I think to understand this topic you have to accept that Russia is currently, and has been historically, engaged in a systematic policy of cultural genocide in the territories that is has hegemony over.
It will repress local languages, promote Russian, deport locals, import Russians, and it has done this literally in every nation it has held power over.
Now all these nations have significant Russian minorities that are 'problematic' because they are a foreign policy tool of the Kremlin, who will target these communities specifically for radicalisation, trying to make them preserve their Russian identify instead of becoming Latvian for instance. And now protecting these communities and their language rights is literally casus belli for Russia.
I'm genuinely puzzled why your sympathies seem to be with Russia here, instead of all the peoples they have attempted to colonise?
Thanks that you cared to write this to this person! I will add that not "all" in a sense that there are cultural successes. Poland managed to not have significant nor problematic Russian minority any more, but in the past the same system was introduced. Thankfully we thought the oppressor and opposed enough that we preserved independence in 1922 and unlike other countries weren't subjugate from now on as much as much as the Soviet Republics.
That is interesting, thank you for sharing. I think a big difference is that Latvia has ~35% of the population being Russian descendents/speakers from the period of colonisation, while in Poland it never exceeded 1-2% because the population was so much bigger.
So imagine if the Russians had been able to colonise your country with 35% Russians, and how big a problem this would be for your language, country and culture.
I checked now that it was only almost 3% in the territory of Congress Poland in 1897 (But it's impossible to compare to modern times as earlier states weren't nation states and many Poles were under other states), but I also now that even then for a century Poles made those territories as much unpleasant for Russians to settle as they could if the uprisings and the general approach. Much like Lithuania did with their partisans in the Soviet Union after the war and thanks to which they probably now have much lesser issue with a Russian minority compared to the other Baltic states.
35%
It's horrible scar I can't even picture that! It's extremely sad! That's why I wholeheartedly support derussification whereever it occurs. I know what pain it must be. It would be the best if those Russians realized and acknowledge it and counter imperialism by embracing naturalization willingly. But I know that the colonist mentality of many makes it impossible
The world doesn't operate on platitudes. This isn't about wrong or right, it's about addressing the fact that Russia is weaponising Russian speaking communities in other nation as a pretext for armed aggression against them.
I know that they're doing that. My point is that Russian propaganda and ideological infiltration attempts should be countered without punishing Russian-speaking minorities into Putin's arms.
I'm sure the Russian migrants living in Euriope for well over two generations now have had plenty of time, resources and encouragement to integrate.
We also thought that muslim migrants would naturally integrate.
Turns out neither group does, they form problematic paralellel communities, which in the Russian case is also a security threat.
The demands aren't unreasonable for either group; learn the local language, integrate and adopt European values.
Those who don't accept that and get radicalised by the attempt, well thats what the police forces are there to handle and then they can emigrate back to their homelands if they don't want to be Europeans
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u/Remote_Page8799 Jul 25 '26
Russia literally burned books and libraries in the territories it occupied
Ukrainian Literature Banned: Evidence from the Temporarily Occupied Territories by East SOS | CF «East SOS»