Latvian monument toppled into pond to stand against Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The towering obelisk was decorated with three Soviet stars and stood as the centrepiece of the Red Army's monument to victory over Nazi Germany on World War II's eastern front.

Latvian media broadcast the moment live, capturing the 80-metre monument's collapse into a nearby pond inside Victory Park, Riga.

The monument was made up of five spires and stood between statues of the Red Army soldiers and the embodiment of Mother Russia.

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It was built in 1985 while Latvia was still a part of the Soviet Union.

But since the nation declared its independence at the fall of the Union in 1991, the monument has become a towering figure of controversy in the post-Soviet era.

Since then, Latvia has aligned itself with the West by joining Nato and the European Union.

On Twitter, the foreign minister of Latvia declared the toppling as "closing another painful page of history and looking for a better future".

Twitter users have also pointed out the similarity of the splash to the spreading of a white dove's wings, as a veiled symbol of peace.

The demolition has been planned since May when the parliament voted to remove the monument from Victory Park. It's understood the surrounding Soviet statues will be cleared as well.

The government had sort to make clear action in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine back in February.

The felling is one of many such demonstrations taking place across Europe as authorities remove symbols of the Communist era.