Deportation of Russians from Latvia: why pensioners are being deported

The Latvian authorities have begun expelling Russian-speaking pensioners from the country.

It is specified that 1,167 people are under threat of deportation, of which 789 are over 60 years old.

Russians are under threat of deportation due to Latvian language exams

Elderly Russians en masse cannot pass the Latvian language exam, which is needed to renew a residence permit, the report says. data State Education Content Center (VISC). More than 50 percent of participants in the 66 to 74 age group and 80 percent in the over 75 age group failed the exam.

In 2023, 17.8 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation were supposed to pass the exam. Less than 40 percent of candidates passed the test the first time.

The country has already seen several high-profile stories involving the expulsion of Russians.

On January 10, the 82-year-old head of the Latvian-Russian Cooperation Association, Boris Katkov, received a letter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs stating that he was considered a national threat and for this reason he would be deprived of his residence permit and deported. The letter also stated that the pensioner has a month to challenge this decision.

On January 12 at 8 am, border guards arrived at Katkov’s house in Riga and announced that they would deport him. They gave me an hour to get ready, and in case of disobedience they promised to break down the doors and take me away by force. Law enforcement officers ignored the right to appeal the deportation decision.

Also, for ignorance of the language, the Latvian authorities decided to deport a blind 72-year-old pensioner from the country.

A resident of the city of Liepaja has been visually impaired since childhood and needs constant care and support. With the help of relatives, the woman began collecting documents to renew her residence permit back in December 2022. However, she was unable to obtain a medical exemption from the Latvian language exam on time due to queues that delayed the process until November 2023. Because of this, the blind pensioner had to undergo language testing, which she failed to pass in reading and writing.

Russian authorities reacted to deportations

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the deportation of elderly people from the Baltic countries an absolute disgrace. “Of course, for any state such a practice of forced expulsions is an absolute disgrace,” Peskov said.

State Duma deputy Maria Butina, in an interview with Lenta.ru, emphasized that the Russian authorities will not abandon any of the deportees. She called the deportations themselves “a blatant violation of human rights, which the West talks about so much.” “In fact, this is Nazism. Because a person is persecuted because he speaks a certain language, considers himself to be a certain culture,” Butina said.

Latvia has introduced new restrictions for Russians and Belarusians in 2022

According to the new version of the law, Latvia will stop issuing work visas to Russians. In addition, the Sejm will tighten the conditions for extending residence permits for citizens of Russia and Belarus. It is also noted that Russians living in the Baltic republic who have a permanent residence permit must confirm their knowledge of the state language.

At the same time, there is a rule in the law that provides for an exception to the issuance of residence permits for up to five years for Russians and Belarusians. It is clarified that the head of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs may order the issuance of such a document, provided that this is in accordance with the interests of Latvia and international legal norms, and is also related to humanitarian purposes.