Yu Lukin don't forget to turn off the light. Don't forget to turn off the lights

A few days ago, Nina Solovyova, a well-known LGBT activist and human rights activist in Kuban, left Russia.

I recorded this interview while sitting in the kitchen of Nina’s house (just in the tradition of the Soviet Union) two days before departure, and our conversation, of course, began with the fact that she was worried about whether she would be able to freely leave her homeland. But everything went well, we saw Nina off at Krasnodar airport, and she was already in Tbilisi.

So, let's talk "on the road". Exclusive.

Nina, the fact that you took such a serious step, changing your place of residence, you did not spread for the time being and only a narrow circle of acquaintances knew about it. Didn't any of the representatives of government agencies ask you questions about why you are applying for a foreign passport?

No, oddly enough, just before leaving there was a lull on the part of the FSB, although my friends were called into their offices and asked questions. Including you, Andrey.

Well, what to do, this is their job. Although, do you think they did such a bad job? Or they simply squeeze you out of Russia and simply give you the opportunity to leave.

On the one hand, yes, activists are being squeezed out of Russia, this has already happened to many of my good friends. On the other hand, yes, they work very poorly. It’s just that in our country people from the 20th century are trying to control people from the 21st century. The machine of government agencies is very old and works very poorly.

It's no secret that Gov. authorities in Russia (and in former USSR) were created to combat dissent, although it is these bodies that must abide by the law in the first place.

On the one hand, they want to suppress any free thought, on the other hand, they do not want to comply with the law, they want to adjust the law to suit themselves. On the other hand, this machine does not keep up with modernity, because the world is developing so quickly that they cannot keep up.

-Nina, you’re leaving, what do you think will happen here next? In Russia?

As I see it, there will be no revolution! I see that there are two development options here. Either the system will devour itself, or there will be a country of decline. But I don't want to wait anymore have a bright day, when it all dies down and then airs out. I will watch Russia from another normal, free country.

Nina, what about your family? Mom and grandmother stay here. Don't you feel that they are kind of hostages of the system?

I will do everything in my power to get them out of Russia as quickly as possible. I believe that my departure is salvation for them.

- Nina, your forecast is Putin forever?

No? Putinism within the population will be very difficult to eradicate. A lot of work will need to be done later.

- I believe that this is not Putinism, but an ordinary scoop in the minds of the population.

Actually the terminology is not too important in this case.

You are leaving, but of course you will keep an eye on Russia. Very soon there will be presidential elections in Russia. Now Yavlinsky, Zyuganov, Zhirinovsky, Navalny have already come forward... But we all know who will win. And Navalny is your president?

I don’t agree with Navalny in many ways, but he is the best of evils.

- Let's talk about our personal lives, if you don't mind.
- Did “activism” interfere with your personal life?

Yes, and he got in the way a lot.

- Now would you decide what you chose - activism or a quiet personal life?

Very complex issue. (lights a cigarette nervously). I chose evacuation.

Then the question is, why not internal emigration (as it is now and what many people live with now), but evacuation? Why not home, family, but evacuation.

Let's start with your loved one. The people who were close to me could not stand my trials, arrests, and struggles. They just said - Nina, everything is fine with you, but I’m already tired of waiting 10 days for you to return to the penitentiary. All this is difficult to survive. And on many issues we did not agree.

Maybe you should choose those who are on the same side of the barricades with you and who understand and accept your worldview?

Yes, that is right.

- Is activism a profession?

- Anyone can?

Of course not!

- Nina, when dissidents left the USSR, they understood that they were leaving forever. Many activists who fled Russia in the last few years understand that they left forever (at least until the end of Putin). Are you, Nina, leaving forever?

I really hope so! I will miss Krasnodar.

In a new place, on hospitable Georgian soil, Nina Solovyova is now doing well. And I really want to wish her good luck in the future.

Those who are still thinking about whether or not to leave Russia, if you are still here, leave while you have the opportunity.
We need to live now, and not in the bright future of a country of general stability.

All photographs are from the personal archive of Nina Solovyova. Any reprint of this post ONLY with the permission of the author and indicating an active link to the post.

From the series “Autumn Marathon”

What day do you prefer, of course, Tuesday, how so?
On this day you can close the library, even famous museums The Louvre is closed on Tuesday, a day off. It’s so nice to announce that tomorrow is a day off, take the key, put it in the lock, and lock the room, and put the key in your pocket. And feel free. And then take a briefcase, or a bag, at least a large package, take it and leave. A wonderful moment, you need to take it, and whatever else you want. This means you can take it, you stretch out your hand and take it. And now you can go out, no one will object, much less return you, no one and nothing interferes, and will not interfere. And if it’s possible, then there’s no need to rush. Walking there and back, seemingly on business, is actually a thoughtless, chaotic movement. Movement is life, even chaotic movement remains life, although a little more nice life. I forgot something, to return, of course, with obvious impatience, to be sure, one glance is enough. How fun this is!.. Oh, it seems I forgot to close it. A table, a window, a closet, whatever. You are on your own, you are presented to yourself, not bound by anything. It’s good to leave, go through one door and another. One corridor, another, what a confident step. It’s good to turn your back and not think about what’s behind you. You don’t have to think about who’s behind you either. It’s good to leave, really, because you can always come back. Yes, if it suddenly pops into your head, you go out, turn around, go in. But no one comes in, of course, unless there is an unexpected call, extreme situation. The pleasant lies precisely in this leaving, in the leaving itself, in its non-connectedness. I can't stay. Not because I can’t work after five or six. I can work even after seven, even after eight, but I can’t stay. After all, this means that leaving, namely leaving, will not take place.
The small holiday will be cancelled.
Will leaving be replaced by arrival?
That's right, it will change. It’s true, we’ll have to go back, but that’s still some time away!.. we still have to live to see tomorrow. Why rush to live? We must live the moments for a long time. Yes, and in general, the arrival, the return, is good because it prepares a new small holiday, a new departure. Well, whatever you want, I went, the door comes and closes. Leaving means you are free. This means you don’t have to pay for care, but that’s small miracle. This means that it is the last in order, but not the last in importance, no need to think. When leaving, there is no need to think, we are all equal here, cheerful, relaxed. That’s right, leaving for good, leaving to leave, to close the door behind you forever, the sensations are completely different. Should I go somewhere? I want to go out, close it, leave, why feel out of place. You can linger, there are excuses, you need to convey here, you need to show there. But it’s all fast, fleeting, come on, come on, come on. Moreover, they hint, distract you with your not very important questions and questions. You leave, but immediately where to go, where to go. Feel unnecessary, felt, well, keep up the good work.
A fleeting feeling of freedom.
Or is freedom fleeting, in itself, otherwise? What would have happened otherwise, sitting and waiting, they were told to wait. Tomorrow is Saturday, no, tomorrow is Sunday, I was told to come. Okay, there are checkers. The working atmosphere is always prohibited, of course, checkers are also prohibited. What’s good about care is that there are no restrictions. I inhaled, what are we inhaling there, lightness, cheerfulness, optimism. Is it really that important? If there are no prohibitions, I will breathe in pessimism and reach the point of skepticism. And I will be pleasantly surprised, there is a place for skepticism in life. Colleagues can show a bit of skepticism, this is today. And tomorrow, the same amount of vigor. Leaving frees you from the shackles of rationality. You can change, change, even rush about, I am now, just for one minute, that’s it, I’m not there. But one movement is required: you need to press the switch button. Just extend your hand?
Why not leave the light bulb on.
Try it, a creaky voice is immediately heard, what is he talking about? It’s clear, as always, the boss wants to ruin your little holiday. As always, he will spoil his mood, and what is this strange manner, ruin your mood.
Feelings come and go.
You grab the boss’s hand, squeeze it tightly, shake it, how grateful I am to you, how!.. He tries to break free, and finally succeeds. And you’re already at the door, out of the corner of your eye you notice the remnants of hair standing on end, on your full face... Feelings creeping in? drive away, Ivan Ivanovich, drive away.

Baltic - The last one to fly away! Don't forget to turn off the lights at the airport.

GOBLIN "The end of Latvia, or the inglorious death of the Baltic "tiger"".

Leaving the USSR, we were looking for new USSR, only richer. We thought Europe was sweet and cool...

Remember the old joke about Ukraine? - says Latvian economist Alexander Gaponenko. — Putin comes to Kuchma and asks: how much can you buy an independent one? And Kuchma answered: do you want people or without people? It's cheaper without people! Putin figured it out and said: well, let’s do it without people. And Kuchma told him: then wait another three years. Sad joke. I often remember him here in Latvia. My country, where I am, by the way, a “non-citizen,” can be bought cheaply and right now. Latvia is a desert. A state without people.

Gaponenko is not guilty of exaggeration. Once noisy and even brilliant (by Soviet standards) Riga is now boring to the point of yawning, provincial town, where a few passers-by quietly move along the clean streets. The feeling of eternal Sunday, as if the whole family had gone out of town. In restaurants in the Old Town, elderly girls selling their beauty conduct delicate love negotiations in English with elderly Western tourists. In half-empty nightclubs, where even the bartenders speak in a half-whisper, lonely business travelers and “guests of the capital” drown out their melancholy with the balm of Riga.

That's what! Riga, compared to its periphery, is, one might say, “seething,” a Russian-speaking taxi driver told me. - Go to some Liepaja - that’s where the cemetery is! Dead city. It's even scary at night. I want to shout: “People! Where are you?" And they are all there, in the West, picking strawberries somewhere in Ireland, working as nannies in England or laborers in Germany. Our people are missing. I recently went to a friend’s birthday party - relatives gathered, only young women with children, decorous, decent. I say: where are the husbands? And the answer was: to work in Europe. Here, by God, it’s like in some Tajikistan: wives live without husbands. A man gets married, has children, and then leaves as a guest worker somewhere in the West, for example, in Dublin. There's even a joke. Conversation at the ticket counter: “Tu tickets tu Dublin!” - “Where the hell?” - “Damn right there!”

Even the Second World War did not cause such demographic damage to Latvia as joining the European Union. The republic emerged from the USSR with a population of 2.7 million people. The results of the latest census, which took place in March of this year and was extended (in desperation!) until June, are deplorable. In order to stretch the numbers (and the distribution of European benefits and quotas depends on them), an Internet census and a specific formulation “a resident of Latvia who has lived abroad for more than a year” were introduced. But, despite all the tricks, the authorities were able to increase the official figure to only 2.2 million people. Although demographers are confident that the real figure is 1.8 million (one district of Moscow). And this despite the abundance of magnificent territories with ideal ecology and mild climate! (For one Latvian 10 times more land, than per one Dutchman.)

Latvia, a country with a failed future, is sinking in complete silence. How the locals joke bitterly: “The last one to fly away! Don't forget to turn off the lights at the airport."
The Russian Empire bought the city of Riga, along with Livonia, from Sweden for “eternal possession” (!) in 1721 following the results of the Northern War, which completely changed the balance of power in the Baltic in favor of Russia. Although our troops took Riga back in 1710, under the Treaty of Nystadt Russia had to pay the Swedes 2 million silver thalers in cash. Crazy money for those times! Then it seemed that the game was worth the candle. Hardworking, calm people, the German spirit of pragmatism (the nobility were Baltic Germans, while the Latvians were serfs) and, most importantly, access to the sea, to Europe. And although they don’t like to remember this in Latvia, it is Russia that the Latvian people owe the national unification and restoration of lands (the subsequent annexation of Latgale, Zemgale and Courland).

The 19th century was marked by rapid industrial development in the Baltic. The Empire did not skimp on the development of the outskirts. 1861 - first Railway between Riga and Daugavpils. 1862 - opening of the Riga Polytechnic School, the country's first polytechnic university, the purpose of which was to provide engineering personnel for the rapidly growing production. 1869 - creation of the famous Russo-Balt (Russian-Baltic Carriage Plant), which produced carriages, agricultural machines, kerosene engines, and ships. And, most importantly, the first (!) Russian car “Russo-Balt”, which carried Emperor Nicholas II. Even then, Latvia was considered a showcase of success Russian Empire. And later it became a symbol of the prosperity of the USSR.

IN Soviet time Golden rain fell on Latvia. After large-scale industrialization, the small republic took third place in the country, right after Moscow and Leningrad regions, as the most industrialized region. (This is despite the fact that the population of the republic was only 1% of the country's population.) Absolutely everything was produced here - minibuses, radios, airplanes, trams, cars, electric trains, ships, Appliances, medicines, textiles and knitwear, cosmetics, furniture. And what beautiful enterprises they were, thundering throughout the country! The giant VEF plant, which employed 20 thousand people, is the largest electrical engineering enterprise in the USSR, exporting products to 42 countries of the world! Riga Radio Plant named after Popov. The pioneer of the Soviet semiconductor microelectronic industry is the famous Alpha plant, whose products were used in aircraft construction and in secret space developments. “RAF”, which flooded the Union with minibuses that were excellent for those times!

When Latvia gained independence virtually bloodlessly in 1991, it seemed that there was no need to worry about it. It inherited a magnificent legacy from the USSR - advanced industry, qualified personnel and high scientific potential (15 research institutes operated on the territory of the republic). In terms of GDP per capita, Latvia occupied a respectable 40th place in the world (higher than Ireland). Why, after 20 years, did the small, proud republic find itself in such desperate economic situation, and all the fruits turned into stones? Or as the ex-president of the republic Guntis Ulmanis put it: “Where does our Latvia have such a hole in its pants?”

HOW THEY GOT TO LIFE LIKE THIS

When the rulers of Latvia gained independence, they didn’t really understand what it was, says Juris Paiders, chairman of the Union of Journalists of Latvia. “They prepared so long and hard to fight for freedom, and suddenly bang!” - independence. What should we do with it? The first bright thought is to steal, cut up the Soviet legacy.

Why was industry, one of the most advanced for that time, destroyed? Why did the government deliberately ruin world-class enterprises? What is the essence of the game? Everything is explained simply, says economist Einars Graudins. — Soviet corporations were concentrated great amount highly qualified work force- mostly Russians and visitors from different places THE USSR. In the factories, the movement for the preservation of Soviet Union, because in 1991 people understood perfectly well what kind of collapse everything was heading for. In order to eliminate the political enemy and at the same time make money on the cut, it was decided to destroy all the factories. By depriving people of work, the authorities cut off a whole layer of political thought.

The new authorities specifically closed all the factories so that there would be no working class, which means there would be no indignation, and most importantly, so that the Russians would leave, recalls Ilya Gerchikov, president of the famous cosmetic company Dzintars, the only surviving Soviet enterprise. — A mass exodus of the population has begun. Only with Soviet army 200 - 250 thousand people left. It’s bitter to say, but the country was ruined and brought to beggary by unprofessional people who exclusively do not love their Latvia. They had one goal - to disassemble, steal, distribute, and they didn’t care about own people. And what factories there were! In 1989, the USSR, due to our Soviet stupidity, updated the equipment of most Latvian enterprises. Huge amounts of money have been invested here, hundreds of millions of rubles!

The struggle only for the equipment of the RAF minibus plant lasted 10 years after its destruction, says economist Einars Graudins. — As a result, the machines were exported outside the country. Military factories had high-precision equipment, machines that could be used for a hundred years by simply changing them software. After privatization they were sold abroad. And how intellectual property was destroyed! Even components were produced in Latvia spaceship"Buran". These were the highest technological achievements, still not outdated! What do we have now? At the famous Alfa plant there is a supermarket, at VEF there is shopping mall. And what did they do with the Red Banner Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers, world famous educational institution?! In many African, Asian and Latin American countries, presidents of national airlines and airport managers are graduates of this university. He made money by teaching foreign students. But the university was Russian-language, and in 1999 it was simply liquidated!

By the time of the “cutting up” and division of Soviet property, the Latvian diaspora was rushing from behind the cordon to Latvia, sensing the smell of easy money and power that just had to be picked up. The “fifth column” arrived in whole detachments. The children and grandchildren of those who fled the country with the Nazis at the end of World War II demanded the return of real estate, compensation and privileges. These people at the genetic level hated everything Russian, with animal hatred.

VICTORY OF THE “FIFTH COLUMN”

“300 thousand Latvians, former collaborators, intellectuals and descendants of the Nazis lived abroad,” says economist Alexander Gaponenko. “The Americans fed them and gave them instructions. 30 thousand of the former elite came here, and their property was returned to them all. The new president Vaira Vike-Freberga was transported from Canada almost like Lenin, in a sealed plane. She didn’t even have Latvian citizenship (it was later given to her retroactively)... Western Latvians brought the main political trend - anti-Sovietism and Russophobia. Normal Soviet Latvians were ideologically broken - “Are you against your homeland?” The diaspora developed the concept of an ethnic hierarchy that deprived Russians of all rights. First: Latvian becomes the state language, and ignorance of it immediately cuts you off from government Russian bureaucracy and the intelligentsia. The second tool is citizenship, which is issued only to one’s own. And third: the concept of the origin of a state that was occupied by the USSR, which means that all the previous 70 years of existence are insignificant from a legal point of view. Those who came here during Soviet times are declared occupiers.

In 1991, when the independence of Latvia was supported by the entire country through a referendum, no one here divided people into Latvians and Russians, says doctor of economics Ilya Gerchikov. “Everyone voted “yes” in euphoria that we would finally get rid of the KGB and the communists. At the same time, everyone was promised equal rights. And after a couple of months, a package of laws was adopted, according to which Russians were deprived of citizenship. The process was controlled by the foreign Latvian diaspora, who completely hated everything connected with Soviet power. She didn’t care deeply about the composition of the country’s population; she a priori hated all Russians. Western Latvians arrived to reclaim their property and command the parade.

The gang of “returnees” was swarming with agents—secret and not so secret. Actually, there was nothing to be ashamed of anymore. Latvia has become a home base for the CIA and MI6. Until now, the main top-secret intelligence service of Latvia (the so-called Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution) is managed by the English (!) General Janis Kazocins. When he headed the most important post in Latvia, he also did not have Latvian citizenship!

The Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution is an unlimitedly influential structure of the country that controls the parliament, the national security council and the cabinet of ministers, says economist Ainar Komarovskis. “Basically, he controls everything.” It is the main agency for intelligence and counterintelligence, as well as for protecting the interests of NATO and the EU. Has the right to wiretap telephone conversations, recruiting agents. And a similar post was offered to British Brigadier General Janis Kazocins! I don’t even know what to compare this with. This is the same as putting a CIA director at the head of the FSB.

Probably, Mr. Kazocins is a very devoted person to his homeland! - I grin.

Of course, loyal, only to another homeland. And what? The person is simply on an indefinite business trip to complete a responsible task. We have such American, Canadian and European “business travelers” a dime a dozen here. People are just burning up at work.

Together with the foreign diaspora, a landing party of highly paid American economic consultants landed in Latvia.

In the early 90s, our American expert advisers suggested that we test the hypothesis that private business works more efficiently than state-owned businesses,” says Juris Paiders, chairman of the Union of Journalists of Latvia. — The “invisible hand” of the market itself, they say, will restore order. And if so, then everything must be privatized. Latvia has become an experimental site. While they were “privatizing” and stealing, they lived very richly. Then it ended with stealing. And then they decided to join the EU. Our government, as in “Operation Y” and other adventures of Shurik,” had only one option: “Everything has already been stolen, only theft will save us. We join the European Union, we make debts, and let them pay off.” This was their business plan.

“We weren’t looking for independence for ourselves when we left the USSR,” says Janis Urbanovich, leader of the Harmony Center parliamentary faction. — We have a strong internal slavery and a small complex offended person. Even having joined the EU, our state still continues to leave the Soviet Union by inertia. It seemed to us that Europe was sweet and cool, it was money. The Europeans will give us money, at least for roads, and we’ll steal it, and everyone will be fine. The same thing happened with NATO - if you ran away from the USSR, you had to hide somewhere. It is clear that we were not ready to join the EU, this selfish community. In the USSR there was moralization, the idea of ​​​​friendship of peoples: “Oh, how can we not help our comrades?” We thought that the EU was the same union of collectivism and mutual assistance, only richer. Leaving the USSR, we were looking for a new USSR.

The topic of energy saving is limitless, because as soon as we come up with some way to significantly save electricity, energy companies immediately come up with ways to take this saved money from us... And we start inventing again. Therefore, we need to introduce these ideas into our everyday life in a timely manner in order to “stay afloat.”

Modern technologies are breaking into our lives more and more rapidly. For example, set-top boxes from Apple from California. The whole world is waiting for a full-fledged Apple TV to appear on the market any day now. On the site http://apple-televizor.ru/ you will find the latest information about new TV products, smartphones, laptops, netbooks and much more. The latest news from the world of technology and the achievements of developers of televisions and other television products.

A simple way to save energy is to turn off all electrical equipment that is not in use. this moment. For example, in the entrances of houses the lamps are on around the clock, and in the corridors of apartments - the time for which they forgot to turn it off. Of course, it’s nice to go into a lighted entrance in the evening, but for whom the light is on in it all the time when we are not using it, i.e. more than 20 hours a day? What to do? If you forget to turn off the lights, then you should entrust this to simple devices that were invented long ago. Let's look at them.

Time delay switch

When the lamp is turned on, the time relay is activated, which, unlike us, cannot forget to turn off the light after a specified time interval, which can be adjusted from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. Thus, at night the lamp does not shine in vain, but it can always be turned on, since there is an illuminated switch on each floor. A person entering the entrance sees a red light, turns on the lighting and leisurely walks up the stairs to his floor. And after 10 minutes there is no need to turn off the light - everything will happen automatically. Now the light in an apartment building will be on for no more than 2-4 hours a day.

Infrared detector

A more economical way to prevent forgetting is a motion sensor (infrared detector). Built-in motion detectors can be installed in the same place where a regular light switch used to be. There are also mounted ones - by type street lamps. Detectors are triggered by a person if he approaches this detector and falls into its sensitivity zone.

The motion sensor also has a time delay relay, which works in the same way as described above. It is most convenient to install motion sensors in corridors and entrances, as well as to illuminate the courtyard of your home, i.e. there, in those places, leaving which we often forget to turn off the lights.

Twilight Switch

There are also motion sensors combined with a light sensor. They are programmed for illumination at which they will not allow lamps to be connected if there is enough lighting in the room. Or, on the contrary, they will turn on the lights when it begins to get dark, not forgetting to light the way for other residents of the house.

Dimmers

They are installed in place of a regular switch and they turn the lighting on and off, and also regulate the brightness of the lamps. Dimmers cannot turn off the lights on their own, but they can limit electricity consumption.

KP special correspondent Daria Aslamova tried to understand how one of the most developed Soviet republics- Latvia, having gained independence, 20 years later became virtually bankrupt.
Aslamova writes:

Remember the old joke about Ukraine? - Latvian economist Alexander Gaponenko tells me. - Putin comes to Kuchma and asks: how much can you buy an independent one? And Kuchma answered: do you want people or without people? It's cheaper without people! Putin figured it out and said: well, let’s do it without people. And Kuchma told him: then wait another three years. Sad joke. I often remember him here in Latvia. My country, where I am, by the way, a “non-citizen,” can be bought cheaply and right now. Latvia is a desert. A state without people.

Gaponenko is not guilty of exaggeration. Once noisy and even brilliant (by Soviet standards), Riga is now a boring provincial city, with a few passers-by quietly moving along its clean streets. The feeling of eternal Sunday, as if the whole family had gone out of town. In restaurants in the Old Town, elderly girls selling their beauty conduct delicate love negotiations in English with elderly Western tourists. In half-empty nightclubs, where even the bartenders speak in a half-whisper, lonely business travelers and “guests of the capital” drown out their melancholy with the balm of Riga.

That's what! Riga, compared to its periphery, is, one might say, “seething,” a Russian-speaking taxi driver told me. - Go to some Liepaja - that’s where the cemetery is! Dead city. It's even scary at night. I want to shout: “People! Where are you?" And they are all there, in the West - picking strawberries somewhere in Ireland, working as nannies in England or laborers in Germany. Our people are missing. I recently went to a friend’s birthday party - relatives gathered, only young women with children, decorous, decent. I say: where are the husbands? And the answer was: to work in Europe. Here, by God, it’s like in some Tajikistan: wives live without husbands. A man gets married, has children, and then leaves as a guest worker somewhere in the West, for example, in Dublin. There's even a joke. Conversation at the ticket counter: “Tu tickets tu Dublin!” - “Where the hell?” - “There, damn it!”

Even the Second World War did not cause such demographic damage to Latvia as joining the European Union. The republic emerged from the USSR with a population of 2.7 million people. The results of the latest census, which took place in March of this year and was extended (in desperation!) until June, are deplorable. In order to stretch the numbers (and the distribution of European benefits and quotas depends on them), an Internet census and a specific formulation “a resident of Latvia who has lived abroad for more than a year” were introduced. But, despite all the tricks, the authorities were able to increase the official figure to only 2.2 million people. Although demographers are confident that the real figure is 1.8 million (one district of Moscow). And this despite the abundance of magnificent territories with ideal ecology and mild climate! (One Latvian has 10 times more land than one Dutchman.)

Latvia, a country with a failed future, is sinking in complete silence. How the locals joke bitterly: “The last one to fly away! Don't forget to turn off the lights at the airport."