Ukrainian residents are invited to visit the Latvian Occupation Museum exhibition "The History of the Cheka in Latvia" at Brīvības iela 61, Riga, free of charge.
Guests are invited to see an exhibition on the history of the Cheka and take a guided tour of the Cheka cellars. The tours are in English. For free admission you will need a personal identification or other document showing that you are a Ukrainian resident.
Opening hours: daily 10:30 – 17:30.
Email: kgb@omf.lv, tel.: +371 27875692
On 17 June 1940 Soviet (USSR) armed forces occupied Latvia. By autumn the occupying regime already set up the headquarters of its repressive apparatus, the Cheka, in a building on the corner of Brīvības and Stabu streets in Riga. Over time this building was commonly nicknamed the "Corner House". It was used to imprison and interrogate Latvian citizens whom the occupation authorities considered to be opponents of the communist regime. During the Soviet occupation the Cheka instigated 48,000 criminal cases in Latvia for "crimes" against the communist regime. In 1991 the restored independent Latvian state declared the State Security Committee a criminal organisation directed against the interests of the Latvian people and liquidated it.