In shadow of Ukraine war, Latvia turns wary eye on local Russians
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Gordon F. Sander Contributor
| Riga, Latvia
Fifteen months after Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war there has worsened tensions in Latvia between the ethnic Latvian majority and the Russian-speaking minority.
Around a quarter of Latvia鈥檚 population are Russian speakers 鈥� a legacy of the Soviet Union. And the signs are that an increasing number of them are turning their backs on their motherland and on the Kremlin.
But not fast enough for many native Latvians, it seems.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onRussia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine has sown mistrust in another former Soviet republic, Latvia, where Russian speakers are struggling against being stigmatized as pro-Moscow.
鈥淭here are definitely more tensions between the two populations than there have been for a long time, perhaps since 1991,鈥� when Latvia regained its independence, says Selma Levrence, a young Latvian social activist who works for the center-left Progressive Party.聽
This crisis is sharpening despite an apparent shift in opinion among the country鈥檚 Russian speakers. A recent poll found that only a third of them thought that Latvia should orient its foreign policy toward Moscow; 41% believed the country should align itself instead with the West, against the war, up from 34% last year.
鈥淭he Russian community was understandably conflicted at the start of the war,鈥� says Juris Rozenvalds, a sociologist at the University of Latvia who is himself half Russian and half Latvian. 鈥淎t first, most naturally identified with Russia because that is their country of origin.
鈥淥n the other hand, most Russians were shocked by what is going on in Ukraine,鈥� Mr. Rozenvalds adds, and 鈥渂oth Russians and Latvians are giving humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The proportion of Russian speakers who support Ukraine is slowly but surely growing.鈥�
Among them is Vera, who did not want to give her surname. She works at a toy store in Daugavpils, the most heavily Russian city in Latvia.聽鈥淏efore the war I thought that Putin was an excellent leader for Russia,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he war changed all that. I don鈥檛 like the war, and I don鈥檛 think the Russian people do either.鈥�
Stigmatized and insecure
But extremists in the pro-Russia camp distract attention from people like Vera. Vandals recently desecrated the Bikernieki Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust with graffiti Z鈥檚 鈥� the symbol of the Russian invasion 鈥� and last month smashed the facade of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, which recalls the country鈥檚 history under Nazi and Soviet rule from 1940 to 1991.
Such events point to 鈥渁 definite downturn in inter-community relations,鈥� says Maris Andzans, a political scientist at Riga Stradins University.聽
The result is that Russian speakers feel more stigmatized than ever, says Anna, a Russian who moved to Riga with her family before the war and now works in information technology.
鈥淭here is a bookseller in our neighborhood who used to speak Russian to me when I came into his store,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow he insists on speaking in Latvian.鈥�
鈥淚 recognize that that is his right,鈥� says Anna, who has a temporary work permit that expires next year and also asked that her name not be used. 鈥淪till, it鈥檚 uncomfortable. Since the war started I have felt more insecure.鈥�
Arina, another Russian national who moved to Latvia before the war to take a job in marketing, says she has suffered from a rise in Russophobia among her Latvian friends, which she finds understandable. 鈥淚 sympathize with my Latvian friends in their anger at the Kremlin,鈥� says Arina, who is of mixed Latvian-Russian parentage. 鈥淚n this respect I consider myself a victim of the [Russian] regime, even though I have always been against the war.鈥�
At the same time, she worries, 鈥渢he war has given the green light to some of the more nationalistic Latvians to be more open about their concerns and frustrations about the Russians in their midst, which only adds fuel to the fire.鈥�
Government campaign
鈥淟atvian people now tend to associate everything Russian with the war,鈥� says Ms. Levrence, the social activist, and this is feeding calls for more radical 鈥渄e-Russification鈥� of Latvian society.
That campaign, led by the government, has sped up since Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. 鈥淭he war reactivated the dormant negative feelings about the Soviet times,鈥� says Mr. Rozenvalds, the sociologist, prompting the destruction of Russian imperial and Soviet monuments and other efforts to expunge Moscow鈥檚 legacy, such as a campaign to eradicate Russian-language education.
Last August, the authorities blew up the 260-foot-high Victory Monument in central Riga, built to commemorate the Soviet Union鈥檚 victory over Nazi Germany, which occupied Latvia from 1941 to 1944. But Latvians saw the towering obelisk and adjacent Red Army soldier sculptures as celebrating the Soviet occupation from 1944 until 1991.
The government is also moving to eradicate Russian from Latvian schools, change Russian street names, and remove statues of Russian heroes such as the poet Alexander Pushkin.
鈥淭his,鈥� Mr. Rozenvalds says, 鈥渉as made the split between Russian and Latvian speakers deeper, at least in the short term.鈥�
Latvia鈥檚 president, Egils Levits, however, insists that de-Russification is essential to the country鈥檚 existence. 鈥淲e are a national Latvian state,鈥� President Levits says. 鈥淭he state language, Latvian, is a common language for all people living here.
鈥淭he war in Ukraine has made us more aware of this [Soviet] legacy,鈥� he adds in an interview. 鈥淧ushkin has nothing to do with Latvia; why do we need a statue for him?鈥�
鈥淏asic human rights鈥�
The government鈥檚 hostility to Russian language and culture, and its campaign to eliminate them, have drawn criticism from moderate Latvian quarters: 鈥淚t has not been done in a coordinated, thought-out manner,鈥� says Ms. Levrence. And it has offended many Russian speakers.
One-third of them feel 鈥渃onfused or angry,鈥� estimates Dr. Andzans, the political scientist. Among them is Vitaly S., who asked that his full name not be made public.
鈥淏efore the war at least the Riga government respected our basic human rights,鈥� says Mr. S., a Russian speaker born in Latvia who has refused to become a Latvian citizen. 鈥淏ut since Feb. 24 [2022] the nationalists have operated without restrictions.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 complicated,鈥� says Mr. Rozenvalds. 鈥淎nd the extremists who are shouting 鈥榙e-Russify Latvia鈥� are not helping. What does it mean in a society where one-third of the people speak Russian at home?
鈥淯nfortunately,鈥� he adds, 鈥渁 part of society is of the opinion that the Russians haven鈥檛 learned our language in 30 years, so they don鈥檛 belong to 鈥榦ur tribe.鈥� But in order to become a truly united society we first have to show that we are reaching out our hand and asking them to join.
鈥淎nd that,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s not happening. Just the opposite.鈥�
This article was reported with the assistance of Anna Sicova.
