Riga, 17 June 2022 (dpa/MIA) - Latvia passed a law on Thursday ordering that all monuments and other objects glorifying totalitarian regimes must be dismantled or removed by November 15. The regulation specified that the Soviet Victory Monument in Riga is among those that must be torn down, a plan already approved by the city council. The law notes there are some 300 monuments, memorial plaques and commemorative objects in Latvia that celebrate the Soviet regime or the Red Army, although none are as controversial as the Victory Monument. The towering Riga monument consists of a 79-metre obelisk and several huge bronze statues, and dates back to 1985 when it was built to mark the 40th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II. Latvia was alternately occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. After the end of the war, it was forcibly annexed into the Soviet Union until 1991. The monument is seen by many as a symbol of the renewed occupation of Latvia rather than as a celebration of victory.