Vandals deface Soviet statues, leave fake bomb (172)

Vandals overnight painted swastika signs on a Soviet statue adorning Vilnius's Green Bridge. They also left behind a package and spray-painted the word "bomb" above it, prompting police to call in the bomb squad who determined it was a fake.

Officials said there was little doubt that the act of vandalism was linked to Russia's annual May 9 Victory Day celebrations, which commemorate the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

The Soviet-era statues at each of the four corners of the Green Bridge -- which symbolise communist ideals -- are the only ones of their kind still standing in a public place in Lithuania. Others were destroyed or have been moved to a park in southern Lithuania.

The vandals also affixed a sign to the base of the statue of Soviet soldiers which read: "Communists' Whores."