Moscow court rules 13 Baltic nationalists, five groups Nazi accomplices
In short
Moscow's Tverskoy District Court ruled that 13 Baltic nationalists and five organisations were accomplices of Nazi Germany in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The Prosecutor General's Office, which filed the request in September, said the court established a fact of legal significance and called the ruling a historical debt to war victims and veterans. Prosecutors say Baltic nationalists killed more than 1.5 million people during and after the war; Kommersant noted such rulings carry no practical consequences such as reparations.
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Moscow's Tverskoy District Court ruled on 5 October that 13 Baltic nationalists and five organisations were accomplices of Nazi Germany in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War, the press services of the capital's courts said. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Interfax, citing the Moscow City Court press service, named the 13 individuals as Ain-Ervin Mere, Ralf Gerrets, Julius Ennok, Viktor Bernhardt Arajs, Herbert Janovich Cukurs, Gustavs Adolf Celmins, Rudolf Karlovich Bangerskis, Voldemar Veiss, Juozas Ambrazevicius, Juozas Luksa, Bronius Kviklys, Algirdas Klimaitis and Antanas Impulevicius. The organisations named were Omakaitse, Aizsargi, Perkonkrusts, the Lithuanian Activist Front and the Union of Lithuanian Nationalists, according to Interfax, Vedomosti and Kommersant. [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
Court press services said the court examined evidence including archival documents and heard the applicant's explanations about the actions of the 13 nationalists and five organisations from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The Prosecutor General's Office, which Kommersant reported filed the request in September, submitted documents from the archives of the FSB, the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the State Archive of Russia, according to Interfax. [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
The Prosecutor General's Office said the court established a fact of legal significance and that recognising it was not only an obvious decision following from the Nuremberg process but a historical debt of society and the state to war participants, veterans and victims, Interfax and TASS reported. The office says Baltic nationalists killed more than 1.5 million people over the war and post-war years, and that collaborators took part in punitive operations, the killing of prisoners of war, Soviet officials and their families, and people suspected of sympathising with the Red Army. [ 2 , 4 , 6 ]
Kommersant reported that the practical significance of such a recognition lies in the court's official record of the assessment of the actions and circumstances of the crimes, but that similar decisions do not lead to practical consequences such as reparations, as shown by a comparable case in the Belgorod regional court. In similar proceedings, Kommersant reported, prosecutors said their aims were to protect the rights of relatives of the dead, to inform the world public about the victims of occupation and to restore historical justice. The outlet also noted a legal limit set by the 1991 law on the rehabilitation of victims of political repression: people whose cases contain sufficient evidence of aiding fascist occupiers or taking part in punitive actions are not subject to rehabilitation. [ 6 ]
Vedomosti noted that on 4 August a Moscow court recognised OUN and UPA, which are designated extremist and banned in Russia, and their leaders, including Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, as accomplices of Nazi Germany in crimes against the Soviet people. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The ruling is an official judicial record of the Prosecutor General's account of wartime collaboration in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a subject that carries weight in Russia's relations with the Baltic states. Kommersant reported that comparable rulings have not produced practical outcomes such as reparations, so the effect is largely declaratory and historical. The decision also extends a series of similar Russian court findings.
Key facts
- The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow recognised 13 Baltic nationalists as accomplices of Nazi Germany in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The court also recognised five organisations as accomplices: Omakaitse, Aizsargi, Perkonkrusts, the Lithuanian Activist Front and the Union of Lithuanian Nationalists [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The court examined evidence including archival documents and heard the applicant's explanations, according to court press services [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The Prosecutor General's Office said the court established a fact of legal significance and called the recognition a historical debt to participants, veterans and victims of the war [ 2 , 4 ]
- The Prosecutor General's Office says Baltic nationalists killed more than 1.5 million people during the war and post-war years [ 2 , 6 ]
- Kommersant reported that such rulings do not lead to practical consequences such as reparations, citing a similar case in the Belgorod regional court [ 6 ]
- The Prosecutor General's Office filed the request with the court in September [ 6 ]
- On 4 August a Moscow court recognised OUN and UPA and their leaders, including Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, as accomplices of Nazi Germany [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow recognised 13 Baltic nationalists and five organisations as accomplices of Nazi Germany in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Great Patriotic War [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- The five organisations named were Omakaitse, Aizsargi, Perkonkrusts, the Lithuanian Activist Front and the Union of Lithuanian Nationalists [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The court studied archival documents and heard the applicant's explanations [ 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The Prosecutor General's Office said the court established a fact of legal significance and described the recognition as a historical debt to war participants, veterans and victims [ 2 , 4 ]
- The Prosecutor General's Office states that more than 1.5 million people were killed by Baltic nationalists over the war and post-war years [ 2 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the ruling creates any enforceable obligations Kommersant reports such decisions do not lead to practical consequences such as reparations, while the Prosecutor General's Office frames the value of the decision as the establishment of a legally significant fact; the documents do not state any enforcement mechanism.
- The full names of all 13 individuals Only Interfax lists the individual names; other outlets refer to the group of 13 without naming them, so the list rests on a single source.
- Which court press service issued the statement Interfax attributes it to the Moscow City Court press service and Vedomosti and Kommersant to the press service of the capital's courts of general jurisdiction; the documents describe the source slightly differently.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- RIA Novosti reports that Baltic nationalists were recognised as accomplices of Nazi Germany [ 1 ]
- Interfax reports the Tverskoy court's ruling, naming 13 individuals and five organisations, citing the Moscow City Court press service [ 2 ]
- Vedomosti reports the ruling, citing the press service of the capital's courts, and recalls the 4 August ruling on OUN and UPA [ 3 ]
- TASS reports the Prosecutor General's Office comment calling the decision a historical debt to victims [ 4 ]
- RBC reports the recognition of 13 nationalists and five organisations [ 5 ]
- Kommersant reports the ruling, the September filing by the Prosecutor General's Office and the limits of its practical effect [ 6 ]