Soviet-era town sold for $3m

Riga : A town left empty after the withdrawal of Soviet and Russian forces from the Baltic state of Latvia was sold at auction on Friday for $3 million (Dh11 million).

The buyer of the Skrunda 1 town, consisting of 45 hectares (111 acres) of land, 70 buildings, including 10 apartment blocks, a hotel, club, warehouses and garages was a company from Russia, the privatisation agency said.

Skrunda 1, about 150 kilometres west of the Latvian capital Riga, was created for Soviet military needs and is located near a former anti-missile radar base.

Russian troops withdrew from Latvia in 1994, three years after the Baltic states quit the former Soviet Union.

However, Moscow made a deal to lease the Skrunda radar base until August 1998, after which it was pulled down and the last Russian soldiers left Latvia.