Anthropologist claims information gap between Latvian and Russian speakers

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Russian speakers didn't receive news about the state of emergency in Latvia as fast as Latvian speakers did, said Aivita Putniņa, a professor of anthropology at the University of Latvia in an interview with Latvian Radio March 19.

"This is an interesting time for anthropologists, as we can observe the public, we can observe the practical values and priorities we have," she said.

According to Putniņa, people who speak languages other than Latvian didn't receive news about the state of emergency as fast as Latvian speakers did. "I observed this in the neighborhood where I live, which has mostly Russian speakers living here. The shelves at the stores became empty later, and people changed their habits rather slowly," she said.

Putniņa also said that kindergartens with Russian speakers were quite busy even after a state of emergency was declared in Latvia, while the Latvian-speaking institutions already saw attendance decrease.

"It is not surprising, as in Latvia we lack a mechanism to inform people living in the Russian-speaking environment," said Putniņa.

A state of emergency was declared in Latvia on March 12 as a government response to the looming Covid-19 pandemic. 

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