"Get out of Latvia, this place is only for Latvians": Russian-Speaking Residents Leaving the Country

Irina Veremeychik, a Latvian national, recently made the move from Latvia to Belarus. In an "Urgent Interview," she shared the compelling reasons behind her departure from "civilized" Europe.

"Civilization there is confined solely to the internet, which is hailed as the best in all of Europe. Beyond that, there are no advantages. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, pressure on the Russian-speaking population has intensified. People were even writing on social media, 'Pack your bags and go back to your Russia. Get out of Latvia, this place is only for Latvians'," stated Irina Veremeychik.

This prejudice extends even to children. According to Veremeychik, if a child speaks only Russian, they are deemed "underdeveloped" in Latvia. At a speech therapy commission, Irina Veremeychik was told that her youngest child was "underdeveloped" because he spoke Latvian poorly. Yet, the boy could count perfectly to 10, knew all shapes and colors, albeit in Russian.

Irina Veremeychik believes that all this animosity towards the Russian-speaking population and everything Russian stems from the government, which demands compensation for the country's alleged occupation by the USSR.

"There was no occupation by the Soviet Union. Throughout its history, Latvia was under the Swedes, then the Finns, then the Germans. When they 'liberated' themselves from the USSR, they realized they couldn't manage on their own, because everything the USSR left behind (factories, production facilities, bridges, hydroelectric power stations, houses, hospitals) had already been sold off or destroyed in the country. The sugar factory in Jelgava was working – they destroyed it, then tore down the RAF factory that produced minibuses," explained the Latvian woman.

Irina Veremeychik is a mother of six children; three moved with her to Belarus, and three remained in Latvia as they are already adults. Despite being a large family, the mother received almost no benefits in Latvia.

"There were no benefits. At most, a 10% discount with a special card, but not in all stores. For example, boots cost 60 euros, a 10% discount is 6 euros. I don't consider that a significant discount for a large family. There was a discount on electricity. Yes, that was noticeable. As for buying housing, there are no discounts or privileges whatsoever," shared the woman who relocated from Latvia.

As the woman noted, Latvia faces a dire demographic situation. In the Bauska district, where she used to live, 46 people died in January 2024, while only 8 were born. There is insufficient funding for the development of medicine, as all the money is being channeled into the country's armament and aid to Ukraine.

However, Irina Veremeychik acknowledged that Belarusian products are of better quality and significantly cheaper than Latvian ones: "Food prices in Latvia are simply dreadful. A pack of butter costs from 3 to 3.5 euros. But Belarusian products in stores are absolutely magnificent. Both meat and dairy products are very tasty and don't even come close to Latvian products. Yes, there are quality products in Latvia too, but they are very expensive."

Irina Veremeychik

She believes that the main reason for the relocation of the Russian-speaking population to Belarus is their oppression. While in Lithuania, after leaving the USSR, everyone was immediately granted citizenship, in Latvia, all residents were sorted like high, medium, and low grades. Those who cannot pass a special exam do not receive citizenship. The woman, like her mother, was born in Latvia, they lived there their entire lives, but they were never granted citizenship.

"I had been thinking about moving to Belarus. My daughter's boyfriend has relatives near Vitebsk, so they went to Belarus every year and then returned and shared their impressions. Even then, the idea of moving began to cross my mind, and I thought that if I were to leave, it would only be for Belarus," Irina recalled.