Politics of the past: the use and abuse of history - Socialists ...

the language of instruction in schools, use of language in public
space or the symbolic issue of inclusion in government of parties
supported by Russian-speaking voters. Such a multicultural approach
will not by itself solve conflicts but it is a useful framework
for conflict-solving. In fact it is more than that: the political interaction
it creates helps foster the trust and feeling of commonality that
underlie a sustainable civic nation. Latvians and their political elites
have yet to take this decisive step towards multiculturalism. Among
many other things, this would presuppose tackling history in a new
manner. Although Latvians cannot change their past, they can still
choose what to make of it.
Postscript
A recent survey study looked at how Latvian schoolchildren perceive
the thorny historical issues, comparing schools where teaching
is in Latvian and those where Russian is the main language of
instruction (this largely coincides with the schoolchildren’s ethnolinguistic
identities). The results support the suggestion that radical
differences only concern some aspects of history, but not
others. Young Latvians from the two ethnolinguistic groups disagree
on the role of the Soviet troops, but not so much the role of
the German troops in Latvia during WWII; while the two groups
have opposing views of the Soviet period, there is no radical
difference in the assessment of the first Latvian Republic (1918-
1934) etc. In both surveyed groups, the majority did not recognize
the name of Konstantīns Čakste – a leader of the Latvian resistance
who fought against Soviet as well as German occupation.
Ignorance about the past, even those parts of it that can reconcile
and soothe old grievances, is, perhaps, Latvians’ greatest problem
with history per se.
153 Viktor Makarov