Nils Ušakovs says the issue of ethnicity in Latvia is complex but fear and suspicion over his Russian roots are unfounded

“It’s complicated,” is a phrase Nils Ušakovs uses often.

As the ethnic Russian mayor of Riga, capital city of a country that looks with extreme wariness to its large eastern neighbour, it is hardly surprising. Even spelling his name is not straightforward: Nil Ushakov is the transliteration from the Russian, but Nils Ušakovs is his official Latvian name.

The 38-year-old has been mayor of Riga, where about half of the population are Russian speakers, since 2009. But in Latvia, where ethnic policies and politics have always been contentious, the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in eastern Ukraine have made things even more complex.

In the new confrontation between Russia and the west, Riga is as close as it gets to a frontline. Latvia is a member of the EU and Nato, and in recent days there has been talk of the US deploying heavy weaponry there. But Russian money flows through the country; the nearby seaside resort of Jūrmala is the summer home of many rich Russians and a number of NGOs promote Russian culture. Many Latvian politicians whisper conspiratorially that the NGO activity is a front for the Kremlin’s spying activities.

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With one-third of the population ethnic Russian, there are lingering fears that while Russia could not pull off a full-blown Crimea scenario in Latvia, it could cause serious mischief. Few local Russians yearn for annexation, but many watch Moscow television and are sympathetic to the Kremlin. Their irritation is boosted by perceived unjust policies on the status of Russian language.

Much of the ethnic Latvian ruling elite view ethnic Russian politicians as potential Kremlin agents, and there is a deep-seated suspicion of Ušakovs.

During an interview in his office in Riga’s old town last month, he said such fears were ridiculous. “I was born here. It was my considered decision to take a Latvian passport. I’m a Latvian national; a Russian-speaking Latvian who is a patriot of my country.”

Events in Ukraine, however, have meant he now has to watch every word. During a trip to Moscow last year, he said in a television interview that Vladimir Putin was “the best Russian president for Latvia”. What he meant, he said later, was that bringing down the Putin regime would not necessarily bring anything better to power, but his words were taken as a show of support for the Russian president. He said he fully supports Ukrainian territorial integrity, “including Crimea”.

But semantics can have a big political impact here. Asked if he recognised the Soviet period of Latvian history as an occupation, he smiled wearily and said: “We believe there are no debates on the fact that Latvian independence was violated in a violent form by the strident usage of military force.”

So, is that an occupation?

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“Precise wording has become politics itself,” he said. “Whether it was an annexation, an occupation or an incorporation, better to leave that to historians. But nobody doubts that Latvia did not want to become part of the Soviet Union and was forced to.”

This, already, marks him as closer to the official Latvian government position on the Soviet period than to Moscow, which has continued to insist the territories voluntarily joined the Soviet Union during the second world war. He has also made some moves not likely to appeal to his core ethnic Russian electorate, such as a posting a selfie of himself with an American Abrams tank during a joint training exercise.

He has, however, criticised EU sanctions against Russia as ineffective and lashed out at Latvian politicians for not understanding the damage Russia’s counter-sanctions – such as banning EU foodstuffs – has caused to Latvia’s economy.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Riga, the capital of Latvia, where about half of the population are Russian speakers. Photograph: Jacques Pierre/hemispicture.co/Getty Images/Hemis.fr RM

In municipal politics, he can appeal to non-Russian voters and is widely popular among residents of Riga. Certainly, for all his Russian heritage, Ušakovs does not come from the Moscow school of staid public politics. He studied in Copenhagen, speaks Russian and Latvian, as well as fluent English. Ušakovs is a savvy social media user, running his own Twitter feed and frequently posting chatty updates on his Facebook page. Many whisper about his links to big business, but in general he is liked.



But for all this, at the national level, things are trickier. Although his party, Harmony, won the largest number of votes in 2011 and last autumn, both times it failed to attract large numbers of ethnic Latvian votes and was kept out of government by a coalition of parties supported more by ethnic Latvians.

“When we talk about national politics, it’s complicated for many reasons. It’s much easier to talk about bad Latvians or bad Russians than talk about fighting unemployment or facing other economic challenges, so politicians from both sides start abusing national rhetoric,” he said. “You become hostages of the rhetoric used when you deal with your own voters. This is bad from many perspectives.”

Ušakovs backed making Russian the second state language in 2011, a move that many ethnic Latvians say has ruled him out as someone they could vote for.

“It was complicated,” he said, referring to the hostile rhetoric that followed Harmony winning the largest number of votes but being shut out of government in 2011. “Our voters became really mad and participating in this referendum became a protest. And sometimes you have to be with your voters.”

He said he was now fully behind Latvian as the only language, but of the view that the government could do more to make life easier for Russian speakers, especially the older generation. “Latvian is a small language facing tough competition both from English and Russian, you have to protect it,” he said. “But show some psychological steps forward, for example saying you can apply for social support from the municipality in Russian.”

When Ušakovs gave a speech to a mainly ethnic Russian crowd on 9 May, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the second world war, the Latvian state language board said it would investigate him for speaking without Latvian translation. The event, celebrated by the ethnic Russian population, is shunned by Latvians who see it as the start of the Soviet occupation. Although he was cleared of any wrongdoing, the issue of the war still cuts a deep division throughout society.

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One 31-year-old ethnic Russian Riga resident, a marketing manager, said: “When my ethnic Latvian colleagues at work asked what I’d done on the weekend I said the family just gathered to remember my granddad who fought in the war and passed away recently. They all looked horrified, and asked me: ‘Do you really celebrate 9 May?’ We didn’t really talk about it after that but there was a kind of tension there.”



Both Ušakovs’ grandfathers fought in the war, and his family settled in Latvia in its aftermath. His current wife – his third – is an ethnic Latvian.



“As I understand, much of her family was called up and fought for the Germans,” he said. “And somehow we can live with this fact. It’s time to move on. This country has huge challenges to face in the future and we can only do it if we’re ethnically united.”

As he spoke during last week’s interview, sirens were frequently heard as the motorcades of David Cameron, Angela Merkel, and many other European leaders sped past. Riga was hosting an EU summit devoted to the Eastern Partnership countries; six former-Soviet countries.

The thorny issue of what to do about the resurgent Kremlin dominated the summit, and Ušakovs said the combination of Russian roots and European outlook could make him an important go-between. The polls suggest Latvian society is not ready for an ethnic Russian prime minister, but he believes this will change.

“Ten years ago, Russian mayors and vice-mayors sounded like science fiction, right now it’s just a part of our life,” he said. “It will take a lot of time and effort, but having a Russian prime minister is definitely possible.”