The assessment of the damage inflicted on Latvia by the Soviet Union should be conducted jointly with neighboring countries — Lithuania and Estonia, and if sufficient resources are allocated to this issue, all losses can be summarized in the foreseeable future. This was stated by leading researcher at the Vidzeme University, scientific editor of the book "The History of Latvia's Economy" Gatis Krūmiņš in the podcast tv3.lv "Piķis un ģēvelis!", writes tv3.lv.
"The commission has been around for 20 years, but there is a lot of damage — if I may put it this way. In the foreseeable future, within four to five years, this can be done and all the large sums summarized," commented Krūmiņš.
For this, resources are necessary, and it is best if the calculations are conducted jointly with Lithuania and Estonia, where the situation is identical.
"This needs to be done because society should know this. There are still various myths. Speaking with lawyers in the field of international law, they say that it is our moral duty regarding what happened — to appeal to the international court and demand compensation for what happened to us," added Krūmiņš.
He emphasized that it is necessary to determine the extent of the damage inflicted so that Latvia has basic information for various scenarios that may arise as a result of the war in Ukraine.
"We do not know how the situation in Ukraine will end. If the scenario is realized in which Russia is defeated and cornered, then Russia's recognition of the occupation and the damage caused will be one of the points of their 'ticket back' to civilized society. That is — compensation to Ukraine, and then consideration of other cases, including what happened to us. If that moment comes, we must be ready with calculated figures; we cannot just say that we think something happened. From the perspective of GDP, this amount exceeds 800 billion. We must be prepared for such a scenario," explained Krūmiņš.
The researcher continued: "We cannot underestimate Russia's audacity. If Russia somehow regains an advantage and returns to the international arena from a position of strength, it will go to court and say — they invested here, and we wasted everything. We must be ready for this as well. I believe that such an economic calculation is necessary to help make decisions regarding the present time."
