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organize an exhibition to show that Russians are an indigenous people in Latvia
who have made a significant contribution to Latvian culture, art and science. The
FHRUL’s motives in supporting the Orthodoxy and Old Believers in Latvia are
related to justifying its claims for a change in the language and citizenship
policies. Such claims are in line with Russia’s policy on compatriots living
abroad. 299
4.5.3 The Continental Hockey League
The Continental Hockey League (KHL) is another example of Russia’s efforts to
influence cultural life in Latvia. 300 It was founded in 2008, based on the Russian
Superleague, by adding a small number of teams from the countries of the
former-Soviet Union. Three teams, from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Latvia, were
initially invited to participate and four more have since been added. Since the reestablishment
in 2008 of the Latvian team, Dinamo Riga, it has taken a central
place on the Latvian sports scene. However, the KHL and Dinamo Riga were
established in the context of nostalgia for Soviet ice hockey traditions, as well as
ice hockey’s popularity and cultural interaction. 301 The establishment of the KHL
began at the political level. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister at that time,
stated: “I am not just supporting the KHL, I was its initiator, I invented it because
I thought that hockey has lost a lot since the end of competition between
Canadian and Soviet hockey”. 302 This fact is highlighted by how the project was
funded: most of the teams and the league itself are financed by Russia’s regional
governments or state-owned enterprises. It should be noted that the launch of
Dinamo Riga was made possible by financial support from Itera, a Russian gas
company. 303 Putin has pointed out that the KHL is a project that “[…] allows
thinking seriously about the renewal of a common humanitarian space on post-
Soviet territories – to unite people from former Soviet countries on the basis of
common interests”. 304
The impact of the KHL on contemporary Latvia can be assessed in several ways.
On the one hand, it is a political project by Russia aimed at integrating the post-
Soviet space. On the other hand, both Latvians and Russians are united in the
Dinamo home arena in Riga, and therefore, to some extent, it serves as a tool for
the integration of society in Latvia. Another aspect is the economic lobbying
carried out by the Russian gas company, Itera Latvia. As Dinamo Riga is
299
Ibid.
300 See KHL, http://www.khl.ru/.
301 Pelnens G., [ed.] (2010): op. cit. p. 176.
302 See “Putin hopes that KHL will be all-European league”,
http://sport.rian.ru/sport/20090720/178015244.html.
303 Pelnens G., [ed.] (2010): op. cit. p. 176.
304 “ Vladimir Putin wants enlargement of KHL”, Komersant № 183. 9 October 2008,
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspxDocsID=1037967.
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