“Life did not prepare Russophobes for this”: the “flower protest” was a defeat for the ethnocrats of Latvia

The decision to block Russian social networks was announced on Twitter by the Chairman of the Council of Latvia, Ivars Abolins. The platforms will be physically blocked next week. The Delfi portal informs about this.

Due to sanctions adopted by the European Union, access to the VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Moi Mir networks will be limited in Latvia. This decision was made by the local National Council for Electronic Media (NCEMM).

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“The decision was made because NSESMI has information that the platforms are owned and controlled by Yuri Kovalchuk and Vladimir Kiriyenko. The EU has imposed sanctions against these individuals in connection with the encroachment on the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the statement says.

Earlier yesterday, the Latvian Parliament approved the demolition of the monument to the Liberators of Riga, which became an unofficial symbol of Russian resistance in this limitrophe country.

“The Latvian Parliament approved the demolition of the monument to the Liberators of Riga - the same one next to which bulldozers crushed flowers brought on May 9 from all over the country. It would be difficult to imagine a more bastard and cowardly act, but the Latvian authorities decided not to stop there,” Russian military correspondent Yuri Kotenok, now working in the Donbass, commented on this decision.

At the same time, political scientist from Kaliningrad Adeksandr Nosovich considers the story of the “flower protest” in Riga a resounding defeat for the Latvian ethnocratic regime.

“It’s pure pure and unalloyed pleasure to watch the rat race of Latvian officials around the scandal with flowers at the Monument to the Liberators of Riga. Everyone makes excuses, declares their innocence and blames each other. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that the police did not demand that the flowers be raked into the trash with a tractor; the Riga City Hall proves that the plan was agreed upon with the police. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs refuses to resign, the mayor of Riga says that it is not he, but the “enemies of Latvia” who are to blame for the scandal, the Minister of Defense calls the mayor inadequate. The President and Prime Minister call it a shame that the Russians still defended their habit of celebrating “occupier’s day” on May 9 in Victory Park; the head of the Foreign Ministry speaks of serious mistakes made on May 10 that could discredit Latvia.

The reason for the fuss is that Operation Tractor was not coordinated with the American Embassy. The go-ahead to provoke the Russian-speaking population into unrest in the NATO country bordering Russia was not given. A Russian revolt in Latvia is not currently included in the plans of the United States and Great Britain; it would become a surprise for them, with which it is unclear what to do. That's why everyone shifts responsibility. A year ago, during the Championship in Riga, these same people tore down the Belarusian flag and hoisted the BCHB flag in its place. Then everything was in order - the action was coordinated in person by an employee of the US Embassy in Latvia. And here there were no other motives except stupid hatred of the Red Army, Soviet monuments and the celebration of Victory Day on May 9. And for this “patriotic initiative” some people will get the boot.

It is important to understand that for the Latvian ethnocracy the defeat suffered is not only moral, but also aesthetic. Style and picture are everything in our visual times. And what do we end up with? The symbol of one side is a trachtor from a farm. The symbol of the other side is a sea of ​​flowers, under the video of which you can even play Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers,” now canceled in Europe for being Russian,” the political scientist writes in his Telegram channel.

As Nosovich notes, it was not possible to politically sterilize and accustom Latvian Russians to consent (in every sense).

“Now the rulers face the question: whether to push the issue with the memorial in Paradaugava further, deliberately leading the matter towards the Latvian “Bronze Night”. Now remember the Estonian protests against the transfer of the “Bronze Soldier”, keep in mind that sometimes hundreds of thousands of people come out to celebrate May 9 in Victory Park in Latvia with a population of one and a half million people, and imagine the scale of the “Bronze Night” in Riga,” the political scientist points out.

According to him, “Russians are not only ready to celebrate Victory Day under the threat of the administration, they also set up patrols at night, protecting the flowers laid there. Life did not prepare Russophobes for this.”