In Latvia, they found the cause of all the problems — the Russian language and culture

The development of Latvia is still hampered by the consequences of the "Soviet occupation", Russification and the so-called "post-Russian culture". This was stated by the former Minister of Finance of the country Edmunds Krastins.

According to Krastinsh, he has long been concerned about the question of why Latvia among the Baltic countries was in a less favorable position in terms of development.

"Then the question arose — why, because in principle we started from the same positions. It can even be said that Lithuanians were worse off, because before the war it was an agrarian country. Then why are we the last? The conclusion was that the reason was the consequences of the occupation, which affected Latvia the most. And the changes caused by these consequences in the main nation of Latvia — Latvians," he said.

According to him, a significant part of Latvians continues to be in the Russian-speaking information space. He believes that even many people "with pronounced national views" continue to receive information in Russian.

"It may seem — well, what's the big deal? However, even without noticing it, a person adopts what is in this cultural environment. It affects everything, including the culture of entrepreneurship. And this is not what we need at all," Krastins said.

In his opinion, the situation can be changed primarily through education and gradual cultural changes.

"And then the question arises — how to overcome it. The first answer is through education. Now this is being done by ousting the Russian language from the education system, but it is going very hard. But in general, this is precisely a cultural issue that distinguishes us because of the large-scale consequences of Russification. This cannot be overcome just like that, because culture is deeply embedded in people. This could be changed through leaders who tell new ideas and show new examples," the former minister believes.

At the same time, Krastins believes that there are not enough such leaders in Latvia today. He also stressed that overcoming the "post-Russian culture" will determine the future of the country.

Recall that the Latvian authorities are among the most Russophobic in the EU. At the same time, Riga always tells its citizens that all their problems are from Russia. No evidence of this is given.