MINELRES: Ethnic Russians In Baltics Don't Need Inciting

[Felix Corley]

St. Petersburg Times
February 3, 2004

Ethnic Russians In Baltics Don't Need Inciting
By Vladimir Gryaznevich

Vladimir Gryaznevich is a political analyst with Expert Severo-Zapad
magazine. His comment was first broadcast on Ekho Moskvy in St. Peterburg
on Friday.


The Latvian parliament has passed a law dictating that from Sept. 1 all
Russian-language high schools will switch to instruction in Latvian. The
law makes an exception for subjects intended to preserve national cultural
identity, that is Russian language and literature.

Such news has always been presented and received in our mass media as yet
another attempt by Baltic nationalists to abuse the rights of the Russian
minority. Since the triumph of patriotic forces in the recent State Duma
elections, statements to this effect have tended toward the obscene.

Here is an excerpt from Russian nationalist web site rusedina.org (the name
suggests United Russia): "The majority of deputies in the Latvian Saeima
would hardly be pleased by the increasing frequency with which they are
compared to fascists at protests held by Russian inhabitants of the
country. At the same time, civilized people might have difficulty
understanding why the current leaders of the republic find it necessary to
naturalize and assimilate all national minorities .... On the day the
barbarous law was passed, more than 2,000 people took part in a
demonstration in front of the Saeima building to protect Russian schools.
Most participants were schoolchildren. They were the first to say 'stop
fascism!'"

I can imagine how the schoolchildren, forgetting their walkmen, were driven
by the impulse of national consciousness to draw up a "Stop Fascism!"
placard and, instead of hanging out or going to a disco, assemble before
parliament. I suppose in a crisis anything is possible.

At the same time, it's clear that the protest is aimed mostly at the idea
of what is effectively transplanting the Russian-speaking young people into
a new political reality. That reality in which the prospects are bleak for
those "Russian-language" political organizations that harbor a nostalgia
for the U.S.S.R. I don't think the young people, who are quite easy to
manipulate these days, will thank those who defended their "right" to live
in the past and think in terms of a long-lost "state construct."

After all, they will eventually go to college in Riga, serve in the Latvian
army, and elect the deputies and presidents of their country of residence.
Is it really so bad for young people to be fluent not only in the
conversational, but in the cultural language of that country to which they
have joined their fates? This they have done since we see no mass
repatriation of the Russian-speaking minority to Russia.

The real language situation in Latvia, as in the other Baltic states, is
more balanced after a decade of independence. The logic of life has
overruled nationalist obscurantism and today no one tries to keep Russians
from speaking their language or publishing their newspapers. Many use
Russian for business because most business there is Russian, and shop
assistants do not refuse to serve Russian-speaking customers in their
native language. Russian tourists are welcome. The Russian language, along
with English, is becoming popular with Estonians, especially the young
people, who understand that under the new globalism it isn't practical to
refer to national roots. The language of the majority group is really only
mandatory in the army and in legislatures at various levels. That's also
how it is in Russia.

But we forget our own problems when we express our sympathy for the Russian
speakers in the Baltics. Are we ready for "southern" minorities to struggle
to protect their national identity in Russia, where they already make up a
hefty portion of the population? Most likely not. Professional "patriotic"
politicians only postpone the time when we will have to find sensible
solutions to the challenges of the new age. And the situation is only made
worse by the Russian government quietly supporting such forces. The odious
rusedina.org site is financed in part by the Press Ministry.