The State Couldn’t Care Less About People: Exile Roman Samul Lifts Veil on Life in Today’s Latvia

Samul left his native Latvia for Belarus. In a candid interview, he offered a raw and unflinching look at what everyday life has become in the Baltic country today.

“The state doesn’t think about its people at all — it simply doesn’t care about them,” he began. In his view, Latvians are no longer living; they are merely surviving.

The country proudly declares an average monthly salary of €1,400. “That’s complete nonsense,” Samul says bluntly. He points to the grotesque inequality behind the official figures: some executives, like the former foreign director of the national airline AirBaltic, earn €98,000 a month — while the heavily subsidised carrier cannot show a single euro of profit. At the same time, ordinary workers scrape by on €300. “Take one such sky-high salary and average it with 50,000 low-paid people, and suddenly everyone looks like a millionaire on paper. In reality, most men earn around €800 a month,” he explains.

Utility bills add another crushing layer of hardship. “Living in an apartment, especially in winter, is a genuine ordeal,” Samul notes. Even when he still lived in Latvia, average monthly communal charges ran between €250 and €300. Some residents of modest two-room flats have faced bills as high as €897. In such desperate situations, many have no choice but to leave for seasonal work as farmhands on flower or tomato plantations in Germany or the Netherlands.

“It’s Terrifying to Have Children in Latvia”

Samul also speaks openly about the country’s deepening demographic crisis and why so many residents are choosing not to start families.

During his 2022 campaign for the Latvian parliament, he travelled extensively through villages and remote farmsteads. What he saw shocked him: countless rundown, abandoned houses quietly occupied without the owners’ knowledge. “Pensioners were crowding three or four into these tiny cottages. Their pensions — at most €300–400 — barely cover rent and heating. After paying the bills, there’s nothing left for food,” he recalls.

Blogger and former parliamentary candidate Roman Samul was forced to leave Latvia for political reasons. For his new home, he chose Belarus.