Russian consulate employee in Liepāja threatens Latvia like Putin did Ukraine before invading
A video has surfaced on the internet in which an employee of the Russian consulate in Liepāja threatens protesters against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in exactly the same words as Putin threatened Ukraine in his February 21 speech.
This recording was apparently made a few days after the outbreak of the war, because a Russian consulate employee, coming out of the consulate building on Liepu Street, directly opposite Piejūras Park, addresses the picketers with the words (in Russian): "Gentlemen... Good evening! So then. Yesterday a monument was desecrated in Riga (apparently referring to how the base of the Occupation Monument was painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag), and I would hate to see something like this happen in our hometown. (In a louder voice and a more threatening tone.) I have come here to warn your associates. If such a situation happens in Liepāja, the perpetrators will be punished... Got it?... Then good day to you!"
Why did I find this post worthy of wider attention? There are several moments in this performance by the consulate employee that deserve attention. Some kind of "associates" are invoked. This vision fits exactly with the Kremlin narrative that it is not any sane, intelligent and morally upright person who opposes Russian aggression in Ukraine, but some narrow group of "nationalists" whose "associates" are orchestrating these "provocations". Including picketing against this invasion.
But the main thing to note is this threat: the perpetrators will be punished! The perpetrators are understood to be these "associates". I would like to clarify, as in the famous film about Stierlitz: and from here, please, in more detail! How will they be punished and, above all, who will punish them? The excuses that there is an article in the Latvian Criminal Law for desecrating monuments and that the Latvian police can punish do not stand up to criticism in this case, because the whole speech of this employee was in a completely different tone. We will punish those who we deem it necessary to punish. This tone was entirely consistent with the message that the Russian dictator Putin broadcast in his television address on February 21.
When I listened to Putin's speech on that unforgettable Monday evening, in which he justified the necessity of the liquidation of Ukrainian statehood, it was the phrase - all "Nazi" criminals, and above all those responsible for the tragedy in Odesa in May 2014, are well known to us and will be severely punished - that became the last straw that removed my last doubts about the inevitability of war.
This phrase also clearly marked Putin's intentions in post-war Ukraine if everything had gone as planned. That is to say, if the Ukrainian army had collapsed, if the administration had been overwhelmed by panic and chaos, if President Zelensky had fled or been arrested, and if there had been a victory parade on Sunday in Khreschatyk (the invasion began on Thursday). In that case, in the days and weeks that followed, widespread show trials would have begun throughout Ukraine against the "Nazis", with the fabricated "evidence" so popular in Russian jurisprudence and intimidatingly harsh punishments.
The fact that the Ukrainian state structures, the army and Zelensky demonstrated admirable cohesion and coordination was undoubtedly a surprise to Putin. This is evidenced by his surprised appeal to the Ukrainian military leadership in the first days after the invasion: what are you waiting for? Take power into your own hands! Take it from those Nazis and drug addicts!
The behavior and statements of the employee of the Russian consulate in Liepāja show that at that time (in the first days of the war) he was absolutely convinced that soon the "Nazi and drug addict" government in Latvia too would be overthrown and replaced by the Ždanoka "government" in Riga and Liepāja would again have a Russian army base, just as in his beloved Soviet times. That was the plan if everything had gone as planned in Ukraine.
This video shows very clearly what Russian chauvinists and imperialists of all types are hoping for. The whole demeanor and tone of this worker conveys an undisguised lordliness and arrogance. For the time being, we are still talking to you politely, calling you gentlemen and wishing you a good evening, but soon everything will change fundamentally. So get ready. Good day to you, which is said with undisguised sarcasm on such occasions. It is not even worth mentioning that if Liepāja is the native city of this employee, then in his 40+ years he must have learnt Latvian, but he will not speak it. Get used to it, gentlemen, get used to the new order that will soon be in place.
Clearly, this tone would only have become more domineering and arrogant if Russia's invasion of Ukraine had unfolded according to the Kremlin's script. Fortunately, the heroism of the Ukrainian army has put an end to these plans, but the threat of them coming true has not yet been completely averted.