Legal action against Estonia, Latvia suggested to ECHR

"No one can prevent the drawing up of symmetrical claims against persons who participated in mass executions of civilians. Quite possibly, they may stroll in the streets of Baltic cities and take part in marches of former SS men," Konovalov said on Wednesday, answering questions of State Duma deputies.

Konovalov acknowledged with regret that there was nothing to be done about Kononov's loss of the case. "Neither the lawyers nor the Russian Federation as the third party have the opportunities to influence the decision," the minister said.

"Politics and populism prevailed in the European Court's ruling on Kononov's case," the justice minister believes.

Latvia accused former Soviet partisan Vasily Kononov of killing civilians in the years of the war. However, on July 24, 2008 a Chamber of the Strasbourg Court found Latvia's sentence passed on Kononov illegal on the basis of Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Grand Chamber of the European Court repealed the chamber's decision in May of this year. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the State Duma International Relations Committee, said in June the lawyer of the veteran of World War II was determined to protest the verdict of the Grand Chamber, and that Russia "must give him the opportunities to fulfill his obligations."