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The Latvian flag in a procession in Riga (2015)

Photo: INTS KALNINS/ REUTERS

Latvia plans to deport Russians who live in the country but do not speak Latvian. "There will certainly be forced expulsions," says MP Gunars Kutris in Riga about the situation of Russians in Latvia. Hundreds of people who have lived in the EU country for many decades and only speak Russian could be affected by the deportations. “This will become apparent in practice,” says the head of the Committee for Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion. In the future, anyone who cannot demonstrate knowledge of Latvian will have to leave the country.

That could be up to 3,000 people. Around a quarter of Latvia's population of 1.9 million belongs to the large Russian-speaking minority. Many people in the other Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania are stateless or have a Russian passport. They came to the Baltics during communist times, when the three republics were forced to be part of the Soviet Union. Moscow, once the center of power for the Baltics, has been complaining for years that Russians are being discriminated against there.

"In the Baltic states, tens of thousands of people are being declared 'subhuman' and their most basic rights are being deprived," complained Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at a commemoration of the Second World War at the end of January. He had already spoken of the “swinish” treatment of the Russians in Latvia. He accuses the government in Riga of exploiting the generally hostile mood against Russia because of its war of aggression against Ukraine politically in order to take action against the minority.

Anyone who wants to continue living legally in Latvia with a Russian passport must now apply for permanent residence status and prove that they have everyday knowledge of Latvian in a language test. The deadline for this was September 1st. Anyone who has not passed the test can apply for a two-year extension of their residence permit and repeat the test.

Latvia rejects Russia's allegations

All others who did not report to the authorities on their own initiative have now received mail from the migration authority - they are threatened with being thrown out of Latvia. The background is changes to Latvia's immigration law that were passed in autumn 2022 in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Behind this lies the question that has arisen again and again since Latvia regained independence in 1991, as to how loyal the population of Russian origin is and how they would behave in the event of a conflict. There are fears that Russia could exploit and incite these people. Or, similar to Ukraine, even justify an invasion by saying that it has to protect its compatriots abroad.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics rejected Putin's claims and Russian state propaganda. »We all know very well that Russians living in Latvia are not discriminated against. But there are completely legitimate requirements: knowledge of the national language, and this is the basis of every country.«

czl/dpa