## Controversy Erupts โOver Baltic States’ Shift toโข State-Language Education, Sparking “Language Genocide” Accusations
Recent โlegislative changes in Latvia and Estonia are forcing a rapid transitionโค to state-languageโ education, igniting controversy and accusations of “language genocide” from some Russian-speaking communities.โข The moves, accelerated by โthe โคwar in Ukraine, are aimed โขat integrating minority โpopulations and ensuring access to broader societal participation, but are viewed by others as โa threat to cultural identity.
In Latvia, where approximately one-third of theโ population is ethnically Russian, education โin Latvian has been fully implemented for grades 1-9 as of September 2023, following a law passed by the Saeima โin โคSeptember 2022. This marks a meaningful shift, as โlanguage lawsโ were previously lacking, accordingโ to teacher and Latvian language โand literature blogger, Berkans. He points out theโฃ change onlyโค gained momentum following โRussia’s invasion of Ukraine, suggesting a newfound courage to address the issue.
Berkans highlighted concerning conditions observed during his teaching practice, citing an example from a school in the riลพ region. He reported seeing Russian and Belarusian flags displayed in school corridors, including one bearing theโค slogan “Russianโฃ Riga,” despiteโฃ the school management’s limited Latvian language proficiency and the use of Russian in official schoolโฃ communications. “It is indeed still necessary to do a lot โof work to actually achieve a complete transition to Latin teaching in practice,” stated Kantor, emphasizing the crucial role of school leadership in implementing the change.
The challenges begin even earlier,Berkans explains,with insufficient organization of Latvian language instruction in pre-school facilities,leading to classroomsโฃ with students possessing vastly different levels of language comprehension.
The Latvian โMinistryโ of Education โacknowledges the transition,โข stating that minority groups can continue to โstudy their native language and cultural history alongside Latvian, but emphasizes the โimportance of state language acquisition for full โฃparticipation in Latvian society, continued education, and the preservation of cultural heritage, “in accordance with the Latvianโค Republic and International Right,” according to Edijs ล auersโ from the Ministry’s press department.
However, the new rules have sparked protests. The Latvian Association for the Support of Russian-Speaking Schools has voiced strong opposition, staging demonstrations as early as 2022, โdisplaying banners withโข slogans like “Stop language genocide.” Igor โPimenova, chairman of the association, argues that theโข Russian-speaking population of Latviaโ is โuniquely denied the right to general education in their native language, characterizing the state-language-only education as “targeted assimilation.”
Estonia has followed a similar path.In 2022, the Riigikogu passed legislation โคmandating a gradual transition to Estonian-language instruction.โ Education in Estonian began inโ kindergartens in 2024, with a complete shift planned by 2030. Ethnic Russians comprise roughly a quarter of Estonia’s population.