Vasily Kononov, 84, a Russian World War II partisan, was convicted by Latvian authorities of war crimes for ordering the killing of several Nazi collaborators in 1944, while Latvia was occupied by German troops. He filed an appeal to the court in Strasbourg in 2004, but the court has not yet begun hearing the case.
"It looks as if they have openly decided to drag out the Vasily Kononov case," the ministry said in a statement. "Such a course is, first of all, advantageous for Latvia, which is interested in closing the case 'naturally,' considering Vasily Kononov's advanced age and deteriorating health."
The ministry reiterated that two other Russian WWII veterans, Nikolai Tess and Nikolai Larionov, who also lodged appeals to the court in Strasbourg after being accused by Latvian authorities of genocide, died in 2006 and in 2005, correspondingly, before the court could begin hearings.
"The current situation demonstrates a tendency to increasingly politicize the work of the European Court on Human Rights, which, in turn, concerns Russia," the ministry said.
Russia joined the Kononov case as a third party in May 2006.
While Kononov was in custody, his son and brother died, and his daughter was sent to a psychiatric hospital. In the fall of 2005, doctors diagnosed Kononov with a life-threatening illness.
Latvia, along with neighboring Estonia and Lithuania, was taken over by the Soviet Union in 1940, and the Soviets regained control of the three Baltic nations from Nazi Germany in 1944.
While Russia maintains that the Red Army liberated the Baltics from Nazi invaders, many local residents see the advent of Soviet soldiers as an act of aggression.
