“Discriminatory nature”: what can a ban on teaching in Russian in Latvian schools

The translation of national minority schools into the Latvian language of instruction complies with the Constitution. Such a verdict on Tuesday, April 23, was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court (CC) of Latvia Sanita Osipova.

“The decision is final, not subject to dispute and comes into force from the moment of its announcement,” TASS quotes it.

However, she emphasized that the court had considered the issue of the legality of the translation of state into the Latvian language, and not private schools. A separate decision will be made on private schools, Osipova stressed.

The lawsuit was submitted to the Constitutional Court by representatives of the Consent party, which is supported by the Russian-speaking population of Latvia. It states that the law passed in March 2018 by the country's parliament on the transition of all educational institutions to the Latvian language does not comply with the Constitution of the country. The basic law of the country speaks about the right of every citizen of the republic to education, and also prohibits discrimination on any grounds, including linguistic.

In addition to the “Consent” party, similar claims, however, relating exclusively to private schools of national minorities, were filed by parents of Latvian students. As a result, the COP will issue several more verdicts on the same law.

“The Constitutional Court, recognizing the reform of the education of national minority schools in line with the Constitution, assumed responsibility for the sad future of children,” said the “Consent” party in its Facebook.

The decision of the Constitutional Court can be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights, but it will take years, says Alexander Gaponenko, an activist at the Protection of Russian Schools headquarters.

“The Russians at the COP indicated their true place. Education in Russian at school will no longer be possible, ”he wrote on Facebook.

“Russian schools, acting on the basis of the norm of the Constitution, which protects the right of Latvians to education, suddenly turned out to be unconstitutional themselves. Thanks to the verdict of the Constitutional Court, a significant part of society is deprived of the opportunity to teach their children in their native language, ”said Vladimir Simindey, head of the Historical Memory Foundation, in an interview with RT.

Course for crowding out

Recall, according to the law adopted a year ago, from September 1, 2021 all educational institutions in Latvia are obliged to switch to the Latvian language. Now there is a preparatory period during which schools must master the new order of education. Upon its completion, only junior school students will be taught in Russian. The rest of the schoolchildren can study non-Latvian only individual subjects, for example, Russian literature.

But, probably, this indulgence will remain for a while. In February of this year, the State Center for Educational Content, which develops and implements educational methods, proposed to translate subjects in Russian into the category of electives.

• Riga school with instruction in Russian and Latvian
• RIA News
• © Sergey Melkonov

Higher educational institutions of Latvia have already switched to the Latvian language. The law prohibiting private universities and vocational educational institutions to teach in Russian came into force on January 1, 2019.

Moreover, according to the 2011 census, about 27% of the population of Latvia are Russians. Russian is the main language in everyday communication for 37% of the country's inhabitants (in Riga this figure is even higher - about 56%). However, legally it is not considered the language of a national minority and is not subject to the protection of the state. On the contrary, it is in every possible way squeezed out of all spheres of life in Latvian society, experts remind.

“The movement in this direction began in the nineties. First, the Russian ousted from higher education, now took up the secondary. Certainly, the language policy of the Latvian authorities is discriminatory, and this is the softest possible definition, ”said Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Baltic Studies Association, in an interview with RT.

Fight for Russian

According to the Law on the State Language adopted in 1999, all languages ​​spoken by residents of Latvia, except Latvian and Livs, have the status of foreign languages, therefore they can be used only with certain restrictions. Based on this legislation, a number of prohibitions were introduced.

In particular, government agencies do not accept, except in special cases, documents and statements written in Russian. A big resonance received a ban on activities only in a foreign language, without providing translation into Latvian. In 2017, several schools in Riga were fined for the fact that teachers used Russian during the graduation parties.

Identification and punishment of violators of language legislation is dealt with by the Center of the State Language, established in 1992, which has quite broad powers. He may impose fines and apply for the suspension of any institution. In 2015, the Center even announced the recruitment of “volunteers” who inform the authorities about the perpetrators.

• Latvian nationalists - participants of the torch procession in Riga
• RIA News
• © Sergey Melkonov

In Latvia, protests against the state policy towards the Russian language were held on several occasions. For example, last year several meetings took place, the participants of which demanded that the government repeal discriminatory laws, several thousand people took part in the events.

In April 2018, Alexander Gaponenko, a human rights activist, an activist of the Defense Staff of Russian Schools, was arrested. He spent several months behind bars. Only in August, the court decided to change his measure of restraint on his own recognizance. Gaponenko is charged with crimes under three articles of the criminal code: “inciting national hatred”, “activities directed against Latvia” and “helping a foreign state to conduct hostile activities against the country”. In January 2019, the court returned the Gaponenko case for further investigation to the prosecutor's office. The accused himself believes that he is being persecuted for political reasons and precisely for the defense of the Russian language.

Opponents of the language policy of the authorities of Latvia are actively using the opportunities offered by the country's membership in the European Union. So, last year a Latvian citizen asked the European Parliament to check whether the translation of education in Latvian to the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In February 2019, the European Parliament Committee on Culture sent an official letter to the head of the Latvian Cabinet, Krisjanis Karins, reports Sputnik-Latvia. It expresses concern about the actions of the authorities against education in the languages ​​of national minorities. Karinsha was reminded of the resolution of the European Parliament, which stresses that the protection of linguistic diversity is one of the responsibilities of the EU member states. The Latvian government has taken note of this letter, reports Delfi.

It is unlikely that the opinion of the culture committee of the European Parliament will be perceived by the Latvian authorities as a guide to action, says Vladimir Siminde. In his opinion, the point is not only that such letters are not legally instructions, binding.

“In words, everything in the EU is for respecting human rights. In practice, the countries of the European Union carry out different policies with regard to national minorities. Somewhere, like in Finland, their interests are taken into account and firmly defended by the state. Somewhere, on the contrary, they come up with ways to get around these interests. In France, for example, the French language is a powerful integrating factor; everyone understands this and tries to maintain a common linguistic space. Therefore, there even Arab children are taught French in school. Political expediency turns out to be more important than human rights, ”said Syminday in an interview with RT .

The expert is confident that the leading EU and NATO countries deliberately condone the language policy of the Latvian authorities. Brussels and Washington are interested in the Baltic states being cut off from Russia, which is why they have tacitly acknowledged the position of the Latvian authorities that the Russians are not considered a national minority, Syminday states.

"They will lose their identity"

The consequence of the decision of the Constitutional Court of Latvia will be the further ousting of the Russian language from the field of education, which will adversely affect the level of knowledge of Russian-speaking schoolchildren, experts say.

“On paper there will be vigorous reports on the implementation of the reform, and in practice children will become victims of an ill-conceived experiment. There are not enough teachers in schools, teachers with a native Latvian language are not eager to teach in minority schools, the time allotted for mastering subjects will be spent on learning the Latvian language. The implementation of the reform will inevitably lead to a loss of the quality of education, and, accordingly, to a decrease in the competitiveness of a significant part of graduates, ”TASS cites the words of the member of the“ Consent ”party Boris Tsilevich.

The real goal of educational reform is to completely assimilate the younger generation of Latvian Russians, suggested Vladimir Linderman, leader of the Latvian Native Language public organization, in a conversation with RT.

“Children will study in a non-native language, according to programs approved by the state. The Russian language will gradually become alien to them. They will lose their identity, ”he said.

The educational reform approved by the Constitutional Court will complicate the already not simple relations between Latvia and Russia, while the Latvian leadership does not fear international reaction, experts say.

“The Latvian authorities are taking advantage of the fact that Russia cannot pressure them seriously, since the economic contacts between our countries are close to zero. And Europe, as always, remain silent. Probably, there will be protests of some not especially influential structures, for example, some committee of the European Parliament. But this is all limited, "says Simindy.

According to Linderman, protests of the Russian community can impede educational reform. However, many experts do not believe in their effectiveness.

“The most active and principled from among local Russians have long since left Latvia. There are very few Russian activists who would defend the last remnants of their national identity, ”notes Syminday.

Rather, the Russians will try to adapt to the changed situation, experts say.

“Children will be transferred to private schools. But not all Russian-speaking residents of Latvia can afford it. Education in private schools is not affordable for everyone, ”says Linderman.

It should not be forgotten that the Constitutional Court should consider claims about the legality of the translation of private secondary schools into the Latvian language, Mezhevich says.

“If the Constitutional Court says that everything should be in Latvian in private schools, the last opportunity to give the child education in Russian will disappear. And if he doesn’t say, the situation is still abnormal. Russians will have to pay for the education of their children twice: once - taxes to the state, the other - money to private schools, ”the expert notes.