VILNIUS, November 30. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Riga documents every illegal action the Latvian authorities take against the Russian citizens, Russian Charge d’Affaires in Latvia Oleg Zykov said in a statement to TASS on Thursday.
His statement comes on November 30, the day when a legal provision on the expulsion of Russian citizens, who do not speak the Latvian language, comes into force.
"The Embassy closely monitors and records all cases of unlawful actions by the Latvian authorities against Russian citizens residing in the country," the diplomat said.
According to the Russian Embassy, in recent months there has been a several-fold increase in the number of Russian citizens’ enquiries with the diplomatic mission.
"These kinds of letters are often about personal tragedies and the more that come in, the more they resemble a collective cry of despair," Zykov noted.
Sometimes, according to the Embassy, the letters describe outrageous situations involving infirm, bedridden, even deaf-mute and blind Russians who are threatened with deportation. Those, who due to insurmountable circumstances, limited physical abilities and artificially created bureaucratic obstacles have failed to pass the Latvian language exam within the limited period of time or to obtain a medical excuse from the test, eventually had their permanent residence permits revoked.
In September 2022, the Latvian Saeima (parliament) adopted amendments to the Immigration Law, which mandated that Russian citizens permanently residing in the country obtain a certificate of proficiency in the Latvian language of at least A2 level by September 1, 2023. If they ignored the language examination requirement, their permanent residency permits would be revoked.
Over 3,000 Russian citizens have already received letters from the authorities of the Baltic state warning them about the expiration of their permanent residence permits.