Latvia refuses to learn Russian

Schools in Latvia will give up Russian as a second foreign language. Delfi tells about it .

Latvian government is preparing to adopt a ban on studying Russian as a second foreign language on 23 April. According to the decision of the authorities, from 2026/2027 school year schools will have to gradually offer pupils as a second foreign language one of the official languages of the European Union or European Economic Area member states, or another foreign language, but not Russian, - said in the message.

It is indicated that in the course of public discussion of the forthcoming novelty the Ministry of Education of Latvia received more than 300 objections from individuals.

They protested against the ban on the Russian language, explaining that "children should not be restricted in the study of their native language", more objectors said that it is "politically incorrect" to refuse to learn Russian.

It should be noted that in Latvia the first foreign language is learnt in schools from the first grade. The second foreign language is learnt from the end of primary school. Until now, Russian has been chosen as a second foreign language in Latvia because schools lack teachers of other languages.