Russian residents who’ve lived in Latvia for greater than twenty years must disclose their views on the Ukraine battle in an effort to have their residence permits prolonged, the Russian newspaper Izvestia has reported.
In line with the paper, Latvian authorities have despatched letters to Russian residents whose residence permits date again to earlier than 2003, requiring them to finish a questionnaire gauging their opinions on points together with the battle in Ukraine.
Respondents are required to state whether or not they contemplate Russia´s actions in Ukraine to be “unprovoked navy aggression”, and whether or not they consider that it was authorized for a number of former Ukrainian areas to affix Russia, the outlet wrote on Wednesday, citing a Russian citizen who supplied the outlet with a duplicate of the paperwork. The article doesn’t embody a duplicate of such a questionnaire, and RT has been unable to confirm the report.
In line with a separate doc, printed by Izvestia, Russians will even should submit proof of their command of the Latvian language at pre-intermediate degree, in addition to numerous different commonplace residency utility paperwork. The papers have to be submitted by June 30, 2025, it added.
The Latvian parliament adopted immigration amendments in June extending the language examination requirement to Russian residents who acquired residency previous to 2003. In line with the Latvian authorities, almost 5,000 individuals fall below that class. The laws stipulates that those that fail to offer the mandatory paperwork could have their residence permits revoked by November 2025, and be requested to depart the nation.
The Baltic state initially solely granted citizenship to ethnic Latvians when it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In line with Izvestia, as of early 2024, there have been greater than 437,000 ethnic Russians residing in Latvia, or 23% of the nation’s whole inhabitants. Some 296,000 have Latvian citizenship.
In a 2004 survey, nearly all of non-citizens known as the naturalization course of “humiliating” and “troublesome.”
Whereas the EU member state has chipped away on the rights of Russian-speakers for years, the method accelerated after the outbreak of the Ukraine battle in 2022. Russian TV channels have been banned, whereas monuments to Soviet troopers who drove out Nazi German invaders in World Battle II have been systematically taken down.
In July, a pro-Russian activist Elena Kreile was sentenced to 3 years in jail on expenses of publicly displaying help for Russia and its navy operation in Ukraine.
Earlier this yr, the Latvian authorities introduced that faculties within the nation would begin phasing out Russian as a second international language in major training ranging from 2026, and changing it with an EU language.
Moscow has denounced Latvian insurance policies – in addition to these of the neighboring Estonia and Lithuania – as “extraordinarily” Russophobic, however stated it might not sever diplomatic relations with the three international locations, as this would depart tens of 1000’s of Russian residents in misery and with out consular help.
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