Two in One: Mixing national identities in Latvia

National identity is a complex idea. Its definitions cannot be considered solid or finalized. On the surface, national identity is how a person identifies with their own nationality, and how the person feels like they belong to the country. (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.595) This can be further fleshed out through multiple aspects, like culture, religion, and language. But how do things change once multiple identities are put into the picture? This leads to the deeper concept of national identity, which is how it generates a sense of uniqueness, and how it drives people of a country to strive towards setting themselves apart from others.

This blog post will strive to connect this idea of national identity and uniqueness to the country of Latvia. As a former member of the Eastern Bloc of countries, Latvia has a complex national identity. Much of the country’s past has affected its position in the present. It would be accurate to describe the overall Latvian national identity as something that comes from a long struggle. This is because within the country, there is not one, but two clearly defined national identities, unsure of how to coexist. This current situation has potential for change in the future, however, and may result in a new national identity for Latvia altogether.

In order to understand Latvia’s national identity, first the history of the country must be understood. It was mentioned that Latvia was a member of the Eastern Bloc of countries. The Eastern Bloc was a group of Communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe led by the Soviet Union. It was formed after the second World War as a result of the Warsaw Pact. (Sawe 2018) As part of the Eastern Bloc, Latvia had been involved with Russia for a long time. The birth of the national identity struggle in Latvia mainly comes from the increase in the Russian population during the Soviet era. Regarding the presence of a Russian ethnicity in Latvia, there are two conflicting views. Latvians are more inclined to believe that the Soviet Union began a forceful occupation into the country, while those on the Russian side of the conflict believe the country was liberated from the Red Army and deny that any occupation took place beforehand. (Cheskin, 2013, p. 290) Among these conflicting views, the result is that while Latvians take up 62% of Latvia, the Russian population became around 25%. (CIA, 2019) Taking up around a fourth of the country, ethnic Russians now are the biggest minority group in Latvia.

Taking into account the history between Latvia and Russia, how does it affect the feeling of national identity within the country? Turns out it would go on to generate multiple issues for Latvia, both coming from the outside and the inside. With the presence of Russia within Latvia, this creates two national identities within the country. One is the Latvian national identity where people consider themselves as Latvian and speak Latvian, and the other is the Russian national identity which includes people in the country that speak Russian and consider themselves Russian.

One prominent issue is the language conflict within Latvia. With aftereffects of the Soviet Union lingering in the country, there is now a division between the native Latvians and Russian speakers. Language can have large effects on national identity because speaking the same language as others who occupy the same country can increase the feeling of belonging and nationalism. The Latvian language itself comes from the Baltic family of languages and has lasted since the 16 century to the present. (Sundberg 2015) Its long lifespan is one thing Latvian speakers can be proud of, but the most important trait about the Latvian language is that it one of the lingering remnants of Latvia’s basic European history before the interference of the Soviet Union. Latvians feel that if the Latvian language were more utilized across the country and at early levels of education, it would make big steps towards the restoration of the nation’s “core” values, emphasizing heavily on a “return to Europe and normality.” (Cheskin, 2013, p. 289) Latvians even use the term “Russian speakers” as a way to refer to the minority in the country. The Russian language, on the other hand, belongs to the group of people who retain their Russian national identity. Latvians even use the term “Russian speakers” as a way to refer to the minority in the country. (Cheskin, 2013, p. 293) Russian speakers wish to keep using the language that they’re familiar with, and continue to stand their ground even when reforms begin to threaten it. (Euractiv 2018) The use of the Russian language is in a threatening position because it puts the Latvian identity in a complicated situation, where a clear connection between Latvia and Russia prevents Latvians from establishing their own personal identity.

According to Triandafyllidou’s study on the significant other, the ethnic Russian minority within Latvia can be classified as an internal significant other, as it is an ingroup which contributes to the blurring of the core Latvian national identity. (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p. 601) While there are two clear sides in this conflict, most of the discourse originates from Latvia. This was shown in Latvia’s citizenship laws during the early 2000’s, when the “core nation” was emphasized above all else. Under these new laws, the Russian speaking minority was illegible for citizenship altogether. “These were people who had mostly arrived in Latvia during the Soviet occupation and were therefore neither ‘normal’, ‘European’, nor part of the ‘core nation’.” (Cheskin, 2013, p.290) The laws were later relaxed, but this showed how much the Latvians felt about the Russian speakers.

But with all this conflict regarding how the Latvians feel about the threat to their distinctiveness, it raises a question on what the Russian speakers feel towards all this. Russian speakers show the desire to keep using their own language, but they also show willingness to integrate into the Latvian nationality. The origin of the Russian minority within Latvia dates to the Soviet occupation. As time passed, the ethnic Russian population began to feel much different than the native Russian population. In other words, the Russian minority developed a national identity that was not only different than Latvia, but also one that differed from the core identity of the country of Russia. (Cheskin, 2013, p. 294)

In conclusion, Latvia’s national identity is in a complex state due to the affairs of the two major nationalities taking residence within the country. The uniqueness of the country as a whole may be unclear, but the successful integration of the Russian minority may bring forth a new national identity that everyone in Latvia can support.

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References:

Central Intelligence Agency. (2019). Latvia. The World Factbook. Retrieved from               https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lg.html

Cheskin, A. (2013) Exploring Russian-speaking identity from below: the case of Latvia. Journal of Baltic Studies, 44(3), 287-312. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/01629778.2012.712335

Euractiv. (2018, June 24). Latvia’s school language reform irks Russian minority. Euractiv Network. Retrieved from https://www.euractiv.com/section/languages-culture/news/in-latvia-school-language-reform-irks-russian-minority/

Sawe, B.E. (2018, August 8) What was the eastern bloc? World Atlas. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-was-the-eastern-bloc.html

Sundberg, M. (2015, January 23). The Indo-European and Uralic language families. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2015/jan/23/a-language-family-tree-in-pictures#img-1

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998) National identity and the ‘other’. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4), 593-610. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/014198798329784