Latvia to topple Soviet-era monument a week after Estonia

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Authorities in Latvia say they will tear down a Soviet-era monument on Tuesday that commemorates the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany. It comes a week after Estonia removed a similar landmark. Police have erected a yellow fence to cordon off the area near the monument which stands like a high-rise in downtown Riga’s Victory Park. It has an 80-meter (260-foot) concrete spire with a Soviet star on top with two groups of statues beside the edge of a pond. The monument was built in 1985 while Latvia was still part of the Soviet Union. Latvian officials say it will be toppled without the use of explosives. It wasn’t immediately clear what would happen to the monument after it’s taken down.