Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

Integration and Minority Information Service
of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia is verifying the accuracy of news concerning the statement by the first deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia about granting official status to the Russian language in all post-soviet states
• Dmitry Rogozin, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russias State Council about the observation of minority rights of Russian speaking people in Latvia
• Ethnologist and geographer Ilmars Mezs: ethnic differences in voting in EU referendum could be explained by different information spaces

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia is verifying the accuracy of news as reported by RIA NOVOSTI/ LETA, the Latvian national news agency, concerning the statement of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in order to express the official opinion of Latvia. According to the news agencies, in her address at the International University of Moscow, the Deputy Minister stated that Russia will strive to achieve that official status be granted to the Russian language in all the post-soviet states with significant Russian-speaking populations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia is verifying the accuracy of news as reported by RIA NOVOSTI/ LETA, the Latvian national news agency, concerning the statement of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in order to express the official opinion of Latvia. According to the news agencies, in her address at the International University of Moscow, the Deputy Minister stated that Russia will strive to achieve that official status be granted to the Russian language in all the post-soviet states with significant Russian-speaking populations. Telegraf features the opinions of left-wing politicians in Latvia about Mitrofanova statement. Neatkariga Rita Avize, Telegraf, Chas

Dmitry Rogozin, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (State Council), comments on the picket of Russian school students from Latvia against current education reform near the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe he has drawn attention to the fact that Latvia’s policy is not in line with the democratic standards of the European Union in the realm of minority languages, education and voting rights. 

Dmitry Rogozin, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (State Council), comments on the picket of Russian school students from Latvia against current education reform near the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. In the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe he has drawn attention to the fact that Latvias policy is not in line with the democratic standards of the European Union in the realm of minority languages, education and voting rights. Neatkariga Rita Avize, Telegraf, Vesti Segodnya, Chas

Diena features an article by ethnologist and geographer Ilmars Mezs about ethnic factors of No vote in the EU referendum. He stresses that ethnic differences are more distinct in voting in Latvia than in the other two Baltic States. Mezs argues that social factors play less significant role in the negative attitude towards Latvias accession to the EU than ethnic factors. Mezs cites many examples of rural parishes with the same level of socio-economic development in Daugavpils and several other Latgale districts with much higher percentage of Yes votes among ethnic Latvians and No votes among ethnic Russians. The analyst believes that ethnic differences in voting could be explained by the fact that Russian-speaking citizens had access to information about the referendum only in their isolated information space.