Māra Zemenīte: «Bljadz, vienkārši kaut kāda izp… kuce ar galvu paviāna pakaļā tik dziļi, ka bliņ, vienkārši nevar atšķirt kur sākas viņa/viņš un kur paviāns (..). Izmantotāja un nodevēja, izp… krievu mauka, kas uz Rīgu no savas sūdu valstības atvilkusies un piesmirdinājusi te visu Rīgu! Suteneru mīlulīte, bļa, man nāk vēmiens uz viņu paskatoties! Ar peni pakaļā apkārt vazājas un visiem rāda savus ekstrapretīgos zobus. (..) Tu izskaties kā mauka un no tava ģērbšanās stila, ja vien to, protams, var nosaukt par stilu, man tā gribas vemt.»

Vēlreiz Māra Zemenīte: «Tēlo baigo kruto no Latgales, kur visapkārt maukas un bomži! Pie mums Rīgā kaut kādi čangalieši kā tu un tavs «eņģelīts» ir totāli bomži.»

Klāvs: «Piekrītu Mārai! Tādas maukas vajadzētu izdzīt uz ielas, izvarot un nošaut!»

Baiba: «Tas toč… Tur jau pietiek ar to, lai paskatītos uz to kropli… Tur jau grūti pateikt vai zēns vai meitene… Laikam jau ne viens, ne otrs. Drīzāk, laikam kuce.»

Raimonds: «Nu ja godīgi, tad man vairāk izskatās pēc zoss p..das…»

Ansis Stepanovs: «Jebaš svoju mamu… Izdrāz savu mammu, ja tev tāda ir. Pavaicā, lai sunis tev dir… iebāž… Piesvilina, nofilmē un parāda mūsu klasei.»

Māra Zemenīte: «Tai kuņai takš naudu nepietiks biļetei, lai tiktu līdz Rīgai! Un viņas vecākiem vienīgais transportlīdzeklis ir miskastes mašīna divreiz nedēļā.»

Ansis Stepanovs: «Valentīna ir rusish girl! Invalīde bez pi… bļa sūkātāja! Pierādījumi nav vajadzīgi, Valentīna ir puisis! Tu drāz savus vecākus, vot tā!»

Māra Zemenīte: «Uja Lind, nešaubos, ka visi draudzējas Līvānos ar Valentīnu, jo jūs jau tur visi esat bomži! Bet, ja neesi pamanījusi, tad viņa dzīvo Rīgā! Mums poh…, kas tur viņu Līvānos mīl vai nē, bet Rīgā viņa ir padauza! Bļin, labāk savāc viņu atpakaļ uz savu mauku Latgali un dzīvojat laimīgas, lezbes tādas! Varēsiet cauru dienu otru dračīt, kuces!»

Raimonds: «Nu bet ko tu gribi no kuces… Mauka paliek mauka, tur neko nevar padarīt! Valentīnas pe… no viņas viss literatūras kabinets smird, kad viņa sāk lasīt, tāpēc, ka viņai elpa smird pēc urīna skābes… Un vispār, tu bļa suka drāztā. Mauka, aizp.. muti, tu bļa, kroplīgais suns, bļa… No savas Krievijas tu sučara, jebana, bļa, kasaglazinaja pī… uz iesma, bļa. Un vispār ej prom no mūsu skolas, tu esi visiem zajebal… Ja tu vēl kaut ko pateiksi, es tev vienkārši paņemšu un acis izdedzināšu un man būs poh.. par visiem saviem vecākiem, kurus tu parasti sauc, kad pati nevari tikt galā.. Kaut gan man poh.., vari saukt, mani tas nekrata, tikai pēc tam neskaties, ka tevi var nolidināt no trīspadsmitā stāva.»

Māra Zemenīte: «Nu lab, lab, draugiem.lv jau varat būt krutās. A padomājat, kā Valentīnai būs skolā?»

There you go, ambersun!

The issues of school responsibility, parental responsibility, the responsibility of the internet website, other problems at the school in general were discussed in much greater detail, and make for truly disheartening and disturbing reading, and show the issues of Latvia that some stuck in a pre-1990s trimda mindset don’t seem to notice or care about, but hey.  Priorities, right, ambersun?

For those of you who are interested in and recognize other issues in Latvia other than them damn rooskies, here are the links to the coverage of this incident:

http://www.vdiena.lv/lat/politics/teachers/fokuss_terors_skolaa

http://www.apollo.lv/portal/life/1803/articles/121303

Sveiks, Pēter!

Thanks for the Schiemann definition. I hope to read that book!

Pēters wrote:

If by “multiculturalism” one means requesting official affirmation that one does not need to learn the official “pig language” of the nation-state one finds oneself residing in, that would appear to be what is generally demanded by self-annointed “rights” agitators.

One of the points Aleksei and I have been trying to make, again and again, is that this view is extremely marginal. Hardly anybody proposes not needing to learn the national language (and it is called “pig language” [or, rather, “dog language"] by Latvians caricaturing what Russians think of it far more often than it’s called that by Russians, in my experience). Even the “pro-Russian” parties realize that everybody needs to learn Latvian. The vast majority of Russians thinks everybody should learn Latvian. Aleksei learned Latvian.

Mme. Ždanoka speaks fluent Latvian, along with a handful of other languages. Ždanoka’s views, which she has managed to blend into the Green/EFA faction in the EP, to which many of Europe’s bizarre politicians gravitate (surely it took some talent and skill… making her Soviet rhetoric palatable in a Western context is a feat of demagogy, not that many leftists weren’t ready for ķoķa Taņa), are Ždanoka’s views—she is not a Kremlin proxy and complains about the Kremlin all the time, mainly because the Kremlin backed the other wolf in sheep’s clothing.

One of the most common complaints by Russians in Latvia is that Russia does nothing for them. Many exist in a sort of between-space here in the land of betweens. To constantly return to problems that turned rancid some time ago, as Ambersun does, really isn’t helpful. The issue is no longer “those Russians refuse to speak Latvian” (if it ever was); the change in the linguistic environment has been startlingly dramatic, and most Russians now speak some Latvian.

The Latvian “nationalist” argument often appears pathetically absurd—no matter how often some young Russians say they love Latvia, and say it in Latvian, the standard Latvian response is often based on worn out ethnic stereotypes. Example: “to oppose the education reform is to hate Latvia.” The between-space is then distorted, and the people who do have a lot to offer and would “integrate” really have nowhere to go. It’s SC and even PCTVL—the “Russian parties”—that are ethnically diverse, not the “Latvian parties.”

I hope that SC and PCTVL never get into the Government, and I know perfectly well that there are many people in Latvia who have a vision of the Republic I consider destructive. But the other end of the spectrum is equally destructive. Dobelis is like Ambersun—no matter what’s being talked about, those Kremlin-operated colonists become the subject.

The EP is a parliament, and as such it contains all sorts of freaks, as it should—Jean-Marie Le Pen is an MEP, too, for example. So—what are we supposed to “wake up” to, exactly? Dennis Kucinich is in Congress—does that mean US policy towards Syria is likely to change? And what is the purpose of Ambersun’s dramatic cut-and-paste re the possibility of Latvia’s Russians electing two MEPs? Dabisks jautājums – ko Eiropā darīs Rubiks? – praktiski neprasa atbildes. Gee—he’ll dominate the EP, perhaps? Or is Ambersun dragging out ye olde “look, Latvia’s Russians are united and we’re not” argument, which is almost surreal in its silliness?

Vysu lobu,
/P

Anita, heck, girl! That’s nothing. Where you been?  You should see what CommunistStalinGirl and her friends used to post to me on YouTube when they thought I was not only Latvian but also Jewish because I posted as GoldenAmberSun.  Besides that, I just read the San Francisco news about the sixteen year-old girl and her boyfriend and other friend who killed the girl’s mother and her two brothers or whatever because the mother pissed her off or whatever, did you see it, and I had to go, like gag.  I don’t think anyone was Russian, or Latvian, or anything, so I’m not trying to say that. Should I post the enitire article?  I’m actually waiting on pins-and-needles, along with everyone else around here interested in a good sexy story, I hate to say that but it’s true, for the decision by the California Attorney General’s Office whether to try the eight boys on the college baseball team who either raped or watched the rape of the passed-out-drunk sixteen-year-old girl at the beer-bust party.  This really did happen, in real time and space.  It was a real rape since two other girls broke into the room with the eight guys and one unconscious girl and saw “it” but the boys say she consented or they just don’t remember or whatever.  I’ll post it on LOL next time so that Latvians can know they are a part of the “real world.” I know, I know, it’s often hard to deal with the “so-called” coarsening of cultures (my sympathy to the absolutely freaked Juris Kazha), but let’s look at the bright side: we are all “together” in our coarsening.  That’s got to be good for something.  Anyway, I’m sorry if I digress.

Mainly to Pētera observations…

As with many things regarding Russia and her influence, there are stark gaps between projection and reality.

Russia agitates internationally on behalf of its downtrodden brethren in the near-abroad. What’s real? Hardly anyone has taken up Russia on the call home even with the Latvian government prepared to supply $4,000 in economic relocation support (I think it worked out to 2,000 LV for a family of 4, but don’t hold me to exact numbers).

I fully appreciate Ždanoka’s abilities. And do I believe she’s working directly for Russia? Not likely. That said, Ždanoka’s political inertia continues to carry her in a direction which is pro-Russia and (judging from Greens publications) not particularly pro-Latvia. And so, if I cannot consider her a constructive representative for Latvia’s interests, the only other option is representing Russia’s interests, hence functional proxy (even if disassociated), for example, sucking up to Putin’s “successor.”

The mistake, I think, is to believe that politicians claiming to represent Latvia’s middle-of-the-road Russians really represent them at all--from the number that have become citizens, improving language circumstances, etc., these politicians and Russia’s pronouncements are increasingly out of kilter with reality. But it is the statements of non-reality which make news and which get repeated as representative of reality.

(BTW, I must add that my summary of Schiemann is my own synthesis and not Hiden’s. Fascinating book.)

How about discussing Latvia AND - GAZPROM in Latvia and in the new multicultural, multi-greedy-Schroederish Europe; Baltic Sea oil pipeline and Latvian “traditional, cultural” environmental values; Latvia’s gas and energy needs with an “unfriendly” energy-rich neighbor; non-recognition of the Russian/Soviet occupation of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia since “it never happened,” and if it did, “it wan’t us anyway - but we still get Abrene;” buying and bribing of Latvia’s “multicultural” politicians and biznesmeni; Russian propaganda er press in the Baltics; Russia’s “big-brother concern” for Latvia’s Russian “minority” in Latvia; etc.  Jeez, I’m not sure where condemnation of Ulmanis fits it but I’m sure you will find a way to fit it in.

Let’s discuss these things, shall we, ambersun? What’s Latvian government’s position on the Nord Stream gas pipeline? What’s Latvia’s position on the EU efforts to liberalize the energy market in Europe? Does Lucas say anything about that? What is Latvia’s opinion on the concluded presidential elections in Russia? And I’ll be repeating these questions until you find the answers.

At the Russian book fair, not a single Russian writer questioned the occupation of the Baltics. In fact, they asked the audience whether they visited the museum of the occupation. About 40 per cent raised their hands. So, please, turn on the time machine and get back to 2008. No one denies the occupation. At least vast majority do not. Judging the segment of the population by what Vesti Segodnya writes is stupid. It’s as if all Americans believe what is written in the National Enquirer.

And let me use myself as an example:

I’m a citizen of Latvia.

Russian is my native language.

I acknowledge the illegal occupation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union.

I believe it’s necessary to use Latvian language everywhere in the public sphere.

I speak Latvian.

I do not subscribe to Latvian cultural identity - folk songs and dances are not my forte, which I believe is a matter of taste not cultural superiority. 

So – with all of that, what more do you want me to do before I’d be considered a full-fledged citizen of Latvia and equal among equals?

The internet is widely available here, ambersun. The independent Russian TV (not Kremlin-sponsored) is in the basic cable line-up. Radio Echo Moskvy is being broadcast in Riga via Radio Baltcom. Russians here are more exposed to the various points of view than Russians living in Makhachkala.

Sveiki!

I don’t share Aleksei’s rosy view. The vast majority of Russians in Latvia does indeed deny the occupation—only ca. 14% of those surveyed about three years ago said Latvia came to be in the Soviet Union due to invasion; the figure was nearly twice as high among those from other minorities in Latvia, and among Russians in Russia. Among ethnic Latvians, it was ca. 70%. It is quite obvious that our view of history differs dramatically, and that history is important to both sides—Zhdanok freaked out at the condemnation of Communism in the EP and stresses that acknowledging the occupation means rationalizing what she sees as discrimination.

I also disagree with Aleksei’s view of nationalism—but it’s a matter of definition, and we should set about defining it. This article, which quotes Voltaire’s “to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of mankind,” is about Germany and the UK, but happens to make some distinctions between liberal nationalism and cosmopolitanism quite succinctly. I consider myself a liberal nationalist. I think one of the main problems that Latvia has is that its national project was cut short (by Ulmanis, who took it into authoritarianism, but mostly by the occupation).

Though I think we have multiple identities and should learn to deal with that better (for example by not forcing people make a binary choice in their ethnicity, and by adding Latgallian—at the very least that would give us a more accurate picture of Latvia’s make-up), the desire of self-determination among Latvians is the reason we have a Latvia. (As John at s.c.b. put it: without Latvians, there wouldn’t be a Latvia.) The nation-state is the golden fruit of Latvian nationalism, worms and all. Nationalism is a bad word to many because many, especially Americans, fail to distinguish “between benign and malignant strains,” as this article in Foreign Affairs points out. One of the reasons for this is that most in Europe have secure nation-states (though the Catalans, the Welsh, the Basques, the Corsicans, the Bretons, etc. are even less lucky than we are). One of the things Schöpflin points out is that Western Europeans are mistaken about ethnic nationalism in Eastern Europe, for this reason—to paraphrase it, they’re blind to their own ethnic nationalism because of its success. Latvia’s history and demographics are indeed comparatively dark. Though no country is homogeneous, and many have “minority problems,” the threat to the titular nation in Latvia is comparatively grave. It’s not just the demographics, either, though they matter a lot. It’s also that the largest minority in Latvia, besides being huge and in large part imperial, is connected to a non-European country, and I mean this in terms of Russia’s political culture and values.

When a Latvian Russian talks about Finland’s beautiful bilingualism, for instance—and that happens a lot—they are usually ignoring two simple things: (1) the Swedes in Finland tended towards Finnish nationalism; they were determined to keep their culture and language, but they were patriots of Finland (no Latvian minority can claim that with regard to Latvia, though there are significant exceptions among individuals), and (2) the argument “look, they have only a 7% [counts vary] Swedish minority, but Swedish is co-official” is an argument I always reverse—Finland can afford two official languages because Swedish poses no threat to Finnish. (3) Sweden is not a proto-fascist country with a nostalgia for empire, as Russia is. Closer to home, one can say this about Lithuania—it could offer blanket citizenship precisely because Lithuanian dominates… and the historic enmity between Polish mini-imperialism and Lithuanian nationalism is for all practical purposes dead, though resentment may linger in some dark corners. Poland is as likely to invade Lithuania as Sweden is to invade Finland. Poles and Lithuanians have different views of history, but the difference really does not matter very much these days.

To what Pēters wrote about the middle of the road—Pēter, I see what you’re saying, but I think there are issues that will stay irreconcilable (like our views of history). Yes indeed, Russians are learning Latvian at breakneck speed—but they will still sympathize with and defend the status of Russian, and this is not a matter of reality vs. non-reality. If you ask Hispanics in the US about immigration, many Latinos who hold American citizenship have views that contrast with the majority American view. Ditto re bilingual education. The reconquista of Aztlan crowd holds a minority, radical view—but even successful, integrated, English-speaking Hispanics retain sympathy for their brethren, which is quite understandable. One doesn’t focus on the Aztlan crowd.

Ķoķa Taņa got elected and will probably get re-elected, and I suspect that Rubiks will also get a seat if he runs (and 25% or so of his constituency will be Lettish, khe!). In the same election that gave the EP its sole Russian, TB/LNNK did spectacularly well. More reasonable people, like Tsilevich, did not cross the threshold on the Russian side—on the Latvian side, Andrejevs of LC did (and I find Kristovskis eminently reasonable, but he’s the leading runaway Fatherlander now).

[To be cont’d.]

[Cont’d.]

“Middle of the road” Russians who’ve naturalized tend to be better educated, happier, and richer than citizens as a whole—but most of them still do not agree with Latvians on “national questions,” and that’s real, not non-reality. Most Russians want official status for Russian, most dislike the education reform, most think non-citizens should be granted citizenship without naturalization, most think non-citizens should be able to vote in local elections, etc.

Finally, a nasty comment to Aleksei re I do not subscribe to Latvian cultural identity - folk songs and dances are not my forte, which I believe is a matter of taste not cultural superiority. That sentence makes even me want to chalk one up for Ambersun when she reacted so harshly to an earlier remark of yours anent what you do or do not subscribe to. Your remark is worthy of Zhirinovsky, who—like many Russian chauvinists—has no problem with our leaping over bonfires and singing ethnic songs (though he would prefer we do that after we’re deported to Bashkiria en masse). Latvian culture is not synonymous with folk culture, and it is indeed quite superior to Russian culture in certain specific ways, one of which is that most Latvians could read and write when very few in Russia could. The yawning gap between the intelligentsia and the narod, which swallowed many a Russian, is not traditional for Letts. Every nation has a surfeit of idiots (see Delfi, LV or RU), but there’s such a thing as a national attitude. Unfortunately, discussing it usually brings one into terroirs of bigotry or at least gross generalizations. The intelligentsia in Russia is impotent and waning. The Latvian intelligentsia is not exactly running the Republic. But not a small proportion of Latvians has values that are totally at odds with the Russians’ slave mentality. No matter how pathetic we get—decent, intelligent people here aren’t nearly as marginalized as they are in Russia.

Latvian culture isn’t just folk songs or dances—it’s Rainis, Skalbe, Čaks, Bērziņš, Akuraters, Belševica, Valters, Valdemārs, Kronvaldu Atis, Ziedonis, Briedis, et al. What consistently amazes me is that supposedly cultured Russians living in Latvia know nearly nothing about Latvian culture, whilst most every educated Latvian knows quite a bit about Russian culture. This is a “size matters” thing in great degree, of course—but it is also about place. If you can’t subscribe to Latvian cultural identity at least in terms of knowing about it—you are really not here. As VVF said, this is not a caurstaigājama istaba.

Vysu lobu,
/P

A couple of quick comments.

Anita, I don’t know if “thanks” for posting that article about the girl, the harassment by her classmates, quite fits in with the sinking feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach, while reading all this, trying to take it in; I definitely agree that it is an important issue, which needs to be brought to the attention of the public , needs to be dealt with, not swept under the rug.

Ambersun, I am hoping that your response, ..."heck" “That’s nothing”!  was just a reaction on your part;because this is “something”, it is real and it’s happening now in YOUR Latvia.  Telling us about some Communist Stalin Girl and what she said on Youtube and what happened the other day in San Francisco or wherever and whatever, does not diminish this, nor should it.  It would be like someone telling you they were wronged, violated, raped and your glossing over it, ignoring it and instead pointing fingers elsewhere to deflect and promote your own personal agenda, instead, which should not take priority, when it comes to something basic and fundamental, like human decency.

Peteri, re: “...supposedly cultured Russians living in Latvia know nearly nothing about Latvian culture..” I can’t argue about whether or not that’s true.  I do agree however, that they should “know” about Latvian culture; but, that’s not to say that they should “prefer” it--Rainis, Skalbe, etc. over and above Puskin, Gogol--Latvian literature over and above Russian literature.  IMO, that’s not what defines Latvian loyalty.

Irena

The greek chorus finds itself with an impossible choice. Peteris is conflicting with what Aleksejs wrote.
What to do?
Coin flip.
Heads.
Greek chorus is going with Aleks.

I don’t see Aleks so much holding a narrow view of Latvian culture, as much as stereotyping those who have a narrow view of Latvian “culture”. Sorry, but Dziesmu Svetki do very little for me. On an emotional they’re as relevant to me as whether or not Pirates of the Sea will do well in Eurovision. This doesn’t mean that I am comparing the two on a cultural level. Dziesmu svetki is far more relevant and signficant to Latvian culture. I simply mean that on an emotional level ... it just doesn’t cut it for me. And I am speaking only for myself (and I guess a bit for Aleks). The problem is that to some by simply making that statement I must therefore be considered an enemy of the state. To them if you are to be a Latvian you just have to feel the way they do about _____ (whether its Dziesmu Svetki, dainas, the occupation, the russians, etc.). Sorry, but it just aint’ so. Not to me at least. When I go back to Latvia (and hoping to spend three months there this summer/fall) I look forward to getting a good bowl of pelmeni or solyanka. I look forward to being able to hear Latvian spoken on the street. The “ethnic” culture. Not so much. Again, just to repeat. Doesn’t mean I have anything against it. Nor does it mean I think anyone else should feel about it as I do. I just have a serious problem with those who define, well, I think the Stones put it this way…

When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on and tell me.
How white my shirts can be.
But, he can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t smoke.
The same cigarettes as me.

Andrejs, a conflicted greek chorus

P.S.
I do however agree with my Mentor regarding Aleksejs rosy outlook as it regards those Middle of the Roaders. Sorry, but the Latvian middle and the Russian middle are so far apart that you might as well be talking Hamas and Likud. They just don’t lob rockets and shells at each other. There might be middle roads in both camps, but they sure ain’t heading towards the same destination.

Peteri, re: “...supposedly cultured Russians living in Latvia know nearly nothing about Latvian culture..” I can’t argue about whether or not that’s true.  I do agree however, that they should “know” about Latvian culture; but, that’s not to say that they should “prefer” it--Rainis, Skalbe, etc. over and above Puskin, Gogol--Latvian literature over and above Russian literature.  IMO, that’s not what defines Latvian loyalty.

Sure—preference is preference, taste is taste, opinion is opinion. To each his own. Latvian lit is not my favorite lit—it’s our lit, though. “World lit” is written in some language, usually-- there’s no “world language.” Latvian literature is at least as open as any other literature—Rainis is Faust, Bērziņš is the Koran, etc. To sneer at Latvian culture as a peasant culture is a typical Russian or German imperialist thing. “Size matters.” In the Muller article Ambersun cited:

Ethnic disaggregation also seems to have deleterious effects on cultural vitality. Precisely because most of their citizens share a common cultural and linguistic heritage, the homogenized states of postwar Europe have tended to be more culturally insular than their demographically diverse predecessors. With few Jews in Europe and few Germans in Prague, that is, there are fewer Franz Kafkas.

This “you have no Pushkin” thing? Back to the Voltaire quote, then.

A lot of what we are talking about is prefigured in Rainis—he was very much an internationalist, but he spat upon the cosmopolitan. “Cosmopolitanism is a utopia and old-fashioned. A nation-less situation is only a distant goal, but not a means toward that goal. The cosmopolitan is a rabble, a disorganized mass in which nations are held captive. The cosmopolitan is sawdust and chaff, not grain or wood to be worked with.”

I’ve met dozens of Russian “intellectuals” who live in Latvia but speak no Latvian and know nothing about Latvian culture. I’ve never met a Latvian intellectual who doesn’t know Russian culture. Again—size matters. The intelligentsia, a very Russian concept, is yet another matter.

The cosmopolitan, as Rainis said, is old-fashioned—imperialist in every sense, and in the very worst sense.

Vysu lobu,
/P

I’m with Andrejs on the cultural aspects. Admittedly, my knowledge of the Latvian culture is by far inferior to Peteris, who constantly brings up good Latvian writers, poets, thinkers of whom I have not heard. But I do want to learn about those people. I think you can sum up the Latvian culture in folk songs and song festival as much as you can sum up Russian culture in pelmeni and folk songs. It goes way beyond that on both sides.

I don’t mean to belittle Latvian culture as such. I’m simply saying that song festivals are not my idea of a cultured evening, not because I find something repulsive about it, but rather I prefer other venues. Of course, you won’t find me at the New Wave festival either, because I think of it as a three-day Russian drunken orgy in Jurmala.  I prefer wandering around museums, listening to Western music, and watching European cinema. But that’s just my forte. I’m not saying that to be a Latvian you have to like those things. Of course not. What a boring place it would be if everyone in the country had the same taste in cultural activities.

I don’t see this as a contest which nation is more intelligent or superior. I thin it’s futile to find whether Russian intelligentsia is better or closer to the people that Latvian. Or vice versa. It’s different due to its history mostly. Russian intelligentsia never understood the people, or to be more precise, Russian people never understood the intelligentsia from the days of the Dekabristi. It still true. Latvian intelligentsia, on the other hand, has been with the people. The recent protest against the government is a testament to that. Again, I see it in terms of different backgrounds, not whether one is superior than the other.

I prefer wandering around museums, listening to Western music, and watching European cinema.

Is Latvian music “Eastern”? “European” cinema means what? Made in Esperanto?

/P

And if I may add, Dziesmas Svetki, Latvian songs (but certainly not all, not all tautas dziesmas), folk dancing, so do “do” it for me--they really “rock”!  But, to be perfectly honest, I really do attribute that more to an emotional, sentimental attachment and I can well understand those others (Latvians or not) who do not share my passion.

Now when it comes to latviesu maksla, especially folk art, I find Latvians to be absolutely superb, above all others in their craftsmanship, how they are able to incorporate and combine the different “raksti’ and I am constantly in awe by many of these unique and beautiful works.  And here I’m NOT sitting on a fence, cuz I’ve got no sense--I stand firm and will accept no arguments!!

Irena

In response to Andrejs—taste aside, I think the trouble is that the gulf even you admit to ("the Latvian middle and the Russian middle are so far apart that you might as well be talking Hamas and Likud") is so wide that I don’t see how most Russians even enter into Latvia—and there’s the rub. It’s that caurstaigājamā istaba to so many—to turn a Soviet (not even Russian, really) identity into a pseudo-European identity by walking through our admittedly weak identity is not a procession I can stomach very well… and eye’s a liberal!

/P

Peteris Cedrins - 05 March 2008 09:34 AM

I prefer wandering around museums, listening to Western music, and watching European cinema.

Is Latvian music “Eastern”? “European” cinema means what? Made in Esperanto?

/P

No, European music is usually in English, regardless where the band/singer came from. It’s pop music with techno thrown in. European cinema means just that, films made in Europe. Rigas Sargi would be a European film. So would 99 francs. It’s not that hard to understand, Peteris.