Putin's “pig-like” Latvia threat is a chilling reminder of what's at stake in Ukraine
In the Ukraine war, Russia's military spending is as high as ever. Now the West is alarmed because the Kremlin leader is indirectly hinting at a possible attack on Latvia, a NATO member. It is a reminder of a growing danger to Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sometimes chooses downright bizarre occasions to launch his threats against the West. It was at Monday's meeting of the Russian Human Rights Council, where Putin expressed a new, deep concern. It was not of course about the human rights of the thousands of political prisoners in his own country, but about the Russian population living in neighboring Latvia, which happens to be a NATO member, having to take language tests.
Around 25,000 Russian citizens live there with permanent resident permits, most of them dating back to Soviet times. Since September, they have had to prove their basic knowledge of the Latvian language in a brief test in order to extend their permits. Those who fail the test or do not register for it are at risk of deportation. The test must be passed within two years.
For Putin — who cares nothing about the languages of Russia's non-Russian inhabitants — Latvia's policy is a scandal. Those who treat parts of their population "in such a pig-like manner" will in turn find "the same pig-like behavior" in their own country, he said.
It seems that the Russian president has now rediscovered the "protection of Russians" as the new thrust of his criticism of Western countries.
Putin used the alleged repression of Russians in Ukraine as a reason for his invasion. Baltic countries, where large minorities of Russian speakers live, fear that Putin's logic could soon affect them too. A quarter of Latvia's population identifies as ethnically Russian, but most of them have long since naturalized — and do not believe in Putin's "Russian world" vision.
We can state that it still remains unlikely that Russia will intervene militarily in a NATO country. But what we forget is that the same was said about Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Skeptics said that the plan was too risky and that the prospect of sanctions and long-term disadvantages for the Russian economy would deter Putin from launching an attack. But that turned out to be wishful thinking.
Putin is following his own logic and going as far as he can.
This can be seen from the very first days of the Ukraine war, when capturing Kyiv was at the top of Putin's agenda. In the first days of the Ukraine invasion, only the courageous efforts of the Ukrainian armed forces — and a lot of luck — prevented a Russian airlift to Hostomel airport north of Kyiv. If the Russians had managed to quickly deploy a massive military force in the Ukrainian capital, there might no longer be an independent Ukrainian state today.
Putin, who today presents himself as some kind of prince of peace, could only be prevented from taking the Ukrainian capital with massive resistance from the Ukrainians. [...]
— Read the full Die Welt article by Pavel Lokshin, translated into English by Worldcrunch.
1. Israel is considering what tactic to destroy the network of tunnels under Gaza allegedly used by Hamas?
2. What brought Kim Jong-un to tears as he spoke to a gathering of North Korean women?
3. Which former prime minister had to testify at a public hearing about the mishandling of COVID-19?
4. The Wikipedia page with the most views in 2023 was…. Barbenheimer / Deaths in 2023 / Taylor Swift / ChatGPT
[Answers at the bottom of this newsletter]
One of this week’s most viewed videos, Rockstar Games’ trailer for the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VIvideo game, gave the National French Police a little idea: a 25-second video on TikTok spoofing the game’s “No-Police Call” function, showing a fugitive chased by a police car, calling GTA’s trademark character Lester Crest — and magically not being pursued anymore. The clip ends with a policeman appearing in the car next to the fugitive and saying “real life isn't GTA, so now get off," as he handcuffs him.
• Taiwanese rock band investigated for lip-synching: Popular Taiwanese rock band Mayday is being investigated by Chinese authorities for allegedly lip-syncing during a concert in Shanghai last November. The band, which boasts a huge fan base in China and is sometimes dubbed the “Asian Beatles,” has denied the accusations.
• Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree hits No 1: Brenda Lee’s song Rockin’ Around the Christmas Treehas reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, dethroning Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You as the top Christmas song in the U.S. and breaking the record of the longest gap (65 years) between the song being released and hitting No 1.
• Hollywood actors ratify new strike-ending contract with studios: Hollywood’s actors have overwhelmingly voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their 118-day unprecedented strike. The deal, which was approved by 78% of the Screen Actors Guild’s members, includes more than $1 billion in new compensation and benefits as well as protections for actors from the use of artificial intelligence by studios.
• Libyan and Anatolian artifacts returned: Switzerland’s Federal Office of Culture has handed over a prehistoric marble sculpture believed to be more than 2,000 years old to Libya's embassy in Bern. The sculpture of a young woman’s head was found in a customs warehouse in Geneva in 2013 and legally confiscated by Swiss authorities on suspicion that it had come from a looted excavation. Meanwhile, at least 41 ancient artifacts, all considered significant works of Roman Period sculpting in Anatolia, were handed over to a Turkish delegation by Manhattan District Attorney’s Office at a ceremony in New York. Ths follows other similar handovers, and the British refusal to return to Greece the legendary Elgin marbles.
• Spanish cinema chain fined over snack ban: Spanish cinema chain Yelmo has been fined €30,000 by the Basque Country’s consumer affairs department for refusing entry to customers who bring their own snacks and drinks to the movies.
One of the European Commission's most expensive programs, Copernicus, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Not very well- known to the general public, it has come out of the shadows since the latest monthly bulletins announced record heat levels worldwide. Laura Berny reports for French daily Les Echos on the Earth's most powerful observatory at COP28.
Read the full story: Inside Copernicus, Where All The Data Of Climate Change Gets Captured And Crunched
French student Anaïs Remen won the Handitec 2023 competition’s first prize with Simply Lock, a system the 20-year-old invented to facilitate access to door locks for people suffering from tremors, visual impairments or other conditions that may impede their agility. The object is shaped like a funnel that goes inside the lock to stabilize the key and channel the user’s shaking. The young inventor is developing a recycled plastic version to be commercialized.
T’is the season for the Museum of the City of New York to showcase its sweet Gingerbread NYC exhibition which, for its second edition, includes iconic New York landmarks made of gingerbread, baked by 23 professionals and amateurs from across the five boroughs who spent 3,500 hours creating the structures.
• House Republicans leaders are expected to vote next week on U.S. President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry. Democrats continue to stand with Biden insisting that the inquiry has failed to provide sufficient evidence, while Republicans maintain that the administration's obstruction of evidence and witness testimony justifies further the inquiry.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with top Vietnam leaders to strengthen unity, friendship, and mutually beneficial cooperation. Vietnam is wary of their northern neighbor as they are one of many countries that lay claim to islets and outcrops in the South China Sea.
• Egypt will hold presidential elections on December 10-12. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has held power for more than 10 years and is looking to extend his grip on the country. Al-Sisi amended the Egyptian constitution in 2019 to allow presidents to run for a third term while extending terms from four to six years.
News quiz answers:
1. Israel is reportedly considering flooding Gaza’s underground tunnels with seawater in an attempt to disable their use. The IDF believes that the network of tunnels conceals the Hamas militant group’s weapons, fighters and Israeli hostages.
2. In an address to thousands of North Korean women, dictator Kim Jong Un was brought to tears by the nation’s declining birthrate. He asked the audience of mothers to stop this decline and to maintain harmony in the family.
3. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended a public inquiry into his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he apologized for having underestimated the scale and pace of the challenge,” but assuring the public that his government had done “their level best.”
4. Wikipedia released their top 25 most visited pages of 2023 — and the ChatGPTentry is leading the list with more than 49.4 million views.
✍️ Newsletter by Worldcrunch
Sign up here to receive our free daily Newsletter to your inbox (now six days/week!)
*Photo: Mayday/Instagram
