러시아ㆍ유라시아

The Baltic states are among the most ardent supporters of Ukraine in the war against Russia. It is widely understood that Ukraine is fighting not only for its survival and the right to determine its path forward, but also for the Baltic states, the West, and global democracy writ large. The war has also had notable domestic repercussions in the Baltic countries, including a wave of de-Russification and de-Sovietization. (Despite measures taken in the early 1990s, some Soviet-era symbols and policies have lingered over the last three decades.) Some examples in Latvia include banning Russia-registered media; renaming streets that previously bore names related to Russia and the Soviet Union; removing Soviet occupation-era monuments such as the so-called Victory Monument in 2022; and ending the linguistic segregation of the education system (by 2025, the language of instruction in schools and kindergartens will be Latvian, while Russian as a language of instruction will be phased out). However, perspectives on the war within Latvian society are not as straightforward as the political action might imply. Indeed, polling throughout the course of the war has highlighted splits in perspectives along ethnolinguistic lines.