The argument was used before the invasion of Ukraine • TV4 The news on the ground in Riga
In a cafe in Riga, Boriss Cilevičs, a politician from the social democratic party Harmoni, believes that Putin’s war has united Latvia in support of Ukraine, but at the same time reduced tolerance for the country’s own Russian minority.
This is symbolized not least by the fact that school education may no longer be held in Russian, but only in Latvian.
– It feels as if the Russian language is being eliminated everywhere. Just that my grandchildren cannot use their mother tongue in education. Not even partially, as it was before, says politician Boriss Cilevičs.
Cilevič’s Harmony party was long the mainstay of the Russian minority, but failed to enter parliament in the last election. According to him, according to pro-Russians, the party was not Russian enough, and according to Latvians, not patriotic enough.
The Russian minority is not a unified group
In the country’s second largest city, Daugavpils, close to half of the residents are Russian. But while some are drawn to the Kremlin’s propaganda, it is clear that the Russian minority is not a unified group.
– The war has meant that there has been more pressure on some residents. But I really don’t like that people think that if a person speaks Russian, he is 100 percent for Russia. For example, I speak Russian but have no connection to Russia, says Agata Pavlova.
In Latvia’s legislative assembly Saeima, politicians from the ruling Unity party believe that the Russian minority is well integrated and downplay that there would be a split, although they are aware that it is a pretext that could be used by Russia for an attack.
– Putin has an opportunistic policy, which is often forgotten in the West. He can use any weakness in the West or strength in Russia for his own gain. So if he wants to, he will use the Russian population as an argument. But I mean that we are not living in the 16th century, we will not deport the Russian population anywhere, says Ainars Latkovskis (Enhet), chairman of the Saeima’s national security committee.
Warns of fragmentation
Latkovskis emphasizes that Latvia is part of NATO, which according to him reduces the risk of an attack. Boriss Cilevičs, on the other hand, sees the problems as bigger. He believes that Russians are not represented in leading positions in society in a way that corresponds to Latvia’s population at large.
– I think we are in danger. From that point of view, we really need unity within our society. We should not exclude people because of their Russian origin, because their mother tongue is Russian, or because they prefer to speak Russian at home. It’s stupid, counterproductive and dangerous. It is the best help Mr Putin can get, says Boriss Cilevičs.