European Commission marks 85th anniversary of Soviet mass deportations
A memorial ceremony took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday to mark the 85th anniversary of the USSR's mass deportations, which sent tens of thousands of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians to Siberia and Kazakhstan.
The event was held for the fourth year in a row at Solidarity Square near the Parliament building on the initiative of the EPP Group.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, MEPs, the politically repressed, their relatives, and compatriots read out the names of the deportees.
"Today at the European Parliament, we honoured and remembered the more than 3 million people torn from their homelands by the Soviet regime, 85 years ago. Though attempts were made to erase their entire way of life, we continue to bring their stories and memory into the light," Metsola said.
Their memory endures.
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) June 9, 2026
And here, in the heart of Europe, it is protected and remembered.
Today at @Europarl_EN, we honoured and remembered the more than 3 million people torn from their homelands by the Soviet regime, 85 years ago.
Though attempts were made to erase their… pic.twitter.com/ITP1esXOhL
Latvian MEP Sandra Kalniete drew a link between the past and the present.
"The memory of those deported on June 14, 1941, serves as a reminder that history must not be forgotten and that it is repeating itself today in Ukraine," she said.
She also highlighted the tens of thousands of Ukrainians, including children, who had been deported and not returned to their families due to "Moscow's lack of cooperation."
Riho Terras MEP, head of the Estonian delegation in the EPP Group, said: "Today is not only about remembering the victims of the past. It is a call to all of Europe. The value of human life and freedom must never be taken for granted. We must stand up and defend these values to ensure that the crimes of the past are never repeated."
On June 14, 1941, Soviet Union authorities deported more than 10,000 Estonians to Siberia and Kazakhstan to eliminate moral, physical and legal resistance to its occupation.
Of those, approximately 7,000 were women, children, and the elderly. Anyone who resisted was branded an enemy of the state.
Many of the people who had contributed to the development of the first Estonian Republic between 1918 and 1941 were executed in Siberia.
In total, the Soviet regime deported more than 30,000 people from Estonia between 1941 and 1951. Nearly 10,000 were minors
You can see more information about the June deportations here.
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Editor: Helen Wright
