After the arrival of Latvian nationalists in the Ministry of Culture, a review of expenditures was conducted, and they were horrified – huge amounts of money were being spent on the Russian language.
"Absurd projects promoting the use of the Russian language" will be banned, the LETA agency was informed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
This concerns, for example, the project of the society "Sadarbības platforma" ("Cooperation Platform"). The project is called "Cultural Bridges: From the Foreign to the Familiar," with a budget of 84,600 euros. The project plans to address citizens of third countries in Russian.
In turn, the project "Appendix — A Turn to Neighboring Layers," supported with 99,999 euros and implemented by the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art, plans to release comics also in Russian.
And that's not all. The project of the society "Fon Stricka villa" titled "Evenings of World Dances" received support of 69,549 euros, and it includes communication in a mediating language. There are suspicions that this will be in Russian.
The project "Social Circus" of the Riga Circus, aimed at integrating children of citizens from third countries, is also mentioned. The project received 99,023 euros, and it includes communication in Russian.
Among the funded projects is also the cultural diversity festival of the organization "Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem" ("I Want to Help Refugees"). It received 99,954 euros, and during the project, the most common foreign languages among citizens of third countries are planned to be used.
It should be added that approximately 450,000 euros were planned to be spent from the state budget on these projects in total. This is 0.002 percent of Latvia's state expenditures in 2025.
All mentioned projects are planned to be reviewed by July 30.
As reported by bb.lv, today the Minister of Culture Nauris Puntulis (National Alliance) issued an order aimed at "excluding the Russian language from public space."
