Riga’s officials get compared to German Nazis by Top Russian MP
(MENAFN) A senior Russian lawmaker likened Latvian officials to Nazi Germany on Friday after Riga ordered the deportation of 841 Russian pensioners for failing a mandatory language test.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s State Duma, said the Latvian authorities responsible for the measure “deserve execution,” drawing a direct comparison to Nazi officials who faced the Nuremberg Trials.
“Those who adopted and signed this should know that this will affect them sooner or later, just as it affected fascist Germany those who killed engaged in discrimination and genocide,” Volodin said. “In the end, they all faced the gallows. The same gallows awaits those who made the decision in relation to the elderly pensioners, our compatriots, deporting them from Latvia.”
Latvia’s deportation order stems from a 2022 law requiring Russian citizens to demonstrate proficiency in the Latvian language. Authorities said hundreds of pensioners, due to their advanced age, were unaware that the rule applied to them. Out of 30,000 people affected, around 2,600 left voluntarily, while 841 failed to submit an application for resident status in time.
Since regaining independence in 1991, Latvia has denied citizenship to a significant portion of its Russian population, issuing “non-citizen passports” that restrict voting rights and access to certain jobs. Russian speakers currently make up about 25% of Latvia’s population.
Tensions have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Latvia has imposed travel restrictions on Russian nationals, blocked multiple Russian-language media outlets, and phased out Russian-language education. The deportation of elderly Russians is the latest move targeting the country’s Russian minority, drawing sharp condemnation from Moscow.
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