Russian Minority in Latvia

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Russian Minority in Latvia
UW-Eau Claire Geography 308 Prof. Zoltan Grossma
n
Wesley A. Sherry Spring 2005 C.E.
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Locale
Latitude 5700 N Longitude 2500 E
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Irbe Strait
Gulf of Riga
Baltic Sea
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Statistical Information

• Population 2,306,306
• Total Area 64,589 sq km
• Religions Lutheran
• Roman Catholic
• Russian Orthodox
• Languages
• Latvian Official Language
• Russian Spoken by Many
• Government Parliamentary Democracy

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Historic Foreign Occupations

• Feudal Germans c. 1200 CE
• - Dominated by traders and Teutonic Knight
  landlords.
  
• - Founded the city of Riga.
• - Introduced Christianity.
• - Exploited Latvias land, labor, and
  resources.
  
• Poland and Sweden c. 1560 CE
• - Both powers battle each other over the
  Baltics.
  
• Imperial Russia 1710 CE
• - Latvia falls under the control of the Czar.

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Independence

• 1920, Latvia wins its independence after the
  Russian Revolution.
  
• The fledgling government leans more towards the
  west when looking for a model to follow.
  
• Though short lived, the young republic prospers
  as a major exporter of agricultural goods.

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Re-annexation

• 1939, the Soviet Union, through a treaty with
  Nazi Germany, occupied Latvia along with the
  other Baltic states and half of Poland.
  
• 1940 and 1944, Latvia is annexed by the Union of
  Soviet Socialist Republics.
  
• The Soviet Union industrializes the mostly
  agrarian society of Latvia.

Latvian S.S.R.
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Independence Redux

• August 21, 1991, Latvia is recognized as an
  independent state following the break-up of the
  Soviet Union.

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EU NATO

• Latvia joins NATO March 29, 2004.
• Latvia joins the EU May 1, 2004.

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Russian Minority

• Latvia contains a large Russian minority.
• 33.8 Nationwide
• 51 in Riga, the capital
• Latvians fear their big next-door neighbor and
  the possibility of irredentism.
  
• - These fears are not totally unjustified when
  Russias history of aggression is considered.
  
• Latvians suppress most of the Russian minority by
  labeling them as non-citizens.

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Russian Non-Citizens

• During the Soviet era, the Latvian S.S.R. had a
  higher standard of living than the rest of the
  union many Russians, including retired military
  officers migrated to there. However, some
  Russians settled there before annexation.
• All ethnic Russians that moved to Latvia during
  Soviet occupation, or were born of them, have
  been considered non-citizens.
  
• Many have not had the right to vote or hold
  political office.
  
• Their status can be similarly compared to those
  of undocumented immigrants in America.
  

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Whats the Problem?

• The Latvian government has severely disadvantaged
  this section of its populace.
  
• Russians, like the Latvians, were just trying to
  make the best of the Soviet era.
  
• Therefore, anger towards Russians as an ethnic
  group is mostly unjustified.
  
• So why not just become a full citizen of Latvia
  through naturalization?

Employment of non-Latvians in Latvian SSR in
1987 PRESTIGIOUS OCCUPATIONSSecretaries of Comm
unist Party of Latvia 20
Ministers and chairmen of state committees
17 Personnel of city and district Party commi
ttee 34.8 Personnel of the Council of Mini
sters 35 Heads of local authorities
23 Cultural sphere and arts 2
6.4 Education 46.6 NON-PRESTIGIOUS
OCCUPATIONSIndustry and construction
61.9 Transport 66.2 Communal and pub
lic services 54.7
Table Interpretation The table shows that Latvian
s held the majority of the prestigious
professions, while the non-Latvians, mostly
Russians, worked more of the blue collar jobs.
This means that Latvians have less ground to
stand on to argue that Russians came in and
subjugated them.
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Naturalization Process

• Requirements to become a naturalized citizen of
  Latvia
  
• - Five years residency in country as of May 4,
  1990
  
• - Legal source of income
• - Command of the Latvian language
• - Recitation of the national anthem
• - Rudimentary knowledge of Latvian history
• Recognition that Latvia was occupied, not
  liberated, by the Soviet Union is mandatory
  
• These tests prove to be difficult for those,
  especially of the older population, who cant or
  wont conform to the demands of the government,
  or learn a new language.

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Language Barriers

• The Latvian Parliament passed into law that 60
  of all subjects must be taught in Latvian.
  
• - This creates a good deal of strain upon
  Russian students that know little or no Latvian.
  
• By law, anyone running for any political position
  must be near perfectly fluent in Latvian to be
  eligible for a spot on the ballot.
  
• - As expected, this angers those that are
  ineligible since Latvia is a democracy.

?
Latvian
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Hope?

• Congressmen Kucinich and Shimkus called for a
  Russian apology for the illegal occupation of the
  Baltic states.
  
• - If Russia apologizes, it may alleviate some of
  the grievances that Latvia has against its
  Russian minorties.
  
• As the EU consolidates its power and finds a
  firmer base to stand on, it will hopefully aid in
  resolving these issues.
  
• As in most cases, the best way to resolve the
  situation would be to just bury the hatchet.

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Questions? Comments?
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Sources

• The Sunday Herald Online
• http//www.sundayherald.com/48313
• Mosnews.com
• http//www.mosnews.com/news/2005/04/14/congressba
  ltics.shtml
  
• http//www.mosnews.com/news/2004/05/20/latvia.sht
  ml
  
• Google Image Search
• http//images.google.com/
• CIA World Factbook
• http//www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
  /lg.html
  
• Human Rights Watch
• http//www.hrw.org/reports/1995/WR95/HELSINKI-11.
  htm
  
• Minelres
• http//www.minelres.lv/count/non_cit-rights_1.htm