Knowledge of the Russian language increases the price on the market - Prime Minister of Latvia
Latvia sees the problem in Russian propaganda, not in the Russian language. Prime Minister of Latvia Maris Kuchinskis stated this in an interview with the Kyiv magazine “New Time”.
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The publication's journalists noted that there are a lot of Russian speakers in Latvia and asked whether this poses a risk to the national identity of Latvians and the territorial integrity of the country.
“The risk is very high due to the propaganda that goes on TV; we have many Russian channels on the airwaves. On Russian propaganda channels they often say, for example, that our people did not support Latvia’s entry into the EU and they do not care what language they speak—Russian or Latvian. And if they show me that supposedly Russia is paradise, then I don’t believe it. But many were not there, and they, unfortunately, tend to believe,” Kucinskis said.
At the same time, he clarified that in Latvia they wanted to introduce a law that would limit the viewing of Russian channels, but abandoned this idea and relied “on quality and interesting content in the Latvian language on national channels.”
The Prime Minister of Latvia also admitted that many young Latvians deliberately learn Russian in order to communicate with Russian tourists and businessmen.
“We honestly admit that we will never leave our neighborhood with Russia, and business ties are beneficial to us. In Riga, for example, you will see many job advertisements where knowledge of the Russian language is an important requirement for the staff. People who speak English or Russian increase their price on the market. Also, knowledge of the language depends on where a person lives. In some parts of the country, Russian is practically not spoken.
I want to emphasize that we see the problem not in the language, but in Russian propaganda. You can know Russian, but at the same time remain a patriot of your country. There is, for example, the city of Daugavpils in Latvia, where only 15% of the population speaks Latvian, but when I go there, I understand that they are no less patriots than Latvians from other regions of the country who do not speak Russian, says Kucinskis . “Our only problem with the Russian language is the common information space.”
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