Latvia Is A Success Story, If By 'Success Story' You Mean 'Disaster'

[Albion]

Leave Latvia to choose its own path, if it fails then it may join Russia in the future.

[sevruk]

it may join Russia in the future.

I would not want this

[RussiaPrussia]

Humanophage: Since you're a very intelligent guy, could you explain why retarded nationalists like sevruk are so anti-Baltic countries? Why do they have this obsession with them?

its because they are racist to russians.

[RussiaPrussia]

Latvia seems to be performing pretty well, albeit less so than the other two Baltic economies. Since 2000, Estonia's and Lithuania's GDP per capita growth has been larger than Russia's, for all the lack of oil. Latvia and Russia used to have the same GDP per capita in 2000, now Russia's is slightly larger. Similarly oil-reliant countries like Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan grew at an even more impressive rate. However, in terms of GNI per capita, Russia is still behind all three by a considerable margin.

As for Latvian demographic problems, I wouldn't call them exceptionally drastic. Neighbouring core Russian and Finno-Ugric regions face an even more dramatic decline:


For comparison, Dagestan's parameters are 134% for 2000 and 160% for 2010. Granted, unlike Latvians who migrate to EU, Russians mainly migrate to Moscow, but the regions are being depleted of population at an alarming rate. While Russia grew by about 300 000 people between 2006 and 2012, this growth comes overwhelmingly from the Caucasus. Dagestan alone grew by 290 000 people in the same period, Chechnya by 140 000, Karachaevo-Cherkessia by 50 000, etc.

yet percentage of russians increased from 80.6 to 80.9%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demogra...ective.5B59.5D

because many other ethnicities like ukrainians, bashkirs and tatarians are decreasing faster. Russians also profit from russians who come back from the baltics or central asia.

[Styggnacke]

its because they are racist to russians.

It's not racist to require people to speak the language of the majority (that is if they even want to become citizens, there certainly are some perks of being stateless).

[RussiaPrussia]

It's not racist to require people to speak the language of the majority (that is if they even want to become citizens, there certainly are some perks of being stateless).

in belgium there is just a small minority of germans yet belgium did of respect to germans german as an official language. Stop treating russians like they are muslims or any other immigrants.

Fact is russians lived there 100s of years and they have no right to citizenship and their language is not official. Youre just russophobic and maybe even racist.

[Styggnacke]

in belgium there is just a small minority of germans yet belgium did of respect to germans german as an official language. Stop treating russians like they are muslims or any other immigrants.

Russians who came to Latvia after WWII are immigrants just as much as Africans in Western Europe, like it or not.

Fact is russians lived there 100s of years and they have no right to citizenship

Bullshit. Russians who lived or had ancestors who lived in Estonia or Latvia before 1940 had equal rights to citizenship as ethnic Estonians and Latvians after the fall of the Soviet Union. Why are you lying?

and their language is not official.

No, because people with citizenship in Latvia voted against it in a referendum as late as in 2012.

Youre just russophobic and maybe even racist.

No, I'm not.

[sevruk]

Russians who came to Latvia after WWII are immigrants just as much as Africans in Western Europe, like it or not.

No, they are not immigrants. Immigrants - people moving from one country to another. Russian move within a country

[Äike]

Why do people have to keep raining on the Baltic parade? Can't Russians just be happy for them instead of constantly trying to pull them down?

Well, Latvia is in a miserable state. Out of the 2 Baltic countries, Lithuania is in a OK-state, while both of them aren't comparable to their Northern neighbor.

No, they are not immigrants. Immigrants - people moving from one country to another. Russian move within a country

The Soviet Union was like the EU, with different states inside it. Estonia was the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (ESSR), while Russia was the RSSR, etc. The ESSR had more independence that modern-day Scotland has. Also, people couldn't just move here from a different SSR, they needed living permits. Immigration to rich "Western-like" areas like Estonia was high.

[sevruk]

The Soviet Union was like the EU, with different states inside it.

so modern Estonia also occupied EU?

Estonia was the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (ESSR), while Russia was the RSSR, etc. The ESSR had more independence that modern-day Scotland has.

Oh yes, this is the "bloody" Soviet occupation and Russification

Also, people couldn't just move here from a different SSR, they needed living permits.

Lol. In modern Russia, should also have "living permits" at a crossing for permanent residence from one region to another