Vasily Kononov, 84, who served in a Soviet commando unit, during WWII, was convicted by Latvian authorities of war crimes for ordering the killing of several Nazi collaborators in 1944, while Latvia was under occupation by German troops. He filed an appeal with the court in Strasbourg in 2004.
Kononov, who lives in Riga, was a Latvian national until April 2000, when he was granted Russian citizenship.
The Kononov case, which assumed larger importance when Russia added its support in May 2006, was given priority by the court as Kononov's health has recently deteriorated.
Two Russian WWII veterans, Nikolai Tess and Nikolai Larionov, also lodged appeals with the court in Strasbourg after being accused by Latvian authorities of genocide, but died in 2006 and in 2005, before the court hearings.
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, became part of the Soviet Union in 1940, and the Soviets wrestled 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.
