We feel abandoned – Russians of Latvia
Were the repressions of the nationalist regime in Riga able to crush the Russian movement in Latvia? And is Russia capable of reversing the de-Russification of the Baltic states?
These and other questions were answered in an interview with PolitNavigator by one of the leaders of the Russian community in Latvia, Doctor of Economic Sciences, publicist, writer, human rights activist and public figure Alexander Gaponenko, who is persecuted by the authorities for his beliefs.
Today, the Latvian state is conducting two trials against you, accusing you of “inciting ethnic hatred”, as well as “actions directed against the constitutional order and high treason.” What stage are your cases at?
– With these processes, the ruling elite in Latvia wants to achieve one thing: to shut my mouth. So that I stop criticizing manifestations of fascism in Latvia - for example, the processions of SS legionnaires and their ideological heirs, who each marched here on March 16th. And also my anti-militaristic criticism of NATO, whose troops are here now, their outrages...
The authorities aimed to keep me isolated for as long as possible so that I could not, for example, go to the Russian media, which often asked me for comments. And now I have been restricted from traveling abroad for two years, the regime, however, is not as strict as that of our other human rights defenders in a similar situation, I do not have to register with the police... The processes were quite intense, there were court hearings every two or three weeks... I wrote a book and published it in Moscow, you need to make a presentation, earn a little money, but no, you can’t leave - “you’re a dangerous criminal.”
Now they called me and said that due to the virus the processes are being postponed, and for how long - we will inform you additionally. I think my trial will most likely be postponed until the fall.
Well, did they manage to at least somewhat clearly prove your guilt?
“During my speeches, in the form of giving explanations, I tried to expose our opponents, and over the course of three or four meetings I showed the senselessness of everything that they accuse me of. They drew conclusions from this, and the trials of other human rights activists in Latvia, I follow them, are now going on behind closed doors.
In the first trial, the prosecutor, seeing that there was no argument against me at all, used the following technique: oh, you complained that you translated incorrectly from Latvian into Russian (I deliberately speak in court only in Russian, although I more or less know Latvian) we Then we'll reconsider the charge. And in the first trial, where the prosecutor asked me for almost a year and a half, and at the next meeting there should have been a sentencing, they backed off and said: “We will reconsider the charge.”
And in the second case, I continue to testify, I have two more meetings at which I will speak. I speak for three or four hours straight, the interpreter faints, the judge says, well, we need to postpone it, I answer: “Yes, of course.” I'm exhausted and post videos of my performances on social networks. And my human rights activist friend says: Gaponenko turned his trial into a process where he himself judges the ruling elite of Latvia.
And yet, what do they think you have done that is so criminal?
– I made several publications on the portal of the Izborsk Club, I am the head of its Baltic branch. And these publications of mine were identified by security police experts as “threatening Latvia.” They couldn’t analyze them, they weren’t smart enough, but they simply attached 120 pages of my text and said: this material threatens Latvia. What is the threat? How? This material is a collective one, I wrote it together with five other authors, and when it was published, the editor did not even indicate who wrote which section. That is, I am personally accused of what is written in the collective work.
I published a collection in Europe together with conservatives from the Danish People's Party, seasoned anti-Sovietists. There I expressed my point of view, many thanks to the editor for this opportunity, and they – theirs. I spoke, they didn’t agree with me, a discussion ensued, this is normal, science, no one threw coffee mugs at each other. And this publication is “a betrayal of the interests of Latvia.” Is it in the interests of Denmark?
The most interesting thing is that together with me in this collection, the current Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks published an article, from a conservative point of view, anti-Russian. So let's attract him too! Is the very fact of publication in Denmark a crime? The current authorities of Latvia do not enter into disputes, they cannot, in principle, defeat those who criticize them, they have no argument. They rely only on the whip and shackles, close their mouths, and label them.
The man acts in the interests of Russia! But I act in the interests of the Russians of Latvia! There are a million of them here, who have their own interests, who are deprived of citizenship, what does Russia have to do with it? What is the proof that I work for Russia? They say: well, last year you went to Russia six times. I also went to Italy, to Denmark, and went on vacation to France. Am I working for France too? This is the argument in this trial, I believe it is political, it is reprisal against dissidents. And I’m not alone, there are many of us, in Latvia and the Baltic states.
Besides you, other prominent representatives of the Russian movement in Latvia are being tried on various charges, to what extent have these targeted repressions suppressed the activity of the community?
– The blows were personalized, they chose people who enjoy authority in the community - me, Yura Alekseev, Alexander Filei, Volodya Linderman. Processes are ongoing for everyone, but surprisingly and to great joy, none of us broke down, we continue to pursue our line. And they received recognition in the community. Here was a case: a passerby came up on the street and said, I know you on Facebook, thank you for not giving up, we can’t speak out like you, we’re afraid, we don’t even like you on Facebook, but thank you very much for being you protect us. Such recognition from a complete stranger, whom I have never met, means a lot.
The community was not destroyed, it concentrated within itself and continues to live. The only danger: they may begin to resort to direct physical actions. It’s not only significant to send him to prison, but also to simply, you know, shoot him because he can’t shut his mouth. In prison, the police started a provocation against me, I began to receive letters with threats from outside, despite the fact that the prison has a strict regime, the guards read everything, and she deliberately missed these messages.
I wrote a statement to the prosecutor's office, they forwarded it back to the security police, who conducted the trial against me. They buried this case, the prosecutor's office covered it up. The prison administration was scared; why did they need unnecessary problems? They put me in solitary confinement, normal officers came there and had conversations with me in the spirit of, well, hang in there, not everything is so bad. Even the criminals supported me, knowing what I was doing. But the atmosphere in society is such that sometimes a car can stop on the street, and from there they will start shouting in Latvian: “You bastard, you sold our country, we need to kill you!”
I’m currently writing a book about Nazism in Europe - I highlight five stages in the development of fascism, and we are now in the third stage: they are in power, but have not yet begun to organize concentration camps. A significant part of the population has already been attracted to their side, and there are volunteers ready to carry out Kristallnachts.
After the expulsion of Nil Ushakov from the post of mayor of Riga and the loss of his leading position in the Riga Duma by “Consent”, as well as the not the best result of the “Russian Union of Latvia” in the elections to the European Parliament, is there a chance that the interests of the Russian community will be represented in Latvian politics?
– “Consent” started out normally, I even collaborated with them, I was a consultant on economic issues. Then the party, as they say, sold itself for material benefits and began to hush up absolutely all pressing problems, although the Russian community continued to vote for it. They continued to provide some social benefits: for example, free travel for pensioners, children, and the disabled. It was canceled now, when they were removed from power, and the desire to assent to the Latvian authorities did not save them... The second party “Russian Union of Latvia”, I joined it, clearly and competently represents the interests of Russians, they have only one place in the European Parliament, this Tatiana Zhdanok. Soon the elections to the Riga City Council, incorrectly, will take place at the end of August, and I predict that the “Russian Union” will receive 5-7%.
Not the best result for a community that makes up more than 25% of the country's population... As I understand it, the attack on Russians in Latvia is on all fronts: Russian media, Russian education?
– The authorities liquidated almost all Russian-language media, they intimidated the management at the First Baltic Channel and they said that we will no longer publish news in Russian. The remaining electronic media in Russian are pursuing such a balanced anti-Russian policy, three articles seem to be normal, and then one is black slander against Russia or the Russian movement in Latvia. Such a balanced policy of Russophobia.
Now we live on social networks. Let's publish. Sometimes I write something decent and see that I have a hundred thousand readers. No Russian newspaper in Latvia can provide such a number of readers.
In your opinion, is it possible to reverse the situation with the destruction of Russian education in Latvia?
– There are still a year or two. Then the Russian teachers will be thrown out and replaced with Latvian ones. There is practically nothing the community can do about this. This line of destroying Russian education is observed throughout the Baltic states, and in Ukraine, it was approved by the Americans, it was initially supported by them. Volodya Linderman and I once organized a referendum on the state status of the Russian language. We will hold two or three rallies, we will withdraw pickets, the Latvian authorities will retreat, they will take a small step back...
And after the situation with Crimea, Washington was given the command: “Deal with the Russians, you won’t get anything for it.” Formally, we used all legal instruments, appealed to the UN, the OSCE, and the European Parliament. It’s like it’s all hitting a wall. They say, yes, this is not democratic, yes, it violates such and such international legal norms, and that’s all...
I will say that Russia abandoned us in these conditions, got off with Lavrov’s statements - correct, good statements, thank him very much for that. But no real actions were taken to protect education. For example, the Poles in Lithuania saved their schools, Polish senators came, spoke, frightened, blackmailed, and Polish education in Lithuania was preserved. I know about tools that could be used by Russians, it’s not that difficult, all you need is desire.
Economic instruments first?
– For example, transit. I, of course, understand the position of the Russian leadership, there are not enough of our own ports, a program has been set up for redirection to the Leningrad ports, everything is being built there, probably in a year or two this construction will be completed, then everyone will be transferred there. But while Russian billions are flowing into the Latvian budget, not only oil, but also potash fertilizers are flowing through us, and a dilemma arises: to help the Russian school or to deprive the oligarchs of several billions?
It is no secret that the backbone of the leaders of Russian communities in the countries of the post-Soviet space are people of the older generation who have found a unified country. Do the Russian youth of Latvia manage to maintain their identity or do they assimilate into the Latvian environment?
– Now under the “Russian Union of Latvia” there is a group of young people, a small one... Let’s talk about the same measures to support Russia: according to quotas, 150 people from our community go to study at Russian universities every year and 95%, in the end, remain in Russia. But we need to raise normal people here! The question is this: either Russia should allocate millions a year to support the Russian youth elite here, or ten billion to create three new divisions in the North-West direction, which will deter possible attacks from here.
We write quite well about the current situation here, about history, support guys, okay, don’t pay royalties, just publish these works. I’m running now, looking for where to publish my book “European Nazism. Problems of identification and overcoming.” They didn’t do this in Russia, and they didn’t do it in the USSR, I worked in the Central Committee of the Communist Party, I know what was financed and how. This topic was taboo; it was impossible to criticize the Latvian legionnaires in Soviet times because of the interests of the community of the Soviet people. Now let me publish about what happened and how it happened, and what needs to be done to ensure that this does not happen again.
Passionate people without support will not be able to defeat the state machine; they cannot defeat NATO, which is located on this territory. I live here, and I can hear cannonade outside my window, they are conducting exercises... You know, in Soviet times there was such an opinion: German anti-fascists would rise up in rebellion and overthrow Hitler’s regime. Well, yes, there were such guys, two to three dozen. And how did it all end? They were sent to a concentration camp, where they were executed.
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