Orientalist Andrei Lankov does not intend to appeal the Latvian authorities' decision regarding his expulsion — for the scholar, this issue “has no practical significance.”
“I liked Latvia and I still like it. The food is delicious, and the cities are beautiful. I hadn’t been there for 35 years. I arrived, and four hours later they expelled me. I think I can live another 35 years without Riga balsam,” Lankov said.
He also reported that he contacted the Australian authorities regarding his expulsion, as he travels around Europe with an Australian passport, which alleviates visa issues.
The scholar emphasized that “the incident is resolved” and that the Latvian authorities acted “rather absurdly and foolishly,” but added, “As they say, that’s their problem.”
In his Telegram channel, Lankov described his detention in Riga as a “curious-scandalous incident” and noted that the police behaved very politely and amicably.
As reported by bb.lv, on February 24, Russian historian and North Korea specialist Andrei Lankov was detained in Riga during a lecture. He was taken to a hotel, allowed to pack his belongings, and expelled to Estonia.
Andrei Lankov is one of the leading Russian Korea experts, born in 1963 in St. Petersburg.
In the 1990s, the scholar worked in South Korea and Australia, and since 2004 has been teaching in Seoul, as a professor at Kookmin University. Lankov holds dual citizenship of Russia and Australia.
