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Post on 14-Jul-2015
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What was Gunārs Astra?
Gunārs Astra was Latvian
freedom fighter and a
considerable dissident Soviet
occupation.
Gunārs Astra from the very childhood was a
philosophically minded person. He practiced in
dialogue skills , challenged people to express
their opinion and then openly pointed their
mistakes. He was directly critical of loudmouths
and gossipers and therefore gained many
enemies.
Life
story...
Gunārs Astra was born on October 23, 1931. He
lived in Riga and he was only 9 years old when
Latvia was occupied by the Soviets. From 1940 to
1947 he attended the Riga City 48th Elementary
school. After graduating he joined the Riga
Electromechanic School. In 1952 he graduated and
became the VEF engineer technologian.
On 1954 he was conscripted into Soviet Army. After
the end of service in 1956 he went back to VEF and
became the Radio Workshop master. In 1957 he
became the chief of this workshop. He meant that
every leading official in every state enterprise had to
submit to soviet ideological brainwashing and obey
every order from above. In 1958 he left the VEF and
joined the Riga Pedagogical Institute to learn foreign
languages because he wanted to get more wider
view on things.
In 1961, Gunārs Astra was arrested. Initially,
he was accused of anti-Soviet agitation and
propaganda, but then also the homeland of
treason and espionage. In 1958, G. Astra had
met with US Embassy staff as well as
correspondence with the latvian Gaida
Priedīte, who lived in the United States.
The court sentenced him for 15 years in prison
and confiscation of property. Gunārs Astra
punishment endured Mordovia ASSR and the
Perm region "corrective labor camps". Trapped in
time, Astra was engaged in self-education, met
other Latvians and other nationalities prisoners.
After prison Gunārs Astra returned to
Latvia and began working at the factory
"Straume" as installer. In the same year he
married Herta Līvija Vagale.
In 1983 he was arrested and convicted
of anti-Soviet literature storage,
reproduction and distribution. Court
sentenced 7 years in prison, five years
of exile in a special mode, and court
found out that he was a dangerous
recidivist.
In January 1988 he was released from
custody. Since the beginning of March of
the same year, on the way to Russia, G.
Astra suddenly fell ill. At first, the doctors
said that he had the flu and G. Astra was
placed in Leningrad infections hospital.
9 March, the doctors said that he has begun
sepsis - the body's overall hard poisoning, but on
19 March G. Astra moved to Leningrad military
hospital. March 23, doctors said G. Astra has
inflammation of the heart and it is necessary to
carry out the operation. The operation took place
on 25 March, but his health did not improve and
he died on 6 April in the military hospital in
Leningrad.
After the death his internal organs were removed,
there was no expertise, so people suspected that
G.Astra was killed by the poison of the National
Security Committee staff.
In 1993, at the Riga
Regional Court House
was installed a
memorial plaque in
honor of G.Astra.
On this board are
written his last words - I
believe that this time
will vanish like a bad
dream. It gives me
strength to stand here
and breathe.
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