The Russian Investigative Committee has charged in absentia Kaia Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission and Head of the EU Diplomatic Service, Taimar Peterkop, State Secretary of the Estonian State Chancellery, and Simonas Kairis, Minister of Culture of Lithuania, with the destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers.
This was announced by Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, in an interview with TASS on the occasion of the department's 15th anniversary.
„We see monuments to Soviet soldiers being destroyed in Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and other countries. Moreover, approximately half of these Soviet memorial sites were destroyed by decision of government officials in these countries, while the rest were damaged by Russophobes and nationalists. 255 foreign citizens have been charged in absentia for these crimes. Among them are the Vice-President of the European Commission Kaia Kallas, the State Secretary of the Estonian State Chancellery Taimar Peterkop, the Minister of Culture of Lithuania Simonas Kairis and others“, Bastrykin noted. In total, the Russian Investigative Committee has opened 164 criminal cases for the destruction of Soviet monuments abroad.
He stressed that the authorities of some countries quickly forget significant events. “Against the backdrop of the anti-Russian rhetoric prevailing in the West, they are trying to discredit our country, rewrite history and forget the role of the victorious Soviet people who liberated these countries from fascism“, Bastrykin said. He noted that the Investigative Committee continues to closely monitor current events, including those abroad, and to provide a legal assessment of such criminal acts that violate the historical memory and traditional spiritual and moral values of Russia.
In February 2024, Kaia Kallas, the then Prime Minister of Estonia, and State Secretary Taimar Peterkop were put on the Russian Interior Ministry's wanted list for criminal offenses.
"Investigators in the combat zone are actively uncovering crimes committed by the neo-Nazi regime and helping to establish order in new regions," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a congratulatory telegram to the Investigative Committee on the occasion of the agency's 15th anniversary.
The corresponding telegram was published on the Kremlin website.
„I congratulate you on the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Investigative Committee committee of the Russian Federation as an independent federal state body. And, of course, special words of gratitude to the investigators working in the zone of special military operations: they reveal and document crimes committed by the neo-Nazi regime, help establish order and the rule of law in Donbas and Novorossiya,“ the telegram says.
According to the president, over the years the Investigative Committee "has become a vital component of the national law enforcement system". Putin noted that, maintaining and developing the best traditions of their predecessors, the agency's employees firmly defend the interests of the state, protect the rights and freedoms of the country's residents, and make a significant contribution to the fight against terrorism, extremism, and crime.
„I am confident that you will continue to perform your professional duties with dignity, successfully cope with the challenges facing the Investigative Committee, and conscientiously and faithfully serve the Motherland and the people of Russia.“ „I wish you further significant results and all the best,“ he concluded.
The Investigative Committee began work on January 15, 2011. Its employees investigate criminal cases related to grave and especially grave crimes against the person, public safety and order, state power, administrative order, justice, and the economy.