Learning the Latvian Language?

Latvia, like many nations in Eastern Europe, has a complicated history: and likewise a complicated future.

The talk of Latvia this week is its new citizenship laws, and especially the requirement that citizens speak Latvian. The new citizenship test gives prospective citizens three chances to pass a language test, now set at a higher level.

It doesn't sound too much to expect, right? - if you hold a Latvian passport, you should be able to speak Latvian. But the history of Latvia - including its long period of occupation, explained in its Museum of Occupation, has meant that more than 20% of the population are Russian-speaking rather than Latvian.

It is, of course, a complicated question. Personally, I think that those who decide to live in a country and want to have the benefits of its citizenship should be required to learn the local language. I've lived in several non-English-speaking countries but wouldn't dream of claiming to belong there unless I'd mastered the language. Easy for me to say, but the historical circumstances of Latvia meant that during the long Soviet occupation, many Russian-speaking residents arrived.

I don't know what the answer really is: do you? Let us know your opinion!