One of the last photos of Dr. Marina Solodkin, who came to protest the Waffen SS march in Riga on March 16th 2013, shortly before her sudden death in her hotel room. Photo by Juris Kaža.
Marina Solodkin (1952 — 2013)
Dr. Marina Solodkin, 60, a Moscow native and former member of the Israeli Knesset, died in her hotel room, of an apparent heart attack or stroke, in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on March 16th. She had come to join activities to protest this year’s Waffen SS march earlier that day. [UPDATE: See now reports in Arutz Sheva, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Jewish Press, JTA, The Times of Israel, YNet; a brief biography appears on the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s website.]
A screen-capture of Dr. Solodkin’s final Facebook posting, from Israel on March 15th before setting off for Riga, appears below. It translates:
- Marina Solodkin
- Friday, near Tel Aviv, Israel
- “In a few hours I take off for Latvia in order to take part in a conference at the invitation of the Latvian committee against fascism. On the 16th of March there will be a march of Latvians who served in the Waffen SS during the time of the occupation in the Second World War. I will take part in a round table discussion together with European Union and international organizations such as World Without Nazism, parliamentarians and public figures from various countries.
- “In recent times, neo-Nazism has reared its ugly head in Eastern Europe, in post-Soviet countries. We must remain vigilant.”
- Marina Solodkin’s final Facebook post on Friday March 15th 2013