Latvia

The Russian-speaking minority and the integration into the European Union

An outside view gives us the impression that the European Union (EU) is strict when it comes to the respect of democratic principles ​​by its member countries. However, Latvia, a small Baltic country (barely 2 million inhabitants) considers around 10% of its population as “non-citizens”. This Russian-speaking minority of its population does not have the right to vote. Nevertheless, the country is still part of the EU! On the other hand, despite a mass exodus and severe budget cuts, two phenomena linked to its integration into the EU, Euroscepticism is almost non-existent in Latvia. Here is a summary of an article from Le Monde Diplomatique of December 2021 [1].

The Russian-speaking minority

Since the independence of this former Soviet republic in 1991, its Russian-speaking population has been in the line of fire. All residents who arrived in Latvia after the first annexation of 1940 by the USSR (mostly Russians, but also from other republics of the USSR) were considered “outsiders” to the new nation. Estonia followed the same path, but not Belarus or Ukraine, which granted citizenship to the entire population after 1991. In Latvia, 700,000 people, or a third of the population, were deprived of citizenship status defined at the independence. In 1995, a law formulated the concept of “non-citizens” for them (status granted to residents who had settled before 1992, had lived in the territory for more than ten years or were born there). Three years later, another law facilitated their access to citizenship, but naturalizations have stagnated since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004. There are still 190,500 "non-citizens" today (including 65% who define themselves as Russians). Thus, 10% of the population is deprived of the right to vote (even in local elections) and prohibited from exercising certain professions (civil servant, lawyer, notary, pharmacist, etc.).

The 2012 Referendum

In 2012, a referendum was organized for the recognition of Russian as a second official language, following a citizens' initiative that collected ten thousand signatures (as required by a provision in the Constitution). Although hyped by the highly watched Russian television channels in the country, the ballot ended with a massive "no" (75% of unfavorable votes). But the mere fact that such a consultation was held was enough to push the Latvian state in a panic mode.

In recent years, the Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted several resolutions urging Latvia to promote the integration of Russian speakers into the civil service and the teaching of minority languages. However, the 2018 reform of the education system hardly considers these directives. By 2022, it imposes teaching entirely in Latvian in all secondary schools, which will eliminate the remnants of school multilingualism (Russian, Latvian and a few other minority languages, such as Polish) inherited from the Soviet period.

Emigration to the West

Since 1991, the country has lost almost a third of its population. If death rates (rising) and birth rates (falling) contribute to the demographic crisis, emigration to the Western European countries explains a third of this drop. Since 2001, nearly three thousand villages have been wiped off the map (i.e. 32% of localities) [2], forcing the government to redesign the administrative division of the territory.

Integration into the Schengen area in 2007, combined with a draconian austerity policy after the 2008 crisis (salaries cut by 30% in the private sector, contraction of public expenditure equivalent to 15% of GDP, reduction of 20% minimum wage), have caused a massive rush towards Western Europe, for example towards Ireland [3]. In spite of this huge blow, there are no Eurosceptic parties in Latvia, and the negative consequences of joining the European Union remain taboo in public debate.

Despite the social cost of “returning” to the family of European democracies, Latvia seems to have accepted its status as a “small country” for which independence partly meant a mere change of guardianship. It has done so by breaking its ties with Moscow, in order to embrace Europe, despite the high price this choice entails.

[1] https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2021/12/RICHARD/64141

[2] Sintija Ambote, « Cette année, vingt-cinq villages ont été rayés de la liste des localités, mais tous ne sont pas vides », LSM, Riga, 8 novembre 2018.

[3] Lire Philippe Rekacewicz et Ieva Rucevska, « Aucun vent de panique, mais… », Le Monde diplomatique, septembre 2009.

https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2009/09/REKACEWICZ/18160