• Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs: Russian speakers criticise the government policies, yet they support Latvia as independent sovereign state 

Latvijas Avize interviewed the Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs after he returned from the funeral of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow. According to Mr. Usakovs, the murder of Mr. Nemtsov was a shock for everyone – both to the ruling circles and to the opposition. He hopes that the death of Mr. Nemtsov could become a turning point to motivate people to calm down tensions and improve the situation – resolving crisis in the EU-Russia relations and ending the war in Ukraine. Mr. Usakovs believes he does not have the mandate to speak on behalf of all Russian minority in Latvia, yet he is one of the politicians in Latvia who has most contact and communication with Russian speaking residents and thus he is able to make conclusions about their attitudes. He highlights that many Russian speakers are very critical about the government policies, the MPs or ministers and he believes that this is normal and in this sense, minorities are not different from ethnic Latvians. However, it is important that the majority of Russian speakers are support Latvia as independent sovereign state. He believes Russians are much more patriotic than what the modern myths allege. Regarding the forthcoming presidential election in the Saeima, Mr. Usakovs emphasised that the "Concord Centre" is an opposition party and thus it will have to choose between candidates put forward by other parties and he does not rule out support to the incumbent Andris Berzins. 

• Shortage of Latvian language courses in Daugavpils
• The most popular parties in February 

The demand for Latvian language courses in Daugavpils is greater than the number of available places. The Daugavpils City Council allotted EUR 6000 for that purpose and the Education Department organised seven training groups (20 persons in each) at different levels. Within four days, 177 persons applied to the courses and thus the application had to be closed. Neatkariga 

According to the results of opinion poll conducted by Latvijas fakti, the most popular parties in February were Concord (18,1%), Union of Greens and Farmers (12,7%) and Unity (9,8%). Neatkariga

• Programme "Ambassador of Latvia’s culture" implemented in 2014 

Latvijas Avize writes about the programme "Ambassador of Latvia’s culture", implemented in 2014. Participants of the programme (25 representatives of minorities and majority population) took 64 academic hours of training on themes "Identity and culture", "Cooperation and dialogue in community" and "Culture projects development and implementation", in order to disseminate this knowledge throughout Latvia and facilitate cooperation of various different ethnicities as well as understanding of Latvia’s culture and its interaction with cultures of Latvia’s minorities. Latvijas Avize interviewed some of the graduates. Dmitrijs Trofimovs of Russian students’ corporation "Fraternitas Arctica" shares this knowledge with other members of the corporation. They also developed a project "1918-2018.Future" with travelling exhibition about the participation of ethnic minorities in Latvia’s war for independence. Natalija Ketnere, the editor of local Russian language weekly "Nedela Ogre", collected and published materials about Ogre as vacation town and its prominent personalities – Orthodox Christian pastor Georgijs Tailovs (politically repressed during Stalinist era), painter Karlis Hunu, opera singers Pauls Sakss and Elfrida Pakule. Jazeps Dobkevics, culture worker in Kraslava and representative of Latvia’s Polish union "Strumien", is grateful for the new information and highlights that Kraslava is a place benevolent to different cultures, as there are two Latvian schools, one Russian and one Polish school, as well as music and arts schools. He also believes there are stereotypes in the society about the students of Russian schools, which are untrue. Olga Rozko of Slavonic culture society "Rodnik" is grateful for new methods and new contacts, which are helpful in her work and cultural activities. The programme was developed by the Ministry of Culture, Latvia National Culture Centre and NGO "CultureLab". 

• State Language Centre: the main task of the volunteer assistants of the state language inspectors will be provision of advices and consultations

According to the State Language Centre (SLC), the main task of the volunteer assistants of the state language inspectors will be provision of  advices and consultations to  people about correct usage of Latvian language. If a volunteer finds violation of the State Language Law in the public space, s/he will address the responsible person explaining how to prevent it. The volunteers will not be authorized to punish for violations of state language usage. Choosing the volunteers, the SLC will have to ensure their competence and ensure training on the legal provisions. The SLC hopes to engage teachers, librarians, employees of municipal institutions in such initiative. Latvijas Avize

• Latvijas Avize interviews the Rabbi Dr. Menahems Barkahans
• Vesti Segodnya interviews the Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs

Latvijas Avize interviews the Rabbi Dr. Menahems Barkahans, head of theRiga andLatvia’s Jewish Religious Community and association “Shamir”, and head of Riga Ghetto andHolocaustMuseum. Mr Barkahans says that in the context of growing security concerns after the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, also the Jewish Community prepares a letter to the Latvian Police asking to pay more attention to the territory around the Riga Ghetto Museum and the premises of “Shamir.” He believes that the religious war with extreme Islamic approach has begun. Therefore it is important to draw more attention to prevention of influx of radical Muslims toLatvia and to do everything possible to keep the number of immigrants and refugees inLatvia as small as possible. Speaking about integration issues, Mr Barkahans believes that every Latvian resident should know Latvian language, but education in state funded schools should be in Latvian language only. At the same time, he mentions the practice ofIsrael where the state ensures its residents with provision of information in their native language in row with Jewish language. Such approach, he believes, helps residents to understand what the state wants and to avoid development of negative attitude towards the state. Regarding to the restitution of Jewish properties lost by the Jewish community members due Soviet occupation in 1940 and during the Holocaust, the Rabbi believes that all properties which currently belong to state or municipalities should be returned to Jewish communities and not only to the organisation called Latvian Council of Jewish Community. Commenting 16 March events in Riga – the unofficial commemoration day of Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires – Mr Barkahans understands that former warriors, no matter on which side they fought,  want to lay flowers in memory of their friends who were killed during the war. However, in case of 16 March, the veterans are used for political manipulations. Therefore, he suggests that, instead of going toMonument ofFreedom in the centre ofRiga, the veterans could rather pray in churches and in cemeteries. 

Vesti Segodnya interviews the Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs who was recently granted the Award by the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations during his visit toMoscow. The Patriarch Kirill awarding Nils Usakovs said that he appreciates Usakovs’ efforts on strengthening of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional concord inRiga. Mr Usakovs, in his turn, said that the visit of the Patriarch toLatvia (which was postponed for an unspecified date) is awaited inLatvia and it would be important for the visit take place during theLatvia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. According to the Mayor, Riga City Council has established the council of religious organisations which includes representatives of all confessions. As well as the team of the City Council consists of ethnic Latvians and non-Latvians who work in the interests of allRiga residents.