The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatiana Moskalkova, said that she would appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović in connection with the situation in Latvia, where Russians who did not pass the language exam face forced expulsion from the country.

"I consider the deliberate creation of conditions that force citizens to leave Latvia a gross violation of human rights. I will appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović with a request to pay attention to the violation of the rights of our compatriots, especially the elderly," she said on her Telegram channel.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, in an interview with RT, noted that the actions of the Latvian authorities "cannot be called anything other than Nazism."

"We know that during the Second World War, when Latvia was occupied by Germany, the authorities there cooperated with the occupiers in the same way. And in many things they even surpassed them in terms of persecution of Jews, Russians, etc.," Dzhabarov recalled.

He considered Moskalkova's appeal to the UN absolutely correct, but doubted its effectiveness.

"The only thing is that there will be only one result. I have no doubt that they will say that nothing is clear and there is no evidence. Or they simply will not notice this appeal. Unfortunately, the world has become deaf to this, "the interlocutor of RT emphasized.

Language Restrictions

Recall that in September 2022, the Latvian parliament adopted amendments to the law on migration, which obliged citizens of the Russian Federation who have permanent residence in Latvia to obtain a certificate of proficiency in the Latvian language at the A1 level by September 2023, 2. Otherwise, their permanent resident status will be revoked.

On August 4, the rus.lsm.lv portal, citing representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia, reported that the ministry would send official letters demanding that about 6 thousand Russian citizens with a permanent residence permit leave the republic.

  • Protest against the ban on education in Russian language in Riga
  • AFP
  • © Gints Ivuskans

According to the Deputy Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vilnis Vitoliņš, the Russians who received such a letter will have to leave Latvia within three months. There is no criminal liability for refusing to comply with the order, but Russians who do not pass the Latvian proficiency exam may be fined.

At the same time, the head of the Latvian parliament's commission on citizenship, Ingmar Lidaka, said that new amendments to the migration law allow the authorities to expel from the country even elderly people who have long had permanent residence, but have not received a language certificate.

Later, on August 22, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia, Maris Kuchinskis, said that citizens of the Russian Federation living in Latvia could receive a two-year deferment to pass the Latvian language exam. He also argued that each case of failure to pass the exam would be considered on an individual basis, and no one would be deported. The corresponding amendments were made to the government of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia on August 31.

Subsequently, on September 5, the LETA agency reported that the majority of Russians living in Latvia could not pass the language exam the first time.

According to him, a little more than 13 thousand Russians announced their intention to take the exam, but in fact 11.3 thousand took part, of which 61% did not pass it. At the same time, about 6.5 thousand Russians announced their intention to pass it again, says Liene Voronenko, director of the State Center for the Content of Education.

In turn, on September 5, the rus.lsm.lv portal reported that the Latvian government decided to extend the deadline for passing the exam, as it concluded that about 10 thousand out of 25,316 Russian citizens living in the country and having a residence permit did not apply for EU permanent resident status, so they will have to leave Latvia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the situation in Latvia, said that the Russian embassy in the republic records all cases of discrimination against compatriots and works on them with local authorities.

"All cases of discrimination against Russian citizens and representatives of our diaspora are recorded, they are being worked on with local authorities, attracting the attention of the media, Latvian human rights organizations, as well as relevant international structures," the diplomat said.

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stressed that the amendments to the Latvian migration legislation are "discriminatory in nature, grossly violating the fundamental international legal norms." Zakharova added that the representative office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Latvia, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is actively working on the implementation of the state program to assist the voluntary resettlement of compatriots living abroad to the Russian Federation, and the corresponding intergovernmental agreement of 1993.

"In addition, Russia is making active efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the inhumane migration requirements imposed by the Latvian authorities on our fellow citizens. In particular, the relevant issues were raised by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE, Maxim Buyakevich. The Commission on International Cooperation of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights sent appeals to the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe with an appeal to protect the Russian-speaking population of Latvia from forced eviction," Zakharova said in a commentary.

"National idea"

Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, recalled that this situation has persisted for 30 years, since Russians living in Latvia were not recognized as citizens of the country.

"The West and its structures have recognized this situation as normal. In the West, they believe that such a position of Latvia helps to put pressure on Russia and sets an example of how to punish Russians and give them the status of outcasts. This policy has been going on for decades, and now we see a certain result of it, "the interlocutor of RT emphasized.

  • High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova
  • RIA Novosti
  • © Press Service of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation

Vladimir Bruter believes that it is necessary to raise the issue in international instances about the forced expulsion from the country of Russians who have not passed the exam, but one should not expect any meaningful reaction to them.

"The UN may somehow react to Moskalkova's appeal, but this reaction will not really mean anything," the expert believes.

The reaction of the UN and other international and European authorities to the actions of the Latvian authorities against the Russian-speaking population will be purely on duty, political scientist Yuri Bondarenko believes.

"There may be a reaction, but without any harsh comments or condemnation against the Latvian authorities. There will be a formal statement that they are white and fluffy, but with some flaws, "the expert said in a conversation with RT.

The Latvian authorities, obviously, believe that the country's membership in the EU and NATO gives them the opportunity to carry out such actions, Yuri Bondarenko added.

Since Latvia gained independence, the country's authorities immediately began to apply illegal legal norms and procedures to the Russian population, Vladimir Bruter recalled.

"The squeezing out of the Russian population, depriving it of its rights and actually banning the Russian language as a language of communication will continue," the expert believes.

At the same time, during Latvia's stay in the Soviet Union, there was no frenzied nationalism and Russophobia in the republic, Vladimir Bruter added.

"However, when the authorities of the newly independent Latvia fell under the full influence of the West and when it began to use Riga against Russia for its own purposes, Russophobia very quickly took shape as a Latvian national idea. This is an idea brought and established by the West, which formed the current Latvian political elite. Since she has no other national ideas, this one was accepted with pleasure," the expert concluded.