1: EXCERPT FROM CHAS 20 SEPTEMBER 2010

The presence of the Russian language is a peculiarity which we in Latvia need to utilise.

Latvia, who best understands the peculiarities of Russia, should make the most of these advantages and become a mediator in business contacts and in forming relations between western countries and Russia.

2: EXCERPT FROM CHAS 6 OCTOBER 2010

For Russian-speakers the so called ethnic problems– language, education in ones native language, voting rights for non-citizens etc., are no longer so heated, and it seems simply not relevant. Of course they are annoyances; they bring discomfort into our lives. But they are no longer so defining. In Latvia social and economic problems have worsened, which have moved FHRUL's hobby horse– the rights of national minorities– into the background.

3: EXCERPT FROM CHAS 26 FEBRUARY 2009

It is a paradox: the government is toughening up its requirements for knowledge of the state language while consecutively reducing the budget of the organisation which is responsible for the issuing of the vital ‘apliecības.’1 Here one does not need to be a political scientist to understand that they are artificially creating impedi- ments and obstacles for Russian-speakers who wish to acquire the required [language] category for their profession. What follows is simple: no language, no job; no job, no income. That means poverty which means the street.

Who does this benefit? It benefits those who don't need to sit an exam and who have, in the mean time, managed to secure a plush position in the state bureaucracy and local government.

4: EXCERPT FROM CHAS 11 DECEMBER 2008

The European Russian forum ‘The EU and Russia: New challenges’ was held in Brussels… One of the participants of the forum was the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Relations, and vice president of PACE Konstantin Kosachev. ‘Chas’ put a number of questions to him.

What role does the Russian diaspora have in various countries in the estranged relations between Russia and the EU? I hope the subject of the Russian world will have all the more meaning in Europe. But here it's important to stress that Russia would make a serious mistake if it tried to use the Russian diaspora in a primitive way as a ‘fifth column’.