Latvia’s Russian Speakers Reject Putin’s ‘Russian World’ as Election Looms

Smoked sausages and homemade cheese drew locals to a harvest festival in eastern Latvia – this time accompanied by campaign speeches from election candidates, including representatives of pro-Russian parties. But like the local produce, many members of the Russian-speaking minority in Rezekne, less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Russian border, told AFP they identified with Latvia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. A source of tension since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Latvia’s Russian-speaking community has faced renewed questions over identity, loyalty and Moscow’s influence. As parliamentary elections loom on Oct. 3, many Russian speakers in the eastern Latgale region said they had no desire to be “saved” by Moscow. “We do not need help from Russia here. We can solve our problems ourselves,” 45-year-old local resident Igors Nazarovs told AFP as a band played on the city’s main street. “This is a separate culture – a separate land.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed that the rights of Russian speakers in the Baltic states are being violated, rhetoric that has raised concern in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. His language has echoes of claims Moscow made about Russian speakers in Ukraine’s Donbas region before launching its invasion. Daugavpils, Latvia’s second-largest city, has around 80,000 residents, roughly 90% of whom are Russian-speaking. Other Topics of Interest German Chancellor Merz Calls Air Defense Ukraine’s Weakest Point Ahead of Winter Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia is “obviously not interested in serious negotiations” following the first German-Russian FM meeting since 2022. Some Russian speakers there, including Inna Plavoka, said Russia’s war against Ukraine forced them to reconsider their own identity. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, “my life was divided into a ‘before’ and an ‘after,’” she told AFP. “Today, I clearly identify with Latvia and with this country, in no way with Russia.” Plavoka, editor-in-chief of the independent Daugavpils media outlet Tchaika, or “Seagull,” said she believes a growing number of Russian speakers now feel the same way. Before the war, she still knew people who believed Putin would come to Latvia “to save them” by offering them “Russki mir” – a phrase that can be translated as both “the Russian world” and “Russian peace.” Today, she said, she no longer knows anyone who openly says: “Yes, I want that.” Recent drone crashes on Latvian territory have also changed attitudes, she added. “Everyone understands what this ‘Russki mir’ really means.” Portraits of Lenin and Stalin Affection for Moscow, however, remains among some older members of Latvia’s Russian-speaking population. At the offices of the Latvian Russian Community association, Aleksei Vassiliev, a candidate from the Russian-speaking Harmony party, proudly pointed to portraits of Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. “This is the history of people who lived in the Soviet Union,” he said. While insisting that he is attached to Latvia, Vassiliev criticized the status of so-called “non-citizens” – permanent residents, mostly Russian-speaking, who did not meet the full requirements for Latvian citizenship and hold no other nationality. Many either failed or did not take the Latvian language and history examinations required for citizenship. They make up nearly 9% of Latvia’s population and are not permitted to vote. “If they were allowed to vote and if they voted as a bloc, they would be the largest parliamentary group in parliament,” Vassiliev said. He also criticized measures adopted by Riga since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine aimed at reducing Russian influence, including the transition toward Latvian as the main language of instruction and the removal of Soviet monuments. Kremlin influence and economic frustration In Latgale, the poorest region of the Baltic states, some Russian-speaking residents also criticize European support for Ukraine. Their complaints often appear rooted more in local economic hardship than in direct support for the Kremlin. Seeking votes from that electorate, Vjaceslavs Stepanenko, leader of the local branch of the populist Suverena Vara party – accused by critics of pro-Russian sympathies – attacked European assistance to Kyiv. “It would be nice if this aid from European countries were for us,” he said. Only a few meters away, center-right MP Juris Vilums of the United List handed out his own campaign leaflets. Led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, the party is leading in opinion polls and is expected to play a central role in forming Latvia’s next governing coalition, while maintaining the country’s broadly centrist and pro-Western course. Vilums argued that Russian influence persists in parts of eastern Latvia largely because local residents lack alternative sources of information. “The major problem... is propaganda,” he said. “For now, we don’t have any Russian-language media at the national level,” Vilums added, noting that residents near the border can easily receive Russian or Belarusian radio broadcasts. While one part of Latvia’s Russian-speaking population “is already integrated,” he said, “another part is not, and I’m afraid it never will be.”