Culture Minister Nauris Puntulis stated that he intends to have a serious conversation with the leadership of the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theater. The reason is complaints about the use of the Russian language in the work environment and the ongoing dispute over Russian-language inscriptions on the building's facade.
Culture Minister Nauris Puntulis announced his intention to discuss with the leadership of the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theater issues related to compliance with the state language legislation.
The reason for this was a complaint received on Tuesday from one of the theater's employees. According to the information presented in it, the use of the Russian language is allegedly required in everyday work communication within the team.
Puntulis emphasized that this does not concern performances or the language used on stage. The issue exclusively pertains to the internal communication of employees in the work environment.
According to the minister, additional questions were raised by public statements made in recent months by some current and former employees of the theater. In Puntulis's opinion, they may indicate the presence of internal conflicts and tension within the team.
A separate topic of conversation will be the design of the theater's facade.
Currently, the Ministry of Culture, together with the State Language Center, is assessing the compliance of the inscriptions and posters containing information in Russian placed on the building with the legislation.
For regular theatergoers, the situation does not change anything for now: performances continue as usual, and the discussion concerns compliance with language requirements for a state institution.
A new round of discussion began after the appeal from Riga's Vice Mayor Edvards Ratnieks, who urged the Ministry of Culture to achieve the dismantling of Russian-language inscriptions on the theater's facade. In the politician's opinion, placing information in Russian on the building of a state institution may contradict the requirements of the State Language Law.
Puntulis himself emphasizes that his position on state language issues has always been consistent; however, any decisions must be made strictly in accordance with the law and after a legal assessment of the situation. According to the State Language Law, information provided by state and municipal institutions to inform the public must be presented in the state language, with the exception of certain cases provided for by regulatory acts.
Currently, no final decisions have been made regarding the situation with the theater's facade and internal work communication. After assessing the circumstances, the Ministry of Culture will determine its further actions.
