Viksne: Ukraine is fighting for a democratic world, the system in Russia is corrupt and dangerous

In an exclusive interview with The Geopost, Elina Viksne, a political Science expert from Latvia spoke about the difficulties of being Russia’s neighbor, Russian influence in the Baltic states and the importance of supporting Ukraine in this difficult time.

She has said that Russian propaganda is a well-known tool of Russia to extend its influence in the Baltic states, especially in Latvia.

She believes that it is very important for the West and the European Union to support Ukraine at this stage, as Ukraine is fighting for a democratic world.

“I think the Ukrainians are currently fighting not only for their country but also for a democratic world.”, Viksne told The Geopost, among other things.

Below you can find Elina Viksne’s full interview with The Geopost:

The Geopost: How is it to be a neighbor with Russia?

Elina Viksne: Not easy. Of course, it’s very hard at this point and time but Russia has been our neighbor always so we have learned a lot about them and made our actions according to the developments that have happened in Russia.

Of course, Russia has chosen a different way from Latvia and I think that for a certain period of time we have quite openly acknowledged Russia as our number one threat for national security. So, we have always been aware of the risks and threats that are coming from Russia and of course we introduces our policies, our measures to deal with those risks.

The Geopost: How present is the Russian influence in Baltic states?

Elina Viksne: It is a huge influence, it has always been there. Of course, it is mostly related to the fact that although Latvia was first established in 1980s, since 1940 until 1990s we we occupied by USSR (Russia), so we had a lot of Russian influence historically because of the occupation and of course until now everybody understands that Russia takes its sphere of influence very seriously.

All the borders of USSR, Latvia being a part of that, have Russian influence. Russian propaganda has always been a tool for Russia to try and influence our communities, our people, our politicians and all the society, by creating an image for Latvia as a ‘loser’ because of the collapse of Soviet Union. As a ‘loser’ because we are in the EU or NATO, or even as a threat to Russia because we are member of those institutions.

So, it is not an easy neighbor and has never been but we know our past, we know our history and we have been very well aware of that and introduced things to be ready if something escalates.

The Geopost: Do you think that after Putin, there will be another “Putin” or will Russia change?

Elina Viksne: It is a difficult question, of course no one knows. But from my perspective I think that if Putin goes away or dies or whatever then there can be some sort of regime change but I don’t feel like Russia will become a democratic country overnight if Putin disappears.

I think the system that has been built in Russia is very non democratic, very corrupt and very dangerous.

It is very vertical, it is not horizontal. So I think there’s a higher risk that we will have another dictator coming afterwards.

But of course it is not that I am advocating that Putin must stay, that would be the last thing I would wish but I don’t think the challenge will go away if Putin goes away. Large parts of the challenge might change but I think Russia’s history and Russia’s political system is very difficult for change to take place. There has to be something huge for Russia to change its course towards a more democratic country.

The Geopost: Why is it important to support Ukraine today? The West in general but especially the European Union.

Elina Viksne: I think the Ukrainians are currently fighting not only for their country but also for a democratic world.

I would also like to say that they are fighting for Russia’s future, because I think that when Ukrainians win there is a possibility for Russia to change. As we said before, it is not going to be an easy change, an overnight change but I think that Ukraine’s victory could help Russia change for better because from my perspective Russians are still living in the World War 2. They felt they were winners of World War 2 while actually they were aggressors at the time.

I think it is very important to support Ukraine so that we can live in a more democratic world where rules and laws are respected. I think everybody wants to live in a world where it can feel safe and I think that if Russians will not lose in Ukraine, the levels of their threats and risks will only arise and the world will be a much more dangerous place than it already is.

Latvia is doing everything it can to support Ukraine because we feel that Russia must be defeated in Ukraine and we believe that Ukrainians can do it.

The Geopost: How important is Finland and Sweden’s application in NATO for the Baltic states?

Elina Viksne: That’s very important. We are happy to have them in NATO. Because if you look on the map of NATO, Baltic countries are like in the border line with Russia.

If Finland and Sweden join, we will definitely feel safer. Of course, we never considered Finland and Sweden as dangerous countries but now we feel that we can share our security with them and we will benefit, our region will become safer. If something happens, we know that our assistance is just across the Baltic sea on the North. So we are really looking forward to have them in NATO.

Views expressed in this interview are personal and do not represent none of her former or current employers”

/The Geopost/

The Geopost

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