Russia youth lay wreaths at Latvia embassy for Vasily Kononov

MOSCOW, May 10 (Itar-Tass) - About 100 activists of Russian youth and
patriotic movements on Monday evening came to the Latvian embassy in
Moscow. The young people laid flowers at the walls of the diplomatic
missions and lit candles in memory of the WW2 veteran, former partisan
Vasily Kononov. On Monday, Victory Day, it was 40 days from the death of
the hero, who for years has been in litigation with the Latvian
authorities that declared him a war criminal.
"Unfortunately, Vasily Makarovich who devoted himself to fighting the
Nazis and their accomplices, is no longer with us. We grieve for the
departed hero and intend to do everything to stop the abuse of the fighter
against fascism, and to clear the name of Vasily Kononov of unfair
accusations," leader of the Nashi (Ours) movement Maria Kislitsyna told
Itar-Tass. "The unfair recognition of Kononov as a war criminal is a step
towards whitewashing of fascism and an attempt to silence the role of the
Soviet Union during World War II," she pointed out.
Vasily Kononov died on March 31, 2011 at the age of 89. The former
guerrilla for years was in litigation with the authorities of Latvia, who
accused him of war crimes. The Riga court, in particular, ruled that in
1944 Kononov was involved in a punitive action in the town of Mazie Bati
against civilians. The veteran stated that the citizens that were shot
down there were accomplices of the Nazis. The legal proceedings initiated
by the supporters of defending Kononov's good name continue to this day.