Riga Bombing 1998

At 1:50am on April 2 1998, a bomb exploded outside a 92-year old synagogue in Riga’s historic Old Town, causing severe damage to the synagogue and surrounding buildings. The bomb which was supposedly caused by Fascist extremists was reportedly placed on the front steps of the synagogue building. The bomb caused extensive damage including tearing out the 200-lb oak door, destroying all the windows and casings of the basement and first and second floors, and leaving deep gouges in the wall. However there were no casualties.

Just 4 days after the April 2 bombing another bomb caused damage to the Russian Embassy building in Riga. As with the April 1 explosion no injuries were caused in the Embassy bombing. The cause of the blast was a set of plastic explosives detonated in a trash bin. The attack was linked with a rise in nationalist and extremist actions that seriously unsettled relations among Latvians, Jews and Russians. Alexander Udaltsev, Russia's ambassador to Latvia, joined republic leaders in blaming the incident on those trying to drive a wedge between Russians and Latvians. The Russian Foreign Ministry controversially blamed the bombing outside its Riga Embassy on "anti-Russian hysteria recently produced in Latvia and the encouragement of nationalism and extremism," and called for drastic measures to punish those who were guilty.

A few days after the Riga bombings, a monument to Latvian victims of the Holocaust was defaced in the port town of Liepaja. This was linked to the April 2 bombing and suggested more possible extreme Fascist activity.

May 1995 Bombings

The April 2 1998 attack was the second bomb attack on the synagogue. The Synagogue was targeted on May 6 1995, but far less damage was caused. There were no indications that this would be followed up by more terrorist attacks.

Moscow Bombings

On May 13 1998, in Moscow, a bomb ripped through the outer wall of the city’s Maryina Roshcha synagogue, the center of Moscow’s active Lubavitch community. The explosion caused significant damage to the ground floor sanctuary, destroyed cars parked nearby, and caused minor injuries to two people in an adjacent building. No one in the synagogue was hurt. The congregation’s original wood synagogue was burned to the ground in 1993, in what was thought at the time to be an accidental fire. The new building, dedicated in 1996, suffered an earlier bomb attack a few months after reopening. The attack was linked in with the synagogue attack in Riga less than a month earlier. However the attacks were carried out in a far more professional way. "The New York Times"

The Latvian-Russian Crisis

By the turn of the new year, 1998, hopes were high that Russian-Latvian relations were on the mend. The two countries had their differences of opinion, especially over the status of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians in Latvia. But it looked like some kind of an accommodation had been reached. There was even talk about a major breakthrough in relations, with a Latvian-Russian presidential summit apparently in the works. Then, before anyone could understand exactly what was happening--within a matter of hours, it seemed--relations between the two former Soviet republics went into a tailspin.

March 3: About 1000 mostly-Russian demonstrators gather outside the Riga city government building. Police drive them back with batons.

March 4: Russian leaders complain about violence shown towards protestors. Condemning Latvian police. Latvian Prime minister Guntars Krasts speaks out protecting the Latvian Police force.

March 6: Then-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin openly criticises Guntars Krasts and quotes: "The news of what happened there sent shivers down Russia's spine."

March 16: In Riga, over 500 veterans from Latvia's Waffen-SS legion march through the center of the capital, prompting bitter condemnations from Moscow. The Russian Foreign ministry reacted causing yet more controversy quoting: "This attention to fascist underlings is shameful for Europe."

March 28: Another demonstration is held at Latvia's embassy in Moscow. Yury Luzhkov, a probable candidate for Russian president makes things worse by saying that "Russians in Latvia have been turned into slaves." The EU stands by Russia.

April 1: The Latvian ministry of economics says that Russia is already applying low-level sanctions, including slowing down food stuffs at the border and limiting Latvian fishing rights in Russian waters-which has already cost Latvia some 300 million dollars.

April 2: A bomb goes off in front of a Synagogue in Riga in the early hours of the morning. The explosion again draws unwanted attention to Latvia-just when things seemed to be quietening down. No one steps forward to take responsibility for the attack, and Riga asks the American FBI for help in finding the perpetrators.

April 3: Latvia's security council, which includes the president and prime minister, calls for the dismissal of the county's military chief for taking part in the Waffen-SS parade the month before. The Latvian leaders also demand the dismissal of Latvia's chief of police for failing to prevent the synagogue bombing. With investors nervous about the impact of possible Russian sanctions, Riga's stock market tumbles.

April 4: Latvian President Ulmanis expresses concern that bad press has damaged the country's prospects of joining the EU.

April 6: A small explosive goes off in a trash bin just across the street from the Russian embassy in central Riga. Moscow says the explosion is even further proof that extremism is rampant in Latvia. The Latvian press says the bombing at the embassy has all the hallmarks of the Russian secret service. Behind closed doors, Latvian officials also say they are being railroaded. In public, they condemn the bombings and again request the assistance of the FBI.

April 8: The largest party in the multi-party coalition, the center-left Saimnieks, announces that it is leaving the government. It criticizes the prime minister for contributing to the deterioration of relations with Russia.