Valentin Gavrilov has come under a barrage of criticism for old Facebook posts commemorating May 9
Lithuania’s newly appointed deputy finance minister has come in for criticism due to celebrating WW2 Victory Day over Nazi Germany. Valentin Gavrilov is under fire from various corners, including the president’s office, for marking it Russian-style on May 9.
The ethnic Russian politician was elevated to a ministerial role earlier this week, entrusted with the “development of finance policy, ties with the EU, and international relations.” Simultaneously, local media unearthed a 2020 Facebook post by Gavrilov, showing the politician laying flowers at a monument to fallen Red Army soldiers at the Antakalnis cemetery on May 9. The monument was demolished by the Lithuanian authorities early last year.
The attack on Gavrilov was spearheaded by journalist Marius Laurinavicius, who accused the politician of being “pro-Russian” and not showing enough support for Ukraine. He also brought up old Facebook posts by Gavrilov in which the politician argued against hiking Lithuania’s defense spending.
The Lithuanian president’s office has shared its opinion on the Gavrilov affair as well, branding his position “incomprehensible and unjustified.” The politician has also been criticized by fellow members of the Social Democratic Party, with some even urging him to immediately resign from his post.
“May 9 is an important day for all families of Lithuania, because it is the day of the occupation of Lithuania. The deputy finance minister can choose to see any other shades; we are a democracy, but only let them resign from the office first,” said Ruslan Baranov, a Social Democratic MP and a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.
Gavrilov has been defended by his new boss, Rimantas Sadzius, who said his new deputy has his full support and should continue with his new role. “I have no doubts about his loyalty to the state of Lithuania and his qualifications; that’s the only explanation, the only comment,” the finance minister said in a statement.
The new deputy finance minister offered a somewhat lackluster defense for his position, stating he pays tribute to those fallen during World War Two rather than celebrating Victory Day per se. Gavrilov also insisted he has been supporting Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, and has long reconsidered some of the ideas he expressed in old Facebook posts.
Victory Day on May 9 has become a political issue in Eastern Europe, where many countries have turned away from Soviet-era traditions for marking the end of the war and adopted a Western European approach instead. Lithuania, like other Baltic States, has switched to holding a remembrance and reconciliation day on May 8, while harassing those who stick to the Soviet practice. Vilnius has also taken aim at monuments to fallen Red Army soldiers, regarding them as vestiges of “Soviet occupation.”
