Russian Soft Power & The Latvian Russian Union Towards Latvia's Minority Policy

Essay from the year 2021 in the subject Politics - Region: Russia, grade: 10/10, , language: English, abstract: After its reestablished independence, Latvia decided to follow western ideals and transformed to a liberal, market based democracy. Nowadays the country is a member of the European Union and NATO. Among the three Baltic countries, Latvia was the Soviet Republic with the highest share of ethnic Russian population. Although the Latvian constitution allows national minorities the preservation of their culture, language and religion, an ongoing conflict in the society is visible: The Russian minority does not feel to be a partner on eye level, unwanted and partly excluded from governmental contribution. A pool of disintegrated that could be absorbed by others, containing the potential for social unrest.