The Case of the Russians in Latvia and the Need of the Comprehensive Research Approach in Contemporary International Relations

Abstract

This article refers to the problem of the Russians in Latvia and a catalogue of determinants that accompany the processes of naturalization and social integration in this country. The article claims that the legal analysis alone is not a sufficient attitude to understand the complex character of both processes. The full picture of the naturalization and social integration in Latvia would be impossible without a much deeper analysis of historical, social, (internal) political and international context of both problems, to include the question of the attitude of the Russian community living in Latvia towards the independent Latvian statehood. Finally, the case of the Russians in Latvia is the illustration of the thesis about a need of the comprehensive and multivariable research attitude to social and political processes in contemporary international relations, and especially in East-Central Europe.

The Relationship Between Social Identities, Acculturation Strategies and the Psychological Well-Being of Young Russians in Latvia and Crimean Tatars in Crimea

“…The access of Russians to politics in Latvia was substantially hampered by the Citizenship Law, which ensures the hegemony of the ethnic majority in government. Due to this law, 29% of the population remained stateless in 1991, while 70% of non-citizens were Russians (Więcławski, 2015). As a result of the naturalization process and the country's entry to the European Union, the number of non-citizens began to decline; according to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1995 to 2015 it decreased from 29% to 12% (Basic facts about citizenship and language policy of Latvia, 2015).…”

“…Language Law that states Latvian as the only official language in Latvia. The educational reform, aimed at strengthening the position of the Latvian language and involving bilingual education in primary school, as well as a complete transition to Latvian in middle schools, faced considerable resistance from the Russian community which turned into mass street demonstrations in 2003 (Więcławski, 2015). As a result of pressure from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a milder version of the reform was adopted stating 60% of teaching hours were to be in Latvian (Ivlevs, King, 2014;Więcławski, 2015).…”