Memorial Day for the Victims of Communist Terror is observed in Latvia every March 25. This day commemorates the deportation of approximately 43,000 Latvians to Siberia on March 25, 1949, which was a carefully planned operation approved by Moscow earlier that year. The deportation, which lasted until March 28, primarily affected rural residents and Latvian patriots, with about 73% of those deported being women and children under the age of 16. Additionally, between 136,000 and 190,000 Latvians were imprisoned and sent to Soviet concentration camps, known as the Gulag. The historical context includes Latvia's occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940, following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. This remembrance day serves to honor the victims of the communist regime and the suffering endured during this dark period in Latvian history.