An order issued by Latvian Culture Minister Nauris Puntulis requiring cultural institutions to remove the Russian language from the public sphere could complicate the operations of two theatres, according to 360 Ziņas.
The order, published on the Ministry of Culture’s website, states that Russian may no longer be used in cultural institutions’ advertisements, official websites, projects or international events. The minister justified the decision by citing the need to strengthen Latvian as the country’s only official language.
“There is a Constitutional Court ruling that clearly addresses the self-sufficiency of the Russian language and the need to strengthen the Latvian language. Another reason is Russia’s increasing efforts to expand its ‘soft power’ and regain influence in the creative sector, sports and other areas,” Puntulis said.
The order mainly affects two theatres – the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre and the Daugavpils Theatre – as both stage productions in Russian. Currently, information about performances, tickets and actors is available on their websites in both Latvian and Russian.
Theatre critic Zane Radzobe believes the announcement is not good news for society.
“Compared with all other Latvian theatres, these two occupy a very special position because they communicate with audiences that no one else in Latvia’s cultural sphere reaches. Protecting the Latvian language is undoubtedly a sacred cause, and it is clear that this is one of the National Alliance’s central priorities. However, for society as a whole, this decision is more likely to create a sense of threat,” she said.
Radzobe also highlighted another provision in the ministry’s announcement stating that “the restrictions do not apply to professional artistic work if the original creative work is in Russian.”
In her view, this wording suggests that only works originally written in Russian could continue to be staged in Russian, while plays by Latvian and other international authors could no longer be translated and performed in Russian at the Riga Russian Theatre or the Daugavpils Theatre.
She warned that the consequences could be severe not only for the theatres themselves but also for Latvia’s cultural sector.
“That would mean removing productions from the repertoire. Most likely, it would end with the closure of the theatre,” Radzobe said.
Dana Bjorka, director of the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, declined an interview with 360 Ziņas, responding in writing that she first needed to analyse the order in detail and assess whether it could affect the theatre’s core operations and state-delegated responsibilities before commenting publicly.
Meanwhile, Oļegs Šapošņikovs, chairman of the board of the Daugavpils Theatre, said after meeting with the culture minister that he did not believe the order would have any impact on the theatre’s work, audience numbers or popularity.
“It is possible that the minister’s order is not a far-sighted political decision but simply a case of poor communication,” the report notes. The minister did not respond to additional questions from 360 Ziņas.
However, the Ministry of Culture later told BNN that the order specifically includes an important exception.
The ministry explained that, for example, the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre currently stages “With Dance Shoes Through the Snows of Siberia,” based on a literary work by Sandra Kalniete, originally published in Latvian. Since the theatrical script itself was prepared in Russian, it is regarded as an original creative work in Russian. Therefore, the restrictions do not apply, and the performance may continue to be staged in Russian as planned.
The ministry stressed that theatre repertoires will remain unchanged and that it will not interfere in their artistic content.
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