The Russian language will gradually be removed from public life in the Baltic states. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already contributed to this to a large extent although appropriate measures had already been taken to support de-Russification, meaning to reverse the trend imposed by Moscow after WW II.

Unlike other former Soviet republics, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia believe that they were incorporated into the USSR by force and leaving aside the period of German occupation were simply Soviet-occupied. Russian politicians and historians, of course, prove that it was completely different – that the citizens of the Baltic states freely and almost unanimously (on average, about 99.6 percent “for”) voted for communists in the elections, and the elected parliaments completely freely and unanimously decided that their countries should become part of the USSR.

Today, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians seriously fear that if Russia wins the war against Ukraine, they will become Moscow’s next target. And that the local Russians, and the Russian-speaking population in general will act as a “fifth column”. Especially since Russian propaganda reaches the inhabitants of three small countries thanks to the widespread knowledge of Russian there and the availability of Russian media. Hence intensive efforts to remove this language from education and to radically limit the influence of Russian television, radio and press.

The Polish language is no longer a threat to Lithuanians

Somewhat differently than in the other two Baltic states, Russians in Lithuania are not the largest national minority – this role belongs to Poles. There are relatively few Russians here, only about 4.5 percent.

SIGN UP TO OUR PAGE Before World War II the Russians in the so-called Kaunas Republic, constituted only about 2 percent, and in the Polish Vilnius region, in October 1939, “gifted” to Lithuania by the USSR, this percentage was equally modest. After the country was re-occupied by the Soviets, in 1940 and 1945, Russians began to come here – military men and party activists. According to the 1989 census, they accounted for 9.4 percent of the population. After Lithuania regained its independence, their number began to decline.

But Russian remained a very important language, and Russian culture held firm. There were many Russian channels on cable TV; as long as films on video cassettes were rented, Russian-language ones prevailed, and Russian newspapers and books were also widely available. The position of the Russian language was much higher than that of Polish, which was known not only by local Poles, but also by many Lithuanians, especially the elderly, and especially in the Vilnius region. The younger ones, however, were more focused on learning English – and Russian in particular.

The year 2014 changed a lot. The authorities and inhabitants of Lithuania slowly began to understand that the threat to them is not Poland and Poles, but Russia and Russians, and thus also the Russian language and culture of this great neighbor. Therefore, Russian channels began to be removed from cable television, and in 2018, Polish channels were retransmitted, including TVP Info, TVP Polonia and TVP Historia, entirely financed by the Lithuanian authorities. On September 17, 2019, the TVP Wilno (Vilnius).

The final breakthrough came after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Soon after, the major Lithuanian cable TV operator Telia announced that it did not intend to renew the contracts for broadcasting 25 Russian channels. And there were proposals for new legal regulations. The Russian “Izvestia” was outraged that “bizarre laws aimed at de-Russification of the country’s public life” were adopted.

The point is that the Lithuanian Seimas by an overwhelming majority approved a law banning “propaganda of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes and their ideology in public places”. According to the authors, the act will create ”a legal basis for removing symbols of totalitarianism and authoritarianism from public space in Lithuania”, i.e. monuments, names of streets and squares.

But according to “Izvestia”, Soviet monuments were already being destroyed in 2018. An example is the monument located in the cemetery in Antakalnis in Vilnius, where over 3,000 people were buried. soldiers of the 3rd Belorussian Front who perished in the summer of 1944 in the fights for this city against the withdrawing Germans.

Another law is to limit Russian language teaching programs in Lithuanian schools. And, as Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte pointed out, teaching Russian as a second foreign language could be replaced with... Polish. – I am really in favor of as much Polish as a foreign language in schools – the Prime Minister told the Polish-language radio station “Znad Wilii” (“From upon the Neris”. – I would like that at school, in the education system for which the state is responsible, children have a better choice than just Russian, the only second foreign language we can provide, because we simply do not have teachers who could teach in other languages. I would be in favor of Latvian and Polish being available as second foreign languages, she stressed.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Russian is still the most popular second foreign language. Now that is about to change.

One of the theatres in Vilnius became a symbol of changes in Lithuanian culture: in 2022, it was decided to change the name of the “Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania”, existing since 1945, to: “Vilnius Old Theatre”. In January 2023, the theatre renounced to stage plays by those Russian artists who support aggression against Ukraine.

Latvian non-citizens speak Russian

As in Lithuania, Russians lived in Latvia before World War II, but there were much fewer of them than today, only about 9 percent. Their mass influx began after 1945, when party activists, officials and officers came here from Russia. Also in Latvia, after regaining independence, the number of Russians slowly began to decline, because their previously privileged status disappeared. In 1989, Russians constituted 34 percent of the Latvian population; in 2011 – 26.9 percent, and in 2021 only (or as much as) 24.5 percent. Traditionally, the percentage of people claiming Russian as their mother tongue exceeded the number of Russians by a quarter or even more – this is the result of intense Russification during the tsarist era.

There is another problem of a special kind in Latvia: part of the Russian community does not have Latvian citizenship. Obtaining it was not easy – command of the Latvian language was required in particular.

Therefore, in 2022, only 86 percent of Latvian citizens had citizenship. inhabitants of this country, in other words, as much as 14 percent of the population did not have it: Russian citizens accounted for 2.5 percent, as much as 10 percent. inhabitants, however, are people without any citizenship. They have special “non-citizen” passports (nepilsoņi in Latvian) and can travel with them both to other EU countries and to Russia.

Before 2014, the Russians tried to strengthen their position. In 2012, there was even a referendum on recognizing Russian as the second state language. However, only 25% of the participants said yes. And then there was a very strong opposite trend: strengthening the Latvian language.

In 2018, amendments to the Education System Act were adopted; as a result, secondary education was to be taught exclusively in Latvian. Moreover, by 2025, schools and classes in which teaching is conducted in Russian, are to be closed down. The Russian minority will have to organize evening or weekend courses on their own. From the school year 2026/27, the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science plans to entirely remove Russian, which is currently taught as a second foreign language, from school. Instead of Russian, it will be possible to choose a language of one of the European Union countries or a foreign language whose learning is provided for in intergovernmental agreements. In Latvia, the first foreign language is taught from the first year of primary school, and most often it is English. Learning a second foreign language starts in the fourth grade.

For its part, the Latvian Ministry of Justice is proposing administrative restrictions on the use of Russian in the workplace. – It is necessary to establish a ban on the use of a language that is not the language of the European Union when selling goods or providing services, announced Minister Janis Bordans. The draft law provides that, apart from certain cases, state and municipal institutions and companies, as well as shops and various types of service providers, i.e. banks, telecommunications companies and public transport, will be prohibited from communicating with customers in Russian. This language should also disappear from advertisements, contracts, invoices, as well as from websites. Yes, it would be possible to communicate with customers in Russian, but on an individual basis.

Estonia softer than Latvia

The situation in Estonia is similar to that of Latvia. Before World War II, the Russian population constituted only a few percent of the population. After the war, the situation changed drastically – Russians flocked here en masse, today making up a quarter of the population. According to the 2021 census, Russian-speaking residents account for 28.5 percent, and in the capital of the country, Tallinn, as much as 48.8 percent! In addition to Belarusians speak Russian at home in as much as 85% of, 80% of Jews – in 80%, Poles – in 55% and Ukrainians in 54%.

As in Latvia, not all residents of Estonia have been granted Estonian citizenship. Only those Russians whose ancestors lived here before got them. Those who settled after the war and their descendants had to apply for Estonian citizenship, including proving their knowledge of the Estonian language. In Estonia, there is also a large group of “non-citizens” (välismaalase in Estonian), today about 6 percent.

In Estonia, Russian is also slowly disappearing from schools. 62 members of the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) voted for the adoption of the law, 16 were against. The main language of instruction in schools and other institutions for children is to be Estonian. The transition of kindergartens and primary schools (grades 1 – 4) to Estonian will take place in the school year 2024/25. Institutions wishing to continue teaching in Russian and other languages will have to apply for permission from the Estonian government. This permission will be valid for one year.

Recently, there has been a discussion on Estonian television, which indicates that Estonians may turn out to be more cautious than Latvians and Lithuanians. – Apart from education issues, however, I’m not sure if Latvia is a role model for us. We have been planning our own reforms for a long time and I don’t think Estonia will follow the Latvian path. That is, we will not restrict the use of the Russian language in cinemas, theaters or other public places, said Radio 4 editor-in-chief Julia Balij. However, according to Inna Plavoka, head of the Russian-language portal chayka.lv from Daugavpils, everything depends on how events unfold on the Russian-Ukrainian front. – It seems to me that the socio-political situation in Estonia and relations with Russian-speaking people are different. I don’t think Estonia will follow Latvia’s path, she said.

Nevertheless, as the daily “Postimees” wrote last year, the latest census showed that while 10 years ago the most popular foreign language in Estonia was Russian, today it has become English. Today, 48 percent know it. population (in 2000 it was 26%). On the other hand, Russian is spoken by 39% of the inhabitants (in 2000 – 43%). Interestingly, 17% of the population knows Estonian, although it is a foreign language for them.

De-Russification in full swing

The Baltic states are an example of how the Russian aggression against Ukraine had far-reaching effects, completely different from the Kremlin's intentions. This de-Russification processes in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been going on since these countries regained their independence, but they have been quite slow. Now they sped up. It has become obvious that the Russian language is a tool used by Russia to achieve its neo-imperial goals. Therefore, this tool must be disposed of.

Vladimir Putin's dream of a “Russkiy Mir” of Russian-speaking people, culturally and religiously linked to Russia, will therefore shrink. And this trend is unstoppable.

– Piotr Kościński
– Dominik Szczęsny-Kostanecki

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists