Roman Samul: After collapse of USSR, Russian-speakers in Latvia became third-class citizens

Latvian authorities have identified a threat to national security and their healthcare system not in a lack of funding or personnel, but in people working with the "incorrect" passports.

58 employees of one of the country's regional hospitals were fired in one day for holding Belarusian or Russian passports. Blogger and activist (Latvia) Roman Samul explained how this was even possible and what allows the Latvian authorities to act in this way in his "Actual Interview."

As a reminder, this concerns Daugavpils, a city in the Latgale region. It was there that the healthcare workers were recently fired. Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia and is predominantly Russian-speaking. Around 90% of the population is Russian-speaking. "When the USSR collapsed, we woke up in a supposedly free democratic country, and a priori, all Russians or native Russian speakers became enemies. They all felt like third-class citizens. We couldn't get anywhere, say, into the upper echelons of politics. We were like servants to the titular nation," a blogger shared what was happening in Latvia.

And all this is happening because of a new law banning foreigners from working in government agencies. Currently, the country is "undergoing a purge of people potentially disloyal to the government and the so-called fifth column." According to Roman Samuls, all the actions related to the construction of testing grounds and the seizure of private property on the borders with Russia and Belarus show that Latvia is preparing for military provocations, perhaps even war, and that this is simply a clearing of the field.