• Research “Analyses of Integration Process of Latvian Non-citizens: Study, Forecasts, Solutions, and Dialogue”
• Head of a radio broadcasting company Ugis Polis criticizes draft amendments envisaging that a range of radio stations broadcasting in Russian language will have to broadcast in Latvian language only
• Diena prints an article about use of media in Latgale

The Baltic Institute of Social Sciences conducted a research “Analyses of Integration Process of Latvian Non-citizens: Study, Forecasts, Solutions, and Dialogue.” According to it, there are 2% of Russia’s citizens in Latvia and every year number of Russia’s citizens grows. At the same time, number of applications for naturalisation decreases. 13% of permanent Latvian residents are non-citizens. Vesti Segodnya

Head of a radio broadcasting company Ugis Polis appealed to the head of the Saeima’s Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee and the National Council on Electronic Mass Media calling to revoke the draft amendments to Law on Electronic Mass Media envisaging that a range of radio stations broadcasting in Russian language will have to broadcast in Latvian language only. The radio stations will be allowed to broadcast songs in foreign languages but all the programmes will have to be in Latvian only. Mr Polis criticizes such draft amendments and believes those are aimed at liquidation of the leading Russian language mass media in Latvia. Vesti Segodnya

Diena prints an article about use of media in Latgale (eastern Latvian region).  According to it, large part of residents living in the border area still prefers to watch Russia’s TV channels. The Ombudsman Juris Jansons believes that the problem is in the fact that Latvian TV channel are not technically available for those residents. However, interviewed residents explain their choice is based in more interesting content provided by Russia’s TV channel. The newspaper also notes that LTV7 recently introduced four new programmes in Russian language aimed at provision of information for Russian speaking residents. 

• Public opinion survey “Society Integration in Riga” presented
• Minister of Education Ina Druviete: learning subjects in Latvian language helps ethnic minorities to deepen Latvian language proficiency for the level of real bilingualism
• Advisory Committee on Ethnic Minority Education discussed education in kindergartens and results of the final examination of graduators of ethnic minority schools

Latvijas Avize reports about a public opinion survey “Society Integration in Riga” conducted by a company SKDS for the Riga City Council. The survey shows that the majority of Riga residents feel attached to Riga and Latvia and only 34% also to Europe. The newspaper notes that only 65% of Riga residents approved that they are ready to defend Latvia if its independence is endangered. 98% of the respondents believe that state symbolic should be honoured and 94% believe that it is important to know Latvian language. 47% said that they mostly use Latvian language in communication with state institutions, 11% use mostly Russian language, 15% use more often Russian than Latvian.

Commenting the planned language reform in minority schools scheduled for 2018, the Minister of Education Ina Druviete said that learning history, geography, and history of culture in native language in addition to lessons of native language and literature is adequate amount of education content for preservation of ethnic identity. The Minister believes that such proportion would help children to become absolutely bilingual preserving their own culture and to become practically proficient in Latvian language. She also believes that using Latvian language in learning other subjects helps to deepen Latvian language proficiency for the level of real bilingualism. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya reports about the meeting of the Ministry of Education’s Advisory Committee on Ethnic Minority Education discussing education in kindergartens and results of the final examination of graduators of ethnic minority schools. According to a member of the Committee Elizabete Krivcova (representative of the Congress of Non-citizens), representatives of the Ministry agreed that education quality in Russian language kindergartens should be improved and promised to conduct a discussion about this issue in the near future. Mrs Krivcova also said that the presented data about the results of final examination show that results of state language examination has worsened as compared to previous yeas and also results of examination in biology worsened. While, results of students of ethnic minority schools in physics is higher as compared to students of Latvian language schools. Mrs Krivcova explained such results by the fact that graduators of Russian language schools pass Latvian language examination equally with students of Latvian language schools for whom it is a native language and also biology is learned in Latvia. While, physics included in the list of subjects taught in native language.

• State Language Centre forbade distribution of Rezekne municipal newspaper in Russian language in public places
• Vesti Segodnya reports that the Cabinet of Ministers adopted new Regulations on the standards of elementary education
• Russian compatriots from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia discussed how to preserve Russian schools
• Saeima plans to review a draft law on the status of WWII veterans

The State Language Centre (SLC) forbade the Rezekne City Council from distributing a municipal newspaper in Russian language in public places. The newspaper is available in two languages – Latvian and Russian. The SLC believes that the availability of the newspaper “forced” the residents to receive information in foreign language. At the same time, the municipal newspaper could still be received through post service, because private post boxes are not the public space. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the new rules on the standards of elementary education (grades 1-9) in state funded schools. Among other, the Regulations envisage that the aims of the ethnic minority education are to ensure state (Latvian) language learning in order to be able to continue education in state language; promote integrated learning of education content and state language; to ensure balanced learning of all subjects related to education; to promote integration of student in the Latvian society; to support learning of ethnic minority culture. The Rules also envisage 4 patterns of education programs for ethnic minority schools and give opportunity for schools to create its own 5th pattern for deeper learning of minority culture. However, the proportion of education in minority language or bilingually and in state language should not exceed 40/60% in this pattern for grades 6-9. The patterns envisage 5 hours of Latvian language classes per week and 3 hours of native language classes per week for grades 7-9. The newspaper states that the transfer of 60% of subjects in minority secondary schools in 2004 resulted in lower quality of education and sees the new Regulations adverse action on Russian language schools in Latvia.

Vesti Segodnya reports about a conference of Russian compatriots from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia discussing education in Russian language. The participants of the conference discussed the problem of decreasing native language proportion in education and measures to be taken in order to preserve Russian schools.

The Saeima plans to review a draft law on the status of WWII veterans on 25 September. Elaboration of the draft law was initiated by the President of Latvia Andris Berzins 2,5 years ago with an aim of reconciliation of Latvian veterans who fought on the opposite sides during the WWII. The Saeima’s Society Consolidation Committee was entrusted with elaborating the draft. However, the Saeima will review an alternative draft law, which was submitted to the Saeima’s Human Rights Committee by organisations representing former Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires. According to their draft law, the status of WWII veteran could be granted only to those veterans who were Latvian citizens in 1940 and served in the regular military forces of the Soviet Union or the Nazi Germany. Thus, for instance, non-citizens and those who obtained Latvian citizenship through naturalisation could not be granted status of WWII veteran. Vesti Segodnya

• MP Andrejs Elksnins: Russian should be granted status of ethnic minority language in Latvia
• Vesti Segodnya prints an article by Aleksandrs Gilmans about recently terminated criminal proceedings against him on incitement to ethnic hatred and denial of genocide
• Latvijas Avize reports about the meeting of the Congress of Non-Citizens

The MP, member of the Concord Centre Andrejs Elksnins believes that it is not normal that Russian language which is native language for around 40% of residents has status of foreign language in Latvia. He believes that Russian should be granted status of ethnic minority language. Mr Elksnins believes that such status would promote society consolidation and would not harm the status of Latvian language as state language. In order to grant status of ethnic minority language to Russian there is no need to change the Constitution, but it is enough to adopt the law on ethnic minorities or to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya prints an article by Aleksandrs Gilmans about a criminal proceeding against him on incitement to ethnic hatred and denial of genocide, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace and justification of war crimes, which was recently terminated due to the lack of evidence. Gilmans was charged for an article about Stalinist deportations in Latvia in 1941 published on 15 June 2012 following a letter to the Security Police initiated by the leader of nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM, MP Raivis Dzintars. Gilmans describes the materials of the case. For instance, the police asked the Ombudsman, two historians and one linguist to evaluate his statements. But in the end, only the conclusion of the Ombudsman was taken into account according to which Mr Gilmans did not exceed the limits of the freedom of speech.

Latvijas Avize reports about the meeting of the Congress of Non-Citizens (CN) conducted on 21 September. The CN expressed its support to the party Russian Union of Latvia because both have the same aims – to grant Russian language official status in Latvia and to grant citizenship to all non-citizens.

• Miroslavs Mitorfanovs (Russian Union of Latvia): the hopes of ethnic Latvians might turn towards Russia again in the future
• Minister of Defence believes that Youth Guard can increase patriotism of young people and promote society integration
• Nationalists repeatedly submitted proposal to ban on the issuing of residence permits to Russian investors

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Head of the Saeima’s National Security Committee Valdis Zatlers called the Security Police to check the election campaign material of the political party the Russian Union of Latvia (RUL). The party’s newspaper was distributed in Latgale (eastern Latvian region) in which, allegedly, Latgale was compared with Crimea. One of the leaders of the RUL Miroslavs Mitorfanovs in an interview with the newspaper explains that the same newspaper was distributed in all Latvia (not just Latgale) and that the party signed cooperation agreement with Crimea in order to show its sympathy and solidarity with the Crimean people. He hopes that these contacts with Crimea will give opportunity for Latvian businesses once the sanctions will be lifted. He believes Latvian journalists and the ex-president Valdis Zatlers invented second interpretation of the agreement with Crimea: if Latvia will not care about Latgale and if the EU will not care about Latvia, then another country and another union will take care. He also believes that ethnic Russian residents of Latvia would be equals among equals with ethnic Latvians within the empire as there would be no discrimination in admission to the civil service and no moral terror of language inspection. At the same time, Mitrofanovs says that the majority of ethnic Latvians want to develop their own independent state and ethnic Russian minority has only one moral choice: to support ethnic Latvians in their choice. However, he also assumes that in the perspective of the next 10 years, if the standard of living in Latvia will be lower than in the neighbour countries, the sympathies of ethnic Latvians might change and the hopes of ethnic Latvians might turn towards Russia again.

According to the Minister of Defence Raimonds Vejonis, the Youth Guard in Latvia can help to increase patriotism of young people and promote society integration. The Minister believes that every Latvian school must have its detachment of Young Guards. Vesti Segodnya

The nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM repeatedly submitted to the Saeima proposal to ban the issuing of residence permits to Russian investors and owners of expensive real estate. The nationalists want to restrict the influx into Latvia of Russian citizens who possess certain economic influence. The same proposal was refused by the majority of the Saeima last week. Latvijas Avize