In Conflict this week heads David Rasmusson and Carina Holmberg out on a trip to Estonia. Latvia and Lithuania. Three countries that have gone through the cracks in support for Ukraine. At the same time, they have pushed for ever tougher EU sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that it also damages their own economies. But in the Baltics there is also a large Russian-speaking minority, and many Russian-speaking Balts believe that they must now pay for Putin’s war.
To understand the historical reasons for the fierce opposition to Russia, David Rasmusson went to the old KGB headquarters in Riga. There in the basement, among other things, we get to step into the execution chamber where Latvians who were considered enemies of the Soviet Union were shot in the neck. The political scientist Martiņš Daugulis explains that the memory of what happened in the Baltics during the Soviet era is still very strong and that it greatly influences the policy towards Russia today. There is a concern that if Ukraine is defeated by Russia, the Baltics will be in luck.
Carina Holmberg meets Estonia’s foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu which confirms that the story has become very tangible since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that the Baltic countries want the EU to introduce even tougher sanctions against Russia. At the same time, Estonia has, among other things, banned Russian media, demolished monuments from the Soviet era and decided to phase out Russian as a language of instruction. He denies that it would lead to any conflict with the large Russian-speaking group.
Carina Holmberg travels on to the city of Narva near the border with Russia, where almost all the inhabitants speak Russian as their mother tongue. There she meets the pensioner Valentina Smolokurova who can still watch Russian TV, is believed to be banned. She believes in Russia and Putin and dislikes Estonia’s line towards Russia. We also visit Pähklimäeskolan, which used to be entirely Russian, but where all teaching is to be changed to Estonian. School students testify about how they feel that those who speak Russian are treated worse after the outbreak of war.
In Latvia, too, Russian is to be phased out as a language of instruction, despite the fact that a quarter of the population has Russian as their mother tongue. David Rasmusson visits School 80 in a suburb of Riga, a school where Russian will soon also be phased out. Principal Anna Vladova is concerned and believes that Russian-speaking Latvians are undeservedly affected by Putin’s war.
But it is not only the Russian language but also Russian symbols that are now disappearing. David Rasmusson meets the pro-Russian-speaking politician Miroslav Mitrofanovs at the remains of the Victory Monument in Riga, a monument demolished this summer. The monument was seen by many Russian-speaking Latvians as a tribute to sacrifices made during World War II, while by many Latvian-speakers it was seen as a symbol of an occupying power. Russian speakers in Latvia have become indirect victims of the Ukrainian war, says Miroslavs Mitrofanovs.
But political scientist Mārtiņš Daugulis disagrees. He believes that the tougher line against everything Russian in the Baltics is necessary and a continuation of the liberation that began over 30 years ago. The social anthropologist Klāvs Sedlenieks believes that it has definitely become tougher for the Russian-speaking minority, but that many Balts see the Russian language as an existential threat. One of the reasons Putin says he chose to invade Ukraine was to protect Russian-speaking people there.
The program ends in Marijampolė in Lithuania, close to the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. There is the geographical vulnerability that is now causing concern and we get to meet members of the paramilitary organization Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga who are prepared for a Russian attack.
Host: Lotten Collin
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Reporter: Carina Holmberg
Technicians: Stina Fagerberg, Jacob Lalér
Producer: David Rasmusson
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Source: ICELAND NEWS