If I Were the Mayor of Rezekne, We Would Celebrate March 16 in the City 0 7

The mayor of Ogre, Egils Helmanis (National Alliance), who has been on sick leave since August last year, is very active on social media - especially fervently commenting on big politics. Today, the head of the Ogre municipality decided to 'try on' the position of mayor of Rezekne - a position currently held by Alexander Bartashevich, and Helmanis is extremely displeased that Bartashevich addresses the citizens not only in Latvian but also in Russian.

Helmanis wrote a short essay on the topic - 'if I were the mayor of Rezekne.' We invite you to evaluate this fantasy on a free theme: 'If I were the mayor of Rezekne, I would not address my voters in Russian, I would celebrate November 18, May 4, March 16, I would find a twin city for Rezekne in Ukraine, and I would help with humanitarian aid to the twin city in Ukraine in its fight against the occupiers.

The fish rots from the head. The country has adopted a national security concept that implies stopping the broadcasting of public media in Russian and ceasing support for commercial media in Russian. Yet the government seems to ignore this, which is why various 'Alexanders' use the Russian language when addressing their voters. Only a firm stance can change such a situation, but we are used to fighting the consequences rather than the causes. The occupiers use the Russian language as a weapon of hybrid warfare, so it must be treated with the utmost responsibility. I studied in Russia at one time. My favorite writers are Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, I studied the works of the Russian philosopher Berdyaev, from DDT, Yuri Shevchuk is my favorite singer, as well as Grebenshchikov and Makarevich. But it so happens that they all actively oppose the war and do not hide their stance. The government should respectfully explain to the Russian-speaking community that this is important to do now. We can be a united nation if this nation has common foundations, that we condemn the war, respect the victims that the Latvian people have suffered, remember together those who were exiled, shot in Lestene, remember the Latvian partisans, legionnaires, all those who fought for a free and independent Latvia. This is the foundation on which we can build a united Latvian nation.