On 318 road signs in Latvia, the inscriptions "Moscow," "Vitebsk," and the names of other cities in Russia and Belarus can still be seen. However, the initiative submitted to the government proposing to replace these signs has not yet received approval, raising alarms at LTV.
When leaving Riga, alongside signs for Lithuania or Estonia, one can also see information about the distance to Moscow. Drivers surveyed by Latvian television expressed their outrage in unison.
"I have long thought that there is no sense in this. I have seen signs for Moscow somewhere. I don’t know about the Vidzeme highway. I think they should have been removed a long time ago," said driver Janis Berzinsh.
Local resident Raimonda willingly supports the idea of removing the names of Russian cities: "There is no sense in this, we need to change our thinking."
Another driver, Janis, noted: "We would be better off marking our own towns."
In the state road network, 235 directional signs and informational road signs containing the names of settlements in Russia and Belarus have been identified. Such signs are also present on municipal roads.
In the territory of Riga, there are 78 such signs, and in Daugavpils, there are five more. In total, there are 318 signs.
The director of the Department of Road Transport at the Ministry of Transport, Talivaldis Vectirans, explained:
"On one hand, this is an international designation of direction. The fact that Russia is there does not negate the direction itself. If society demands it and there is political support, then yes, we will replace the road signs."
In new road projects, the inscription "Moscow" is no longer used. However, replacing existing signs requires a separate government decision.
"We are talking about several hundred thousand euros to replace all the signs, including in Rezekne, Daugavpils, and Riga. Yes, the corresponding report with a draft decision was prepared and submitted back in early spring. We hoped to replace the signs by September. But there is no decision yet. Therefore, we are acting cautiously. In new projects, we can make changes, but for the others, a separate document must be adopted," Vectirans explained.
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