MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Latvia's plans to expel 1,167 Russians because of the language proficiency law are a throwback to old-school fascism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"These people have already had their right to basic benefits taken away, their access to free medical care in Latvia as well - to put it simply, this is what the Nazis and fascists did with regard to national groups and groups of certain faith and religious groups in the 1930s in Western Europe. Then they invented ghettos, i.e. compact settlements where people were brought and restricted all kinds of rights, today all these practices are showing up again, only in a new format. The essence is the same - segregation of people on the basis of nationality," she said at the briefing.

"This figure is not final, in the near future the number of Russian citizens who failed to 'legalize' within the deadline, as they call it in Latvia, may increase to more than 2,000 people," the diplomat added.

In September 2022, the Saeima (unicameral parliament) of Latvia adopted amendments to the law on migration, which obliged Russian citizens who have permanent residence in the Baltic republic, to obtain a certificate of proficiency in the Latvian language at the A2 level by September 1, 2023. Otherwise, they would lose their residence status in the country. On September 14, 2023, the Latvian Parliament approved the final reading of an amendment to the Immigration Law, extending the period to pass the state language exam by two years en route to obtaining the right to be a permanent resident in the Republic. Now Russian citizens living in Latvia will be able to obtain a temporary residence permit for two years, during which they will have to pass the state language exam. The application for a residence permit had to be submitted by December 31.