Published in 1998 by Forum
Eastern Europe,
88 Bowhill Avenue, Nepean, Ontario K2E 6S7,
Canada
The city of
Daugavpils provides for ethnology what the Drozophylla fly does for
genetics: a small and handy research object. The main difference is that
experiments on the fly are carried out by scientists, while
it is history itself that has conducted experiments on Daugavpils.
1. Characteristics
of the Region
The Daugavpils
region is located in the southeastern comer of Latvia. With a population of approximately 120,000 people, the city
of Daugavpils
is a natural center of the region. According to official data, Daugavpils is inhabited by members of more
than thirty ethnic communities, the largest of which is Russian (55.7 per
cent), followed by Polish (15.7
per cent), Latvian (14.9 per cent). Belarusian (9.4 per cent), and Ukrainian (2.4 per cent). The Jewish and
Lithuanian communities both account for about 1 per cent of the city's
population.[1] The
same ethnic groups predominate in the rural
region surrounding Daugavpils,
but the share of Latvians and Belarusians is higher in the countryside. To provide the reader with a comparative
perspective. Daugavpils
(together with its surrounding towns and rural areas) is roughly equal to Malta in terms
of the size of its territory and population.
2. Ethnic
Diversity in Daugavpils
Ethnic
diversity is typical in Latvian society. The multi-ethnic profile of the Daugavpils region has been shaped by two types of factors: (1) country-wide
factors, that is, factors that have operated in all of Latvia and (2) region-specific
factors. We can begin with those typical of
Latvian society as a whole.
Up to the late
thirteenth century, the eastern shores of the Baltic sea
remained an enclave of paganism and traditional tribal society. In terms of social
and political development, the region lagged
behind its neighbors to both the East and the West.
No sizable
independent states emerged on its territory.[2]
The Baltic region resembled a small piece of America or Siberia
in the heart of Europe. Only Lithuania
managed to close this civilizational gap, and escape the foreign conquest and
colonization that left a lasting imprint on
the history of other Baltic lands.
The Slavic
lands of Pomerania and the Baltic lands of Eastern Prussia were colonized by
German settlers, who opened these regions to a strong German cultural influence.
Russia,
on the other hand, colonized the Ingermanland, a Finnish populated region
surrounding St. Petersburg.
The territory of Latvia and Estonia fell under the control of German feudal lords. For centuries, this territory led a
colonial existence, as various European powers took turns exercising
administrative control. Although the original native
population remained in place, it emerged as independent actor in European politics only in the nineteenth century. For seven centuries,
the Baltic region served various European states as an object of military robbery,
economic exploitation and missionary
activity. It also played a role of an important military-strategic bridge-head and a trade route between
West and East.
Accordingly, foreign
soldiers, feudal lords, priests, merchants, officials, and craftsmen migrated at different times from neighboring states, forming what
would later be termed ethnic minorities.[3]
Despite centuries of close coexistence, these groups did
not mix with the aboriginal population, due to the ethnocratic character of authority and insurmountable, caste-like social barriers. The natives
were excluded from the settlers' occupations, and remained artificially confined to
agriculture and unskilled work in the cities. Only occasionally would
immigrants of peasant background assimilate into the local environment. For
example, the absence of noticeable social
barriers allowed for some mixing between Latvians and Belarussians in Eastern Latvia. The second peasant group were the Old
Believers,[4]
who settled in Latvia
after fleeing religious persecution at home. Religious barriers
prevented Old Believers from assimilating into Latvian peasant society.[5]
Several
region-specific factors also shaped the development of Daugavpils society. Of crucial importance was
the city's location on the periphery of Latvian ethnic territory. During its
seven hundred year history, the city was subjected twelve times to complete or partial destruction.[6]
Military operations cost many lives and forced many city dwellers to leave town. Several epidemics decimated the
population. At the beginning of the
eighteenth century, a plague diminished the population so severely that
local authorities (at that time Polish) responded by promoting the immigration of Belarusian and Russian peasants. Daugavpils entered a
period of fast economic growth last century, as a result of massive railway
construction in Russia.
All of a sudden, the city found itself at the crossroads of busy
transport routes, and became (for a very short time) one of the largest urban
centers of northwest Russia.
During the nineteenth century, the urban
population increased by more than 20 times.
Obviously, local human resources were insufficient to sustain this rate of growth fueled by the inflow of people from Russia, Belarus and Poland. By the
end of the nineteenth century, Russians made up 28 per cent of
Daugavpils" population; Belarussians made up 2 per cent, Poles 16 per
cent, Germans 4 per cent, and Jews 46 per
cent.
As the indigenous population began to
break out of centuries-long confinement to agriculture,
its urbanization progressed very slowly. In 1897, Latvians made up only 2 per
cent of Daugavpils'
population.[7]
Riga developed
more evenly, due to the early abolition
of serfdom in Western Latvia. As a result, the
Latvian community grew much larger in Riga than in Daugavpils: by the turn of the century.
Latvians made up 45 per cent of Riga's
population.[8] Up to
the First World War, Daugavpils
and the surrounding rural country remained an island of alien culture and
language on the otherwise rather homogeneous
ethnic map of Latvia.
The main
languages spoken in Daugavpils
were Russian and Yiddish. In rural, eastern Latvia, the
position of Polish was consolidated by the successful missionary and educational activities of Polish Catholic priests. The expansion of
Polish language and culture was not only due to their prestige
(enhanced by the authority of church), but also to the
abolition of caste barriers between Catholic nationalities in Latgalia, an
ethnocultural region in eastern Latvia.
At that time many Polish settlers (including even some
impoverished noblemen) became peasants, as did most Latvians and Belarusians. One additional factor in the progress of
Polonization was the dissatisfaction
with the prohibition on using the Latin alphabet in Latgalian printing.[9]
Born after the First World War, the independent Latvian Republic
quickly began actively to implement its own ethnic policy.
The war brought about a massive depopulation of Daugavpils, whose population decreased five
times. According to the population census of
1925, Daugavpils'
Russian community decreased by 11 per cent. The share of Germans and Jews
dropped by 1 and 31 per cent, respectively. The share of Poles and Belarussians went up by 19 per cent for the Poles
and 3 per cent for the Belarussians. But most importantly, the
proportion of Latvians increased by 27 per
cent. [10]
Two basic factors caused this sharp increase in Latvians' presence in Daugavpils. One was the
replacement of the old urban population by Latvian immigrants from the nearby
villages. The second was an active colonization policy pursued by the young Latvian state that involved resettling
Latvians from western regions to the eastern
provinces. The purpose of this population transfer was promoting ethnic homogenization
of the country by strengthening the Protestant cultural influence in the east. Both measures were meant to consolidate
Latvian statehood. Latvian settlers from the west arrived in Daugavpils as government
officials, teachers, military men, and farmers resettled on lands expropriated
from German and Polish landlords.[11]
By 1935, the proportion of Latvians in Daugavpils reached 35 per
cent, making them the largest urban
group. However, these figures shed little light on the actual status of various
languages which, up to the mid-1930s, was marked by the inertia inherited
from the past and new state policies.
Yiddish. Polish, German, and Belarusian retained their functions as
languages of family life and everyday social interaction.
Russian remained the language of inter-ethnic contacts, trade and municipal
administration. Two reasons explain its strong standing. First, the older generation of state employees, politicians,
businessmen, public figures and cultural workers was educated in
Russian. Second, a Russian cultural orientation prevailed in the city's large
Jewish community which, together with the
Russians, accounted for an absolute majority of Daugavpils' population. The young Latvian state could not build overnight an
information network and education system in Latvian which could successfully
compete with the Russian environment inherited
from the Russian Empire. Prior to the coup d'etat of 1934, even sessions of the Dome[12]
were held in Russian with the consent of its Latvian deputies. For some time the visual
information in the streets remained very varied: signs and advertisements in Latvian coexisted with those in other
languages spoken in Daugavpils.
In the first decade
of it existence, the policy of the First
Latvian Republic
struggled to reconcile two elements. First,
it sought to increase of the role of the Latvian language through its inclusion in school curricula
and gradual switch to Latvian as language of public administration.
Second, the state promoted the preservation and development of minority languages and cultures. Accordingly,
state-funded secondary schools with
Latvian. Russian, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and Belarusian as languages
of instruction operated in Daugavpils.[13]
There were also Jewish schools with Russian as the language of instruction. The
climate of tolerance for ethnic minorities and
cultures that existed in Latvia
had no equivalent in Europe during that
period. Latvian ethnic policy was
not a policy of multiculturalism, based on the notions of pluralism, cross-fertilization of cultures and
mutual enrichment of ethnic groups.[14]
The Latvian state simply
refrained from directly intervening in the life of its national minorities, instead concentrating its efforts on
shielding the Latvian majority from the
cultural influence of minority groups. With the achievement of independence,
this influence - dating back to the times when minorities were dominant nations
in the region - became both obsolete and undesirable in the eyes of Latvian
policy makers. In western Latvia, the
main challenge for the state was to overcome the consequences of the centuries-long German cultural
domination. In the eastern part of the republic, its activities centered
on neutralizing the influence of Polish culture.[15]
In the 1930's, Latvia's policy toward national
minorities grew tougher. Signs in languages
other than Latvian disappeared from Daugavpils
streets after the state changed the
language law in 1932. The number of non-Latvian schools was reduced, and
large numbers of non-Latvian children were compelled to study in Latvian.[16]
As a result, many Latvian-language schools
had student populations with few if any Latvian pupils. Moreover, the new
educational policy eliminated all, even optional, minority language classes in these institutions. The new generation of
public servants in the state bureaucracy was tainted - as was Latvian
society at large - by the radical-national ideology of Nazism which, spreading
out of Germany,
was gaining ground all over Europe.[17]
After the coup d'etat of 1934, sessions of Daugavpils Dome were held in
Latvian only. State administration officers switched to using Latvian exclusively in their contacts with the public. One
should keep in mind that only one-fifth of Russians and Belarusians and half of Poles in Latvia could
use the state language. In Daugavpils, Russian gradually lost its function as the
language of inter-ethnic contacts, and became simply a means of private
communication for a national minority. In 1934, the Jewish community of Daugavpils accepted the
Latvian authorities' offer to change the language of instruction in Jewish
schools from Russian to Hebrew. Although the principle of choice between
non-Latvian and Latvian schools remained in force, in practice the
choice was considerably reduced, directly benefiting education in the Latvian language. The history of the First Latvian
Republic came to an abrupt end in 1940. By the time it was violently
annexed by the USSR,
the process of Latvianizing ethnic minorities was far from complete. In Daugavpils, conditions
created by the First
Republic encouraged
further growth of diversity (exemplified by the
appearance of a large Latvian community), and redefined the functions of the many
languages spoken in the region.
During the
Soviet period, a drive toward ethnocultural homogenization became the main
trend in Daugavpils"
ethnopolitics. The Second World War depopulated the region again, and brought a radical change in the balance between ethnic
communities. At the beginning of the war, Baltic Germans disappeared from the
ethnic map of Latvia
as a result of forced "repatriation" to Germany.[18]
The entire Jewish community fell victim to the "final solution."[19]
The vibrant Yiddish language culture of Daugavpils' Jews was lost forever. After the war, a new
Jewish life took root in Daugavpils, due to influx of Russian-speaking Jews from the
USSR.
In 1959, the community reached 3 per
cent, but began to shrink again in the 1970s because of mass emigration
to Israel.
As a result of war
losses, deportations, and emigration, the relative weight of the Latvian
community was reduced to 13 per cent of the city's population. The share of Latvians in Daugavpils,
whose absolute number grew proportionally to the growth of the
town's population at large, remained stable well into the mid-1990s.[20]
Other important
changes included a significant growth of the Belarusian community (from 2.3 per
cent in 1935 to 9 per cent in 1994), the establishment of a strong Ukrainian community (2.9 per cent), and of a myriad of small
ethnic groups, varying in size from several dozens to several hundreds
members, and representing the peoples of the former
USSR. For Daugavpils,
the incorporation of Latvia
into the USSR
meant returning to conditions that
shaped the city's development in the late nineteenth century: intense
industrialization combined with rapid population growth.[21]
During the Soviet
period, Daugavpils'
population doubled in comparison with the interwar period. Such high growth
rates could only be sustained by a massive influx of the rural population.
Comparing postwar developments with similar processes in the nineteenth
century, one must remember that during the Soviet period Daugavpils absorbed
immigrants from two main sources. One was immigration from the Soviet interior. The second was the influx of
predominantly peasant population from the rural Latgalia. The Soviet regime abolished the cultural and economic
barriers that had previously
prevented mass immigration from the countryside. Latvia was rapidly urbanizing.
Daugavpils
became a center of gravity for the surrounding rural regions (Daugavpils, Kraslava, Preily) and small and
medium-size towns (Ilukste, Kraslava, Preili,
Livani, etc.) The Daugavpils
region directly borders on Belarus
and Lithuania.
Before the reestablishment of state
borders, the nearest Lithuanian and Belarussian towns (Zarasai, Visaginas, and Braslav) also gravitated toward Daugavpils. Their
inhabitants encouraged their young to move in Daugavpils in search of better education and employment opportunities. The full
consequences of this process became evident only after the restoration
of Latvian independence and adoption of the controversial Citizenship Law.
According to this law, only citizens of the First Republic
and their descendants automatically
qualified for Latvian citizenship. However, it turned out that two-thirds of Daugavpilers met the necessary
requirements. The Russians, the city's
largest ethnic community, featured a similar proportion of individuals entitled
to Latvian citizenship.[22]
The emergence of a significant Lithuanian minority, and the rapid growth of the
Belarusian community, are among less studied effects of intra-regional migration which played a substantial role
in the demographic growth of Daugavpils.
Table 1
The Changes of the Ethnic Proportions in Daugavpils Population
|
|
1897
|
1925
|
1994
|
|
1. Poles
|
16
|
19
|
16
|
|
2. Russians
|
27
|
17
|
56
|
|
3. Belarussians
|
2
|
3
|
9
|
|
4. Germans
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
|
5. Jews
|
46
|
31
|
1
|
|
6. Latvians
|
2
|
27
|
15
|
|
7. Others
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3. Cultural Mosaic in Daugavpils: Myth or Reality?
Thus far, we have
emphasized the local origins of the absolute majority of Daugavpils' current residents. This is not accidental. Ignorance of this fact has
distorted
and simplified the understanding of the ethnic processes at work. The main
peculiarity of this simplified approach (often exploited by the official
Latvian propaganda) is the perception of Daugavpils as a
collection of separate national communities
with clearly-defined internal structures, rigidly adhering to the language, culture and policy of their respective ethnic
homelands. Such perceptions are fostered
by two misleading indicators: (1) the official statistics on the ethnic composition of the urban population, and (2) the
activities of a dozen national-cultural
associations. Formal records of nationality appearing in Latvian passports, on
which all statistics on ethnic structure are based, do not reflect objective
cultural and linguistic conditions. Rather, they continue a tradition
inherited from the USSR,
where recording ethnicity in passports served selectively to reward or punish
members of certain ethnic groups. In order to draw conclusions on the actual
ethnic situation in Daugavpils,
the following factors must be taken into account:
1. The
integration of different ethnic groups in the Daugavpils region is a
cumulative
result of centuries-long interaction. Of special importance in this respect are
the last
five decades, which were marked by intense urbanization, unification of the
lifestyle,
standardization of education, and abolition of the remaining social and
religious barriers between groups of population. The influx of immigrants from
outside the region peaked and started declining in the 1960s, giving even the
most culturally
remote newcomers a long exposure to the forces of integration and unification
operating in Daugavpils.
At the everyday level, there are no obvious cultural differences dividing
Daugavpilers of different ethnic backgrounds. On the contrary, formal ethnic
origins appear irrelevant to the local middle class people living in similar
houses, wearing similar clothes, cooking similar dishes, celebrating the same
holidays, and burying their dead at the same cemetery. Only Latvians from
western Latvia
stand out somewhat by their more European aesthetics of everyday life.
Predictably, cultural homogenization has had little impact on the small Gypsy
community. There is no doubt that religion remains the strongest factor
preserving ethnic identities. The "who is who'" in modern Daugavpils is usually
determined before large religious holidays. However, the influence of all
denominations on daily life is very limited, and the largest and most dynamic
church - the Catholic Church - caters to several ethnic groups, offering
services in Latvian, in Polish and in Russian.
2. With
the abolition of social barriers between ethnic groups, mixed marriages have
become widespread in Daugavpils,
further reinforcing the homogenization of the
cultural environment. As a result, it is not only friendship and business
relations but
family ties which link most young Daugavpilers to other ethnic communities. A
1994 survey titled "Culture and Language"[23]
revealed that the absolute majority of
young people (73 per cent of all respondents) held a positive attitude toward
inter-
ethnic marriages. These attitudes are striking when we take into account that
they
contradict the clearly negative attitude fostered by the official ideology of
the state.
In
general, offspring from mixed families made up a very high percentage of the
young participants in the survey. 53 per cent of the respondents identifying
themselves as "Latvians" had descended from mixed families. Among
those defining themselves as "Russians" 34 per cent were of mixed
parentage. No less than 79 per cent of "Poles," and 45 per cent of
"Belarusians" were offspring of ethnically mixed couples. It is
possible to argue that, as a result of intermarriage and cultural integration,
a new community has emerged in the Daugavpils region. This community could
possibly be compared with the "natives" of Alaska, the Indians and Aleutians
who adopted English as a means of cultural expression.[24]
Interestingly, a similar term - tuteyshie (natives, locals) - refers in the
neighboring Belarus
to such ethnically-mixed population with a weakly developed sense of cultural
distinctiveness.
- For centuries, the main languages
of Daugavpils
influenced each other. The imprint of Russian on the other languages of the
region is particularly strong, due to its
long-held privileged status. For example, the variation of Polish spoken in
modern
Daugavpils
deviates significantly from standard literary Polish, featuring simplified
phonetics and a large number of borrowings from Russian and Belarusian.
Latvian-
speaking Latgalians use many Russian words in their daily speech, especially
Russian industrial and
technological vocabulary. Although
Russian spoken in
Daugavpils
changed less than other local languages, the influence of Polish grammar
and stylistic borrowings from Latvian give it a unique flavor, distinct from
literary
Russian.
- The character of the city's social
and intellectual elites changed beyond recognition under the Soviet regime. Daugavpils lost its
prewar elites, decimated by war and
the purges and reprisals of two totalitarian regimes. The old elites consisted
of ethnically-oriented activists, representatives of national-cultural societies,
politicians, priests and public servants. The Soviet period witnessed an
exodus of non-technical intelligentsia who could not carve a niche for
themselves in en environment becoming "one unified large factory."
There was also a significant outflow of Latvian intelligentsia to the country's
western provinces. With the secularization of society, the influence of all
churches declined sharply.
The emergence of a new
technocratic, secular and ethnically-indifferent elites militated against the
preservation of traditional ethnic communities. During the Soviet period,
ethnic ties lost much of their previous importance and were replaced by family
and work-related ties. Large enterprises formed distinct "clans."
Recently this structure was additionally complicated by the emergence of groups
based on political affiliation and connected to specific political grouping in Riga. In these
"clans" formal ethnic belonging plays a significant but hardly
decisive role. During Perestroika and the period of national revival, about ten
national-cultural societies emerged in Daugavpils.
Vigorous efforts were made to transform these bodies into real 'ethnic
communities,' centered on issues such as internal autonomy, economic self-help
and representation of group interests on a larger political forum. The
Daugavpils branch of "Promen" (the Union of Poles in Latvia) and the
Jewish community succeeded in taking a few steps in this direction.[25]
On the whole, however, efforts to mobilize Daugavpilers along ethnic lines failed, eventually forcing national-cultural
societies to limit their role to setting discussion clubs, organizing
charitable and educational activities, and building internal structures
(sometimes modeled on those of political parties). Their involvement in
political struggle, and attempts to consolidate group identity around "the
blood principle," alienated many Daugavpilers. Bonds tying the
multiethnic population to the corporate interests of industrial ''clans"
turned out to be stronger than affinities based on the ethnicity record
inscribed in people's passports. Most Daugavpilers failed to respond to "the call of blood," because
their personal value systems did not justify formal membership of ethnic
groups, and because the "blood" flowing in their veins was mixed. According to the survey "Culture
and Language," young Daugavpilers were 1.5 times more likely to express
negative attitudes toward national-cultural organizations than to take part in their activities. In addition, one
third of the respondents had no clearly defined attitude toward these
ethnically-based bodies. This fact also illustrates the weakness of cultural
interests in a of Soviet style, technocratic consumer
society. Some large national-cultural societies, in particular the Russian Cultural Center, saw a way out of the situation
by recruiting members on the basis of specific
cultural and linguistic interests, rather than formal ethnic belonging.
5. The school system became
the main tool of social homogenization during the Soviet period. After the
war, Belarusian schools were never reopened. Polish schools were liquidated shortly thereafter. In this
situation, only two languages - Russian and Latvian - faced the prospect of further development.[26]
Representatives of all ethnic croups
had to make a choice based on the following premises: Russian-language education
opened career prospects in any sphere of life and, at least theoretically, anywhere in the Union; education in Latvian, on
the other hand, served as a good springboard for an administrative career in
the Communist Party, in agriculture, in sciences and arts on the
territory of Latvia. Under these conditions not only Latvians (including
Latgalians), but also many Poles tended to choose education in Latvian.[27]
It is interesting to note that during this
period something akin to the policy of biculturalism, namely a Russian-Latvian cultural exchange, was implemented for
the first time. Latvians passed
thorough intense training in the Russian language and literature, while
school children in Russian schools got superficially acquainted with Latvian language and culture. This situation
disadvantaged most of all those minorities
who, due to their large size, could have continued their cultural development:
Poles, Latgalians and Belarusians. It is particularly important to keep in mind
the fate of the indigenous population of the
region: the Latgalians.[28]
The First Republic adopted a policy of half-voluntary assimilation to
the Protestant culture of Western Latvia,
which continued into the Soviet period. The Soviets saw cultural Latvianization of the Latgalians was as a way of
compensating Latvian culture for the
loss of the ideal conditions it has enjoyed in interwar Latvia. As the
education of Latgalians in a unified Latvian school entailed a loss of their
ethnic identity, many Latgalians
pragmatically opted for Russian as a language of instruction in order to take advantage of career opportunities in the industrial
enterprises in Daugavpils.
The factors listed above did not contribute to the creation or
preservation of a multiethnic,
multicultural society. The final result of Soviet-era regional development was a
unified Russian linguistic environment in which only the Latvian linguistic minority managed to partially preserve its autonomy.
4. Ethnic Relations in Daugavpils in the Second Republic
What has
changed in Daugavpils
since the restoration of independent Latvia? What is the cultural profile of the city's population today? To answer these
questions, we must examine an important indicator of cultural orientation: the
linguistic environment.
The native languages
of Daugavpils. According to the survey "Culture and Language,"
Latvian is considered a mother tongue by 74 per cent of ethnic Latvians, by 1 per cent of Russians and 9 per cent of Belarusians. The Russian
language is the native language for 99 per cent of Russians, 24 per cent of
Latvians, 79 per cent of Poles and 70 per cent of Belarusians. Polish language
is seen as a native tongue by only 16 per cent of the respondents who identify
themselves as Poles. 18 per cent of Belarusians
have declared Belarusian as their native language. In light of the data on
mixed families discussed above, one can conclude that most mixed families have
chosen Russian as the language for interaction within the family and for
children's education.[29]
Use
of languages in inter-family relations. According to the data
of the survey "Culture and Language," 64 per cent of
the families used only Russian as the language of inter-family relations, 14
per cent - only Latvian, 16 per cent both Russian and Latvian, and 4 per cent
other languages. Taking into account the fact that the ethnic composition of the sample was not an absolutely precise
reflection of the actual structure of the town's
population (with the share of Latvians in the sample higher, and of Russians lower than in reality), we must conclude that
the proportion of "Russian" families was actually higher. Unfortunately, we
have no data on the use of the Latgalian dialect of the Latvian language in
everyday life. However, it is realistic to
assume that under the impact of the education system, the Latgalian dialect (or language - the disputes continue) is gradually
being replaced by standard Latvian.
The degree of Latvian-Russian
bilingualism. The results of the survey ''Culture and Language" show that young Latvians in Daugavpils now estimate their
proficiency in Russian to be rather
high: only 1 per cent of respondents not to understand Russian at all,
and 64 per cent declared that they can talk, read and write freely in this language. 18 per cent of young Latvians estimate
their Russian language skills to be "rather
fluent." The assessment by Russian youths of their fluency in Latvian is much lower: 2 per cent of the respondents claim to
have no understanding of Latvian; 4
per cent state they are able to speak it, read and write fluently; and 19 per cent
describe their proficiency in Latvian as "rather fluent." The gray
zone between these two extremes is very
large. It includes respondents who admit that they experience
difficulties in actively using Latvian: 36 per cent declare "some
difficulties in speech and reading;" 26
per cent "serious difficulties in speech and understanding," and 13 per cent state that they understand but do
not speak Latvian. The latter phenomenon,
the so-called "dog syndrome" (that is. full understanding combined
with inability to speak) is a
widespread phenomenon in modern Daugavpils.
It is caused by the absence of a natural Latvian linguistic environment in the
closed mini-communities the majority of the city-dwellers lives in. On
the whole, the survey data suggest that the
real, fully-functional Latvian-Russian bilingualism is characteristic of
no more than 25 per cent of the urban population.
Language and consumer
services in Daugavpils.
Some years ago the only language, in which one was
guaranteed service in a store, in a cafe, in public transport, or in a hospital, was Russian. This situation was caused not only by the fact
that the Latvian language was poorly taught at Russian schools,
but also by the low prestige of service industry employment among graduates of
Latvian schools. Now, after the total overhaul
of state language policy, the introduction of Latvian language certificates and regular checks by State Language Inspectors,
the situation has changed considerably.
In practically every large shop or cafe, a Latvian-speaking customer can expect, at the very minimum, to be understood and
answered in simple Latvian. At the
market, the change is less visible. In public transport all announcements
(except rare commercial advertisements) are made only in Latvian.
Language in the second economy. During the last
few years, because of deep economic problems, the business activity of the
population has taken forms over which the state has only limited control. For
example, a large share of essential sales and purchases are made placing
individual advertisements and announcements in the newspapers. In the contents
of a randomly chosen issue of the newspaper Reklama Piektdienas (dated
September 1996), the special advertising edition has a Latvian title, but
offers customers free choice in the language of advertisements. Among 1900 announcements
in the issue, only 29 were in Latvian. This disparity illustrates the massive
prevalence of Russian in daily private business contacts.
Language in the official economy. Manufacturing and
the official economy are the spheres of life where functional bilingualism
finds its strongest expression. There is a discrepancy between social reality
and laws of the state. On the one hand, business documentation, formal
correspondence, and bookkeeping are carried out strictly in the state language,
Latvian.[30]
On the other hand, Russian continues to be the language of an overwhelming
majority of oral transactions and business contacts. The exceptions are
contacts with Riga-based control institutions, and small firms where the
majority of employees are Latvians. Typical of present conditions is the emergence
of a post in nearly every enterprise, informally called a "Latvian".
The responsibility of the "Latvian" is to ensure compliance with the
Language Law in business documentation, and to help managers in their contacts
with Riga-based bosses, controllers and state inspectors.
Linguistic policy of the town’s administration. Although Russian in 1997 is the native language of two thirds of the
deputies to the City Council (Dome), its sessions - in compliance with the
Language Law - are held exclusively in Latvian. The town's administration
accepts written applications from private persons in one of four languages:
Latvian, Russian, English, or German. All judicial persons are requested to
submit documents in Latvian only. This rule also applies to announcements,
notices, work timetables, receipts, and other contacts with the population
based on written language. At the same time, a customer is guaranteed an oral
answer in either Latvian or Russian from high and medium-level municipal
employees. Exceptions to the practice of using Latvian as the language of
written communication in municipal establishments and services are very rare.
No exception is made for medical establishments, which are often visited by elderly
people and invalids. The state cannot, and officially does not demand that they
speak the state language. However, it is prohibited to duplicate in Russian
written information available in Latvian. As a result, many visitors ignore
written information in order to take advantage of oral conversation with the
personnel. In general, the linguistic policy of Daugavpils municipality is characterized as
the aggregate of two tendencies. (1) Local authorities
observe the language laws of the Latvian
Republic rigidly, without
adjustments or compromises. (2) At the same time, at the
personal level, they try to soften the negative psychological
consequences that the implementation of these laws generates. In other words,
unlike in the rest of Latvia,
public officers in Daugavpils
do never refuse to serve customers in Russian.
The town's visual
environment. According to the Language Law, all non-Latvian inscriptions
on objects considered part of the visual environment are forbidden in the Latvian Republic.[31]
This law is generally implemented. At first glance, it would seem that there are only Latvian signs on the streets of Daugavpils. Upon closer
inspection, however, one notices that street signs, signboards, logos and ads
use a mixture of words and symbols of varied origin. We
calculated the ratio of Latvian to non-Latvian words in
the names of firms, shops, restaurants, and logos, located on Riga's
street, the main and wealthiest street in Daugavpils.
We discovered that only one-third of the words were Latvian, while the
remaining two-thirds were English, German, Latin, Finnish, and etc. Out of a
total of about 90 signs, one was in Chinese and one in Russian.
The inscriptions in Daugavpils'
native languages (excluding Latvian) appear only on the sign
of national-cultural societies and religious establishments. Russian-language inscriptions can also be seen on the
premises of Russian newspapers (along with their
Latvian equivalents which is formally unlawful), and on some Russian schools.[32]
A few bilingual Russian-Latvian inscriptions survived on historical buildings. The greatest selection of the city's native
languages is found on the cemetery where gravestones bear inscriptions
in Polish. Russian, Latvian and Hebrew. For the time
being this sector of written information seems to have escaped the attention of state language policy. Generally speaking, the
prohibition of non-Latvian visual information has produced two
consequences. (1) In practice, only the
Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet is banned, while
non-Latvian words in the Latin alphabet remain part of the
visual environment in Daugavpils.
(2) The ban on Russian words in the names and logos has
brought about a tendency to replace them with international words and symbols,
rather than Latvian ones.
Languages
of the media. Daugavpils'
several local TV channels and one radio station broadcast in both Latvian and
Russian. The proportion between the two languages varies, but
generally it comes close to meeting the quotas defined by the law, according to which two-thirds of the total broadcast time must be in
Latvian, and one-third in other languages. In principle, all
written information, subtitles and advertisements on TV is
broadcast in Latvian. TV stations' own production in Latvian is not duplicated
in Russian and the other way around, but programs in the two languages alternate within one channel. On rare occasions, Daugavpils TV
broadcasts short interviews and songs in Polish. However, during the day time,
the channel broadcasts a Polish TV program from Poland on the same frequency. The
linguistic quotas force local broadcasters
to reduce as much as possible the original programming in Russian in
order to compensate for the time allocated to feature films, the majority of which (including those made in
America) are broadcast in Russian.
Daugavpilers have the
opportunity to watch not only local TV programs but two Latvian
state TV channels (LTV-1 and LTV-2) and one private channel (LNT). LTV-1
broadcasts only in Latvian. LTV-2 broadcasts mainly in Latvian, but also carries a few
features in Russian and Latgalian languages. In compliance with state quotas (two-thirds in Latvian, one-third in other
languages), LTN does not produce its
own programs in Russian (except for brief news and TV games.) Instead, it
offers feature films and entertainment
programs produced in Russia.
The majority of Daugavpilers can also receive several Lithuanian
programs. However, their popularity is
limited by the language barrier. Residents of new housing developments hooked to cable TV (about a half of the city's
population) have (at least theoretically) the opportunity to receive three
more Russian TV channels. In reality, high fees for cable TV severely
limit their availability. Likewise, satellite dishes offer an unlimited
opportunity to choose the language and quality of TV programs. Under the
current economic conditions, however, satellite TV is accessible only for the
most well-to-do in urban areas. In summary,
one must conclude that the range of choices in the language of programs varies
in Daugavpils,
depending on the geographic location and financial status of TV viewers. It is
most limited for poor inhabitants of villages
and the outskirts of Daugavpils,
who can only choose from 3-4 programs which
are usually broadcast in Latvian. Advertisements on the local radio station are
broadcast mainly in Russian, while
original programs and news are aired in both Latvian and Russian. Paradoxically, due to the overwhelming prevalence
of English as the language of popular music on local FM radio, the latter could
be mistaken for an English station.
The language of the press in Daugavpils is overwhelmingly Russian: of the
five newspapers
published in the city, only one appears in Latvian. This can be explained by the fact that the state does not interfere with
the choice of language in which newspapers
are published; thus the balance between languages is regulated solely by supply and demand. The city's Russian language
newspapers show varied socio-cultural orientations. For example, the
Russian edition of Latgales Laiks bears a strong resemblance to the
Russian edition of Riga's
half-official Diena. Materials translated from Latvian make up an important part of its content. A Russian-Jewish
spirit permeates the Million, a
paper put together by a team including some ethnic Latvians writing in Russian. The third Russian-language
newspaper, Dinaburg, reflects the views of immigrant intellectuals of the Soviet period. Letters and calls
to the editors of Russian newspapers indicate that their readers and
subscribers include many Latvians.
This fact, in addition to the publication of the bilingual Latgales Laiks, prevents
the creation of an information barrier between the two ethnic communities that
is so typical of Riga.
Other local languages are seldom used by the newspapers. For several years, a
Polish page appeared regularly in Latgales Laiks. It eventually gave birth to a
Polish newspaper Czas Latgalii whose publication was discontinued after five
issues.[33]
The Latgalian-language Lotgales Vords published irregularly in a small number
of copies, is intended for distribution in all of Latgalia. The town's
newspapers occasionally publish poetry of a Daugavpils poet in its original language,
Belarusian.
Languages of instruction in Daugavpils
schools and attitudes toward them. In the city's
elementary schools, there are three basic languages of instruction. At present
(in 1997), 86.7 per cent of the children are educated in Russian, 11.4 per cent
in Latvian, and 1.8 per cent in Polish.[34]
According to the survey "Culture and Language," these figures
generally match the ethnic composition of young city-dwellers. In other words,
there is a direct correlation between these figures and the ethnic structure of
the town. Russian is the native tongue for 80 per cent of the population,
Latvian accounts for 12 per cent. Polish for 2.5 per cent, and Belarusian
comprise 2 per cent of Daugavpilers. These data reflect the tendency of Daugavpils parents to
choose the language of instruction for their children without regard to their
formal ethnic belonging, but in accordance with their membership in a given
linguistic community. It is important to note that the 2 per cent of Belarusians
who speak their native tongue at home, and the 3 per cent of the population not
belonging to any of the large ethnic groups, do not have an opportunity to
receive education in their native languages within the existing elementary
schools. However, there is a possibility to open new classes and schools for
these minorities as the state encourages them to leave the Russian linguistic
community. Taking advantage of the opportunity is very difficult for minorities
because it requires (a) an expression of the collective will of the community
and the support of various state institutions; (b) teachers who know the
language of the community and are ready to work with enthusiasm; and (c) the
consent of parents to send their children to new schools whose quality of
instruction is unknown. To date, only the Polish community of Daugavpils has succeeded in overcoming these
obstacles. Some Lithuanians tried to open a Lithuanian section at a Latvian
school, but the experiment failed because of a lack of support among the
parents. Of course, any ethnic group can establish its own private Sunday
school. However, weak internal organization and teacher shortages prevent most
communities
from using this opportunity. A Jewish Sunday school works in Daugavpils introducing children into Jewish religion and traditions. Recently, local
Muslim communities, mostly Tatar and Azeri, established an Islamic
cultural center and a Muslim Sunday school.
Upon closer examination of the choices in the language of instruction parents made for first-graders this year, one
can see some important changes. Russian education has been chosen by 82.9 per
cent of parents, and Latvian by 14.8 per cent (the popularity of
education in Polish remained unchanged). These data reflect the process of
growing popularity of Latvian education among Daugavpilers, including families where Latvian is not the native
language for at least one of the parents. This indicates a change in the
direction of assimilation. During this century this direction has changed four
times. Before the First World War. assimilation to Russian and Polish cultures prevailed. Between
the two world wars, the First
Latvian Republic promoted the growth of the Latvian ethnic
community. After the Second World
War (under Soviet rule) the Russian community enjoyed the best conditions for cultural development. Finally, the Second Latvian
Republic has restored the
conditions favoring ethnic Latvians.
At present (in 1997). Daugavpils' public school
system and the town's linguistic environment enhance the Latvian-Russian
cultural exchange which began in the Soviet period. Latvian language training in Russian schools has become more intense (in
addition to the usual Latvian
classes, several non-language subjects were taught in Latvian in Russian school this year). On the other hand,
although Latvian school children can now
choose between English, German, Russian, and other languages considered "foreign" in Latvia, Russian language programs
have not been completely eliminated
in Latvian schools. It is obvious that the influence of Russian on young Latvians
in Daugavpils
has been preserved by the Russian environment of the town, by popular Russian TV channels, Russian technical and
scientific literature, and persisting economic ties with Russia. This
seems to explain the paradox revealed by the survey "Culture and
Language." Despite the policy of reorientation toward the West, and despite Russophobe currents in the influential
Riga-based mass-media, 70 per cent of Latvian youth in Daugavpils display a positive attitude toward
learning Russian, and only 4 per cent express a negative attitude. The Russian
community cannot boast the same degree of tolerance toward Latvian: 15 per cent
of young Russians negatively view the study
of the Latvian. However, this negative attitude can partly be caused by
the repressive methods used by the state to encourage the learning of Latvian.
A positive attitude toward the study of Latvian is declared by 74 per cent of Russian respondents. A special language policy
exists in the town's only Polish school. The training is bilingual (in
Latvian and Polish) and English is the mandatory foreign language. The underlying assumption is that standard oral and
written Russian is irrelevant to these children future despite the fact that
it remains for them a language of social interaction in a majority of vital
situations.
Languages of
instruction at the universities. Daugavpils
has three universities. The first, Daugavpils'
branch the Russian
Baltic University,
is a private educational institution where the language of instruction is not
regulated by state laws. The language of instruction is Russian, while Latvian
language is studied as separate discipline. For a variety of reasons this
private university does not have noticeable impact on the town. Much more
serious is the impact of the two state universities: the Daugavpils Pedagogical
University (DPU), and of
the Daugavpils
branch of the Riga
Technical University,
(RTU). According to the Language Law which regulates the language policy of the
state universities, Latvian must be the main language of instruction. In their
interpretation of this norm, government officials emphasize that lectures in
any language are allowed as long as the teaching is done by a foreign faculty
member. However, because of Latvia's
current economic problems, foreign professors only rarely visit Daugavpils universities.
Therefore, Latvian remains the basic language of instruction in the city's
state universities. On the other hand, this legal principle contains no
explicit interdiction of the use of languages other than Latvian.
In the absence of clear
prohibition, much depends on the traditions of a university and the attitudes
of its faculty. As technical education has traditionally enjoyed greater
popularity among Russians, a Russian linguistic environment is best preserved
at the RTU. At the first year level, lectures are delivered in Russian, while
students work on improving their Latvian to prepare themselves for the
following years. By contrast, the influence of Latvian and Latgalian professors
and nontechnical intelligentsia in general, has been traditionally strong at
the DPU, even in Soviet times. Also, the share of students from agricultural
regions is higher at the DPU. Both these factors reinforce the university's
Latvian linguistic environment whose vitality is best exemplified in social
life at the DPU and by the linguistic practices of its administration. At the
same time, many faculty members agree to communicate in Russian with their
students (the reasons for this may include the faculty's own preference for
Russian, their liberal political views, or the prevalence of Russian-speaking
students in some groups). When the use of Russian becomes too widespread, the
administration intervenes and reprimands the professors. There is no major
difference in the educational programs DPU uses to train teachers for Latvian
language and Russian language schools. These programs are aimed at meeting the
long-term strategic objective of the new Latvian state: the gradual
liquidation of the existing state system of Russian secondary education, and
its transition from Russian to Latvian as the only language of instruction. The
plan also foresees that Latvian will partially replace the languages of
instruction presently used in non-Latvian primary schools.[35]
For teachers, the only exception from the linguistic uniformity of DPU's programs
is the training of teachers of language, literature and culture in either Latvian
or non-Latvian schools. The use of Russian in these special programs is legal.
The "Russian" chairs traditionally have very good professors, among
the best in the former Soviet Union. A few
years ago, DPU curriculum included special training for teachers of Polish. It
is important to note that the popularity of specialization connected with the
local languages has stabilized at a low level. For example, in 1996, during the
entrance exams for the program "Russian language, literature and German
language" 2 candidates competed for each place; for "Polish and
German language translation" – 1.6 candidates per place, for
"Latvian language, literature and English language" – 2.2 candidates
per place, while the program "English and French language
translation" attracted as many as 6 candidates for each place.[36]
Languages of
social and cultural events. In the field of spontaneous social interaction on a
massive scale, we can notice a pattern similar to that of the mass-media: when
the state refrains from interfering in the choice of language, market forces
work in favor of the Russian language. Thus, commercial tours of Russian
popular singers, musicians, comic actors or entire theaters, are common in Daugavpils. Tours of Latvian
performers are very rare, as they generate no income. On the other hand, the
overwhelming majority of initiatives financed or sponsored by municipal
authorities have a mandatory minimum of Latvian language content. Local
authorities provide active assistance to mass events organized by the
national-cultural societies. Concerts, popular festivals, exhibits, or
national day celebrations take place in the languages of the respective ethnic
groups - in Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Tatar. Based on
folklore and artificially revived traditions, they are perceived as exotic by
the modern urban population. Understandably, such cultural events have little
impact on the linguistic environment in Daugavpils
but they improve the psychological climate in the town.
Language
of the theater and literature. There are several non-professional
theatrical groups in Daugavpils:
two of them work in Russian, one in Polish, and one in Latvian. But the impact
of Daugavpils
state theater, established five years ago, is incomparably stronger. Until
last season, the theater had two troupes: one Latvian and one Russian.
Recently, the Latvian actors left Daugavpils
after having received an attractive offer from Riga. Their decision was at least partially
motivated by the weak popularity of the theater in general, and of the Latvian
troupe in particular. The Russian troupe was kept. The administration of the
theater is actively recruiting young people desiring to study acting and fill
the vacancies in the Latvian troupe.
No Daugavpils
writer manages to make a living out of royalties, although modest honoraria are sometimes paid to one Latvian author.
Serious literary activity can only be treated as hobby requiring
constant search for sponsors willing to pay for publications. Therefore, in
this case market mechanisms hardly reveal the balance between languages spoken in the city. However, one publication series
may serve as an indicator of the
policy pursued by the local authorities in supporting literature. Every autumn the municipality publishes Dzejas
dienas (Days of Poetry), a collection of poetry written by Daugavpilers.
The cover and the title page of the almanac, the foreword, and editorial
information are Latvian. However, the volume features poems in Latvian, Latgalian, Russian, and
Belarusian languages. This year (1997) Russian-language poetry made up about a half of the collection; Latvian
comprised about 40 per cent.
Are Daugavpilers
satisfied with the present language situation?
The participants of the survey "Culture and Language" were asked
to asses the level of their individual discomfort with the linguistic situation
in the town. For 34 per cent of Latvian and 7 per
cent of Russian respondents, the latter presented no problem whatsoever; minor
linguistic problems were experienced by 20 per cent of Latvians and 22 per cent
of Russians. A relative majority of the respondents (36 per cent of
Latvians and 39 per cent of Russians)
reported "average" language-related difficulties. Serious difficulties
were experienced by 7 per cent of Latvians and 20 per cent of Russians.
Finally, 3 per cent of Latvians and 11
per cent of Russians reported that they experienced "very
significant" level of discomfort caused by language problems.[37]
It is easy to notice that the level of
personal linguistic unease matches the language skills discussed in the
section on Latvian-Russian bilingualism. The survey data quoted above do not
allow us to draw conclusions on the intensity of the stress caused by the language situation in Daugavpils. However, one question of the
survey directly addressed the level
of emotional discomfort. Although no ethnic break down of the respondents is
provided, responses to this question indicated that 10 per cent of those interviewed were fully satisfied by the current
state of inter-ethnic relations. 54 per cent experienced partial
discomfort and 13 per cent a total dissatisfaction with inter-ethnic relations in Daugavpils. 22 per cent of the respondents
declared indifference or were trying to ignore the problems. The above
responses lead us to conclude that language problems were not the only reason
for the widespread feelings of unhappiness
with the state of inter-ethnic relations in Daugavpils.
The impact of public
opinion on language policy. We have already mentioned the technocratic character and ethnic indifference of the city's Russian
intelligentsia. In the public life of Daugavpils (and Riga), the interplay of these characteristics
with the
nationalist ideology of the Latvians has produced paradoxical results: a
complete subordination of the numerically
superior Russian linguistic community to the Latvian minority. In the issues
related to the language and culture Latvian authorities take into account and
respond only to the opinion of the
Latvian ethnic community. To solve controversial problems arising periodically
between the two communities, ethnic Latvians always appeal to state institutions
in an organized fashion. The Russian community, on the other hand, typically
avoids taking a collective stand on the issue, transferring the responsibility
for the decision making to individuals, or
adopting a purely formalistic approach in the decision-making process.
This tendency is best illustrated by the recent reform of TV broadcasting. Until August 1996, one of the three
state TV channels was used by ORT, a Russian public TV station. Its
conversion was paid for by Russia.
Since Latvian TV offers only a few programs
in Russian, the ORT channel was extremely important to Latvia's
Russians; it gave them permanent access to high-quality TV production in the Russian language. For some
reason, Russia
stopped paying for ORT broadcasting
in Latvia.
Abandoned by ORT, the channel was allocated to a private Latvian broadcasting company, LNT. In an attempt to keep its
Russian audiences, LNT began to air in prime time Russian-language films with
Latvian subtitles. This move
generated angry reactions in Latvian public opinion. Eventually, yielding to the pressure from Latvian media and
politicians, LNT was compelled to adjust its broadcasting program. The
Russian press failed to respond to the challenge. Instead, changes on LNT
greatly increased the demand among Russian viewers for cable TV broadcasting programs from Russia. The
sale of satellite dishes went up, as well.
The reform of the school system provides another
example of Russian passivity. Medumi, an administrative center with the population
of about 1.5 thousand, is situated in the Daugavpils region, and populated by Latvians,
Russians. Poles, Belarusians, Lithuanians,
and Germans. The linguistic environment in the village is Russian. For almost five decades Russian remained
the main language of instruction in
Medumi school, the second language was Latvian, and foreign languages were taught
as well. Five years ago, the new director of the school gradually began to introduce Latvian as the new language of
instruction. At present (in 1996), the situation in the school is as follows. Although grades 6, 7, 8, 9
are considered part of a Russian educational
institution, school children use textbooks in Latvian. Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 have
parallel Russian and Latvian streams, but in the Russian stream the training is
based on Latvian textbooks. As of 1996,
first-graders, a large majority of whom are of non-Latvian background,
are taught in Latvian only. In the absence of a natural Latvian linguistic environment, they experience serious difficulties
studying in that language. Their
curriculum does not even assume a command of written Russian. The
regional board of education considers the Medumi school a model for others to follow. Neither the mass-media nor the local
government considers this to be a problem.
Although parents privately express displeasure at the fact that their children are compelled to study in a language which is
not their mother tongue, they do not protest. The extreme inertia of
Russian public opinion in Daugavpils,
and especially in the surrounding countryside,
stands in no relation to what most Russians
perceive to be acute social and political problems. Their passivity is a
typical manifestation of an immature
civil society.
Prospects for the
future. In the final analysis, the main forces shaping
the linguistic reality of Daugavpils
combine to strengthen a two-community bilingual system, the foundations of
which were laid in the Soviet period.[38]
The functional Latvian-Russian bilingualism is more typical of Daugavpils society today than it was during
the Soviet period. The movement toward a
genuine, multi-functional bilingualism is occurring more slowly than the redistribution of the spheres
of influence between Latvian and Russian
languages. This redistribution benefits the Latvian language, and disadvantages Russian. Sometimes, though not always, this
process can be regarded as "positive discrimination" - a
psychological compensation to the town's Latvian community for the absence of
a natural Latvian linguistic environment in crucial spheres of life in the past. The impact of other local
languages on the life of Daugavpilers has been strongly reduced, limited
to the family circle and the confines of national-cultural organizations. Far stronger is the influence of
the cultures and spirit of small ethnic communities.
The contours of a two-community
Russian-Latvian cultural system will become more visible with the gradual consolidation of the Latvian community, and the
separation from Russian linguistic
community of small groups seeking to restore their nominal ethnic identities.[39]
Multiculturalism as a pluralist social system is absent in Daugavpils, despite good
preconditions that could have helped it to take root. Multiculturalism is impossible in Latvia as long
as it is resisted by an ethno-nationalist ideology and ethnopolitics modeled on the practices reminiscent of the
final years of the First Republic.
A natural ideological change could come from a generational change in
the ranks of Latvian politicians, or from a change in the geopolitical configuration in the region. The crucial factor, which
in the long run could change the balance
of forces in favor of multiculturalism, is the emergence of a civil society as
a counterweight to the ethnically-based nationalist ideology and the ethnic
character of political power in modern Latvia.
[1] According to the
data of the Multinational Cultural Center of Daugavpils.
[2] G. Smirin, Osnovnye fakty
istorii Latvii, Riga,
1993. pp. 15-22.
[3] L. Perkone, Latviesu nacijas veidosanas, Riga, 1992, pp. 33-34.
[4] Russian sect that refused to
accept the reforms imposed in mid-seventeenth century on the
Russian Orthodox
Church by Patriarch Nikon.
[5] Multikulturalisms Latvija:
teorija un prakse, Multinacionalas kulturas centrs, Daugavpils, 1996, pp. 33-34.
[6] L. Tajvan, Po Latgalii, Moskva, 1988, pp. 64-72.
[7] Piervaya vseobshchaya perepis'
naselenya Rossijskoj imperil, 1897 goda. Vitebskaya gu-bernya, vols. 1, 2 and 3,
1899-1903.
[8] G. Smirin, op. cit., p. 61.
[9] Ibid., p. 20, 79.
[10] Otra
tautas skaitisana Latvija 1925. Gada 10
februari. XI sejumus, Riga,
1925.
[11] I.
Shteynman, S. Kuznetsov, Nezavisimaya Latvia, Riga 1996, p. 179.
[12] The local government in Daugavpils is called
''Dome." On language use see Multinacion-alas Kultura Centrs, Latgale
un Daugavpils:
vesture un kultura, Rakstu krajums, Daugavpils,
!996, p. 81.
[13] I. Shteyman, S. Kuznetsov,
op. cit.. p. 184.
[14] A. Pertikovskaya, Avstraliiskyi
multikulturalizm: opyt etnicheskoy politiki. Et-nograficheskoye obozrenye, Moskva, 1993, No. 2, p. 28-44.
[15] Multikulturalisms Latvija:
teorija un prakse, Daugavpils, op. cit.,
p. 32.
[16] Ministerstvo justicyi Latvijsky Respubliki, Natsionalnye
i etnicheskye grupy Latvii, In-rormativnyi material, Riga, 1996, p. 12.
[17] I. Shteyman, S. Kuznetsov, op.
cit., p. 138.
[18] Ocherki istorii Latvii. C 1940
goda do nashikh dney, M. Birsis (ed.), Riga 1991, p. 50; Ellu Saar,
Mikk Titma, Migrationsstrome in sowjetisierten Baltikum und ihre
Nachwirkungen aufdie baltischen Staaten nach Wiederherstellung der
Selbstandigkeit, Berichte des Bundes-instituts fur ostwissenschaftliche und Internationale
Studien, no. 2, Koln, 1992.
[19] Evrei v Daugavpilse. Istoricheskye ocherki, Daugavpils 1993, pp. 287-295.
[20] Ocherki istorii Latvii, op.
cit., p. 124; Census of January 1989, Table 6.1.
[21] Ibid, p. 135.
[22] Multikulturalisms Latvija, op.
cit., p. 37-38.
[23] Carried out in 1994 by
the Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Economy of the Daugavpils Pedagogical
University in cooperation
with Daugavpils'
Multinational Cultural Center.
Further in the study it is referred to as the survey "Culture and
Language."
[24] B. Bromley, P.
Podol'nyi, Chelovechestvo - eto narody, Moskva, 1990, p. 289.
[25] Evrei v Daugavpilse, op. cit., p.
6-9.
[26] " Ministerstvo Justitsii, Natsional'noye i
etnicheskye grupy, op. cit., p. 16.
[27] Ibid., p. 18.
[28] Latgalians are
Catholic Latvians inhabiting eastern regions of the country. According to A. Lieven, "the Latgalian dialect remains almost a separate
language," A. Lieven, The Baltic Revolution, New Haven and London,
1994, p. 35.
[29] Multicilturalisms Latvija, op. cit., p. 55.
[30] According to the
"Law on Languages," referred to as "Language law" in the
next edition.
[31] There are four
exceptions from this rule, all of which refer to rather unusual situations.
[32] Recently, all
inscriptions on and inside Russian schools were replaced by Latvian ones.
[33] Its circulation
totaled 500 to 1,000 copies. By comparison, the circulation of the regular Latvian
“Latgales Laiks” is up to 10,000. The regular total circulation of the Russian
newspapers is up to 35,000.
[34] According to data
provided by Daugavpils School Board.
[35] A major step in this direction is the
introduction of new programs for grades 4-9 scheduled for September 1997.
[36] According to data provided by DPU
administration.
[37] Multicilturalisms Latvija, op.
cit., p. 45.
[38] Although this was not an official state policy.
[39] Multicilturalisms Latvija, op. cit., p. 55.
