Seventy-seven years ago, national partisans heroically stood against the superior forces of the Cheka in the Battle of Stompaki. On 2 March, these battles were commemorated in the Balvi municipality, while simultaneously condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
With the consecration of the first restored bunker in the Stompaki bog, Latvia marked National Armed Resistance Remembrance Day for the first time. Acknowledging that there are still many blank spots in these pages of history, discussions were held on Wednesday in the Balvi municipality regarding how the memory of the partisans serves to strengthen patriotism today, when it is especially important.
Although several Latvian municipalities take pride in sites commemorating the partisans, the traces of the largest partisan camps are to be found specifically in Northern Latgale. Therefore, the day of their destruction was chosen as the day to commemorate all Latvian partisans.
Historian Zigmārs Turčinskis noted: “Everyone hoped that there would be no long-term occupation. That when Germany was defeated, the English and Americans would come to help. That is why they had planned to organise the partisans into a single unit – a battalion of about 500 men – and deploy them in the Stompaki bog.”
https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/zinas/latvija/balvu-novada-stompakos-nacionalo-partizanu-atceres-diena-atklaj-rekonstruetu-bunkuru.a446087/