| 2009 Riga Riot | |
|---|---|
Meeting before riots |
|
| Location | Riga (capital of Latvia) |
| Date | January 13, 2009 17:30 (EET (UTC +2)) |
| Attack type | Damage of public and private property, rebellion. Attempt to take by assault the building of Parliament of Latvia. |
| Weapon(s) | Rebels: different objects (eggs, stones, bottles, etc.), and bottles filled with inflammable mixtures. Military and police: batons, shields, teargas. |
| Injured | more than 50 |
| Perpetrator(s) | individual rebels; more than 100 arrested |
| Number of participant(s) | Directly involved: several hundreds Protesters: around 10,000 |
| Defender(s) | Public Order Police and its Special Unit "Alfa" (State Police), Military Police (National Armed Forces), and Police of Riga Municipality |
2009 Riga riot was a civil unrest in Riga, Latvia on January 13, 2009.
The opposition and trade unions organized a rally requesting dissolution of the parliament.[1] The rally gathered some 10-20 thousand people. In the evening the peaceful rally turned into a riot. Fifty people were injured and 100 arrested for overturning police cars and looting stores.[2] The crowd moved to the building of the parliament and attempted to force into it, but was repelled.
On February 20, the cabinet of Godmanis was dissolved and Godmanis stepped off his position as the head of the government.[3] Since Riga Riot, Latvia has since seen four more massive protests.[4]