European Values in Action: No "Tolerance" When It Comes to Russian Being Taught in Schools
Education only in Latvian in Latvia. They want to do this in three years. Now, the Saeima is to approve the bill. Russian-speaking residents of the country continue to fight for their native language.
Lyudmila Klyzhenko will tell you how.
The Russian language is prohibited. School lessons and university lectures in Latvia will be conducted exclusively in the state language, that is, in Latvian. The government of the country approved the transition to a new education system from September 1, 2019. Multiple protests of Russian-speaking residents didn’t stop the legislators.
"Don't touch Russian schools! Don't touch Russian schools!”
Nils Ušakovs, Mayor of Riga: "It’s a huge mistake of the Latvian government. It can be seen only as a political provocation that harms the quality of education and stability of the country."
Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs is one of the defenders of the national minorities’ interests. Although on the national scale, you can’t call those who speak Russian a minority. Out of Latvia's two-million population, they’re almost half of them. And this half, as human rights activists think, is being systematically squeezed out to the very bottom of life. One of the means is to close the way for children from Russian-speaking families to the Baltic States’ universities.
Dmitry Linter, human rights activist: "I started my pedagogical education in Tallinn. I remember that we had a very serious confrontation between the Estonian Language Department and the Russian Language Department. The Russian Language Department heads specifically said that the aim of the Estonian Language Department was not to allow as many Russian as possible to the highest educational process in order to create this marginal stratum".
However, the problem is not only in self-actualization. People can learn any European language and go to another country for higher education. The main thing is that the law violates the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to use the native language.
Dmitry Linter: "When they deprive people of basic opportunities to study in their native language, which they use at home, it's a blow against the basic rights. The response should be adequate. Indeed, it hurts the normal process of children’s socialization".
At the same time, Russian-speakers don’t mind learning Latvian. But for those who advance the law, it’s a matter of a principle to completely etch the Russian language. To do this, they make the process of learning only in Latvian everywhere. In addition, the population of Latvia is rapidly declining. In a couple of decades, only half will remain. And the authorities are trying to turn all those who live in the country into Latvians. But such measures can only trigger a new migration wave.
Elena Bachinskaya, human rights activist: "Against the backdrop of the current emigration situation in Latvia, I can’t help getting scared of it. The number of those leaving Latvia is very large".
But so far, the Russian population of Latvia isn’t planning to surrender. The Saeima is to approve the amendment. A petition for preserving bilingual education was filed on Monday. 14,000 people signed it.
Lyudmila Klyzhenko, Anna Redkina, Vesti