in life.”

IN January 1991, almost a thousand journalists were accredited at the Latvian Higher Council Press Centre, and 434 foreign journalists were accredited on 20 and 21 January. In January, several hundred press releases were distributed in English media and government representations. In 2016, the support of THE Bureau of THE Saeima was issued in a book summarising 129 press releases covering the period from January to 4 May 1991 and their translation in Latvian.

A 1991 barricade museum was established in 2001, which won national accreditation in 2003. It is located in Old Riga, near the barricades epicentre – the idea area. During the events of January 1991, in the present museum building, the members of the barricades were filled with hot tea, where they could warm up and rest. Today, there is a thematic exhibition that includes the items used during barricades, the omonic equipment and the commemorative memorials (see www.barikades.lv below). 

PETER KORSAK:

– When i started a baricade photograph negative, i remember time 30 years ago. Are we really FREE for 30 years? At that time i had to go into the church, because the altar did not take anything. On the evening of 19 January, Andris Slapins took a tea with Juri, and we met after a long lace, we had not seen. He congratulated me on the prospective photometry, talked about his ideas, he told me about his. They were both filming and we parted without knowing that i went home in the morning and reported that Andris was badly hurt and dead in the morning. It was that i took a photograph of him last time and his wife sent this photograph, in which he was seen with the camera in his shoulders, and sent the whole world. Of course, i documented all the time of the barricades. I've kept it in 20 films.

Sylvia Pigožne, Head of the Museum of Maltese History