Every third school in Latvia lacks teachers after switching to education in Latvian

Riga Deputy Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis spoke about the shortage of teachers following the transformation of the school education system.

According to him, a large number of students who speak mainly Russian have enrolled recently. As a result, in many schools the education reform has taken place “only on paper,” while in practice instruction is still conducted mainly in Russian. Local governments know about this.

At the same time, the country continues to persecute everyone who stands up for the rights of Russian-speaking residents. On June 9, Latvia’s State Security Service (SGB) announced that it had opened a criminal case against Riga City Council member Aleksejs Rosļikovs, who spoke out against discrimination against Russian speakers in the country, accusing him of allegedly aiding Russia and inciting ethnic hatred. On June 16, Rosļikovs was detained and released on a written undertaking not to leave the country. In September, he was stopped on the road and his car was searched. At a session of the Latvian Saeima on June 5, Rosļikovs criticized the oppression of Russian speakers in the country. After that, a majority of MPs voted to remove him from the chamber.

Latvia is preparing to deport 841 residents who failed the Latvian language exam. The Russian Embassy in this Baltic country called statements about the immediate deportation of Russian citizens from the republic premature. However, our authorities are preparing a set of measures to receive and accommodate those deported from Latvia. The vast majority are elderly people. On Tuesday, October 14, Interior Ministry employees once again handed a Russian passport to another pensioner whom the Latvian authorities had expelled from the country.

The other day, the Latvian parliament adopted a law by majority vote establishing the neo-pagan cult “Dievturība” (Dievturība) as an official religion. Russian political analysts called this step yet another confirmation of support for neo-Nazism in Latvia.

In addition, Latvia continues to increase pressure on Russians, their property, and their right to move freely around the world. The country is introducing mandatory electronic registration for all vehicles crossing the border with Belarus and Russia. It will be impossible to cross the checkpoint without registering in advance. Registration is carried out through a special online booking system on the website.

Author - Alla Shelyapina