Ethnic Russians in Latvia

The latest shambles continues around the formation of a coalition, and now the Russians of Latvia, or as they call themselves - the ethnic minority, or the Harmony Centre electorate, have come forward with various statements, calling on the President to end ethnic discrimination. [1]

Meanwhile, quite recently N. Ušakovs (HC) circulated a statement in the press that two thirds of Harmony Centre voters had been Latvians. True, this information was clarified and it has now turned out that only a third were. [2]

Putting both press releases together, something does not add up, because a part (moreover a large part) of the HC electorate are Latvians, so it is not entirely clear which ethnic group is being referred to?

By definition - an ethnic group is a group of people who share objective or subjective common characteristics. They may have common ancestors, speak the same language, or belong to the same religious community.

Occupation - the seizure of another state by armed (violent, military) force and the imposition of one's own governance upon it. The legal definition of occupation was formulated in the 1907 Hague Convention. According to Article 42 of the Convention, territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army. Occupation covers only the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised. Other types of occupation are also distinguished. Thus, occupation can be military but non-violent.

Since there was allegedly no occupation and there are no occupiers in Latvia, I wish to draw your attention to the following statistical data, namely concerning the ethnic composition before and after the fateful date that nationally minded Latvians call occupation, the less nationally minded call annexation or incorporation, while those with pro-Russian sympathies do not acknowledge at all that anything noteworthy occurred in 1940. The fact remains, however, that in the period from 1935 to 1989 the so-called Russian-speaking ethnic minority grew nearly 10-fold, making up more than half of the indigenous population.

How should this growth be described? Immigrants?

In reality, it is worth speaking about ethnic Russians either in reference to that portion who lived in Latvia before the occupation (i.e. 8.8%) and their descendants, as well as those born after 1989 and their descendants. The rest - forgive me, politicians have not yet agreed on what to call you. :)

Incidentally, a strange coincidence that according to preliminary data from the last census Latvia has 1.9 million residents - exactly the same number as before the Second World War.

In the very near future politicians will be able to cross swords over what to call Latvian citizens (both Russians and Latvians) who were born in Latvia but have spent the greater part of their lives outside it - in Ireland, for example.

Sources used:

[1] http://www.tvnet.lv/zinas/latvija/395322-krievvalodigo_prese_aicina_partraukt_etnisko_diskriminaciju

[2] http://www.diena.lv/latvija/politika/papildinats-usakovs-viena-tresdala-saskanas-centra-veletaju-ir-latviesi-13905138?from_mobile=&cp=1

[3] http://www.csb.gov.lv/images/modules/items/item_file_14376_2_20.pdf

[4] http://aliens.lv/new.php?k=336