In what place is Latvia? It is obvious in what...

Einars Graudins’s report

Good afternoon, hospitable Armenia! Good afternoon, the capital of Yerevan!

Good afternoon all present! Many thanks to organizers for the invitation and the given opportunity to act, for me it is a great honour.

As the conference name is “Armenia: Geopolitical and integration prospects”, I suggest to consider the aspects and results of integration into the so-called “world community” of Latvia as only 20 years ago we were the representatives of the fraternal republics of the USSR. Now we are representatives of the different states going on the way of integration into the world community, looking for the way of economic and political development in the global world. There are pluses and minuses in each way. There will be wise a state which will be able to consider negative factors of integration and to keep national authenticity of the people.

According to geopolitical installations of the USA and informal decisions of old members – participants of EU, on March 29, 2004 Latvia entered the military block of NATO without a public referendum. Then, being guided by obviously fixed results of a referendum, on May 1, 2004 became the full member of EU.

On December 21, 2007 it joined the Schengen area and since December 21 of the same year cancelled the border control on overland and sea borders. Control at the airports was cancelled since March 30, 2008.

On January 1, 2014 Latvia once again without a national referendum will be included into the European zone. According to all indicators our country can safely carry itself to the Western civilization and “gold billion” of our planet. But is everything so good?

For example, using the fixed facts, today it is possible to write the book “about success” that the present prime minister of Latvia made in a co-authorship with some Swedish citizen.

Let's return to a real situation and the real facts. According to the Daily Business newspaper as for 2011 four Scandinavian banks – Swedbank, SEB, Nordea and DnBNord supervised more than 50% of a segment of the market in the bank sphere, by my calculations today already about 75%.

Actually the Scandinavian banks own all financial system of Latvia and who owns finance, that owns the country — an axiom known since times of the first Rothschild.
In the XXI century the basic role in economy is played by telecommunications, not for nothing they say that today the main cage of macroeconomic is virtual firm in the digital environment. Two giants of the communication industry of Latvia Lattelecom and the mobile operator LMT belong to the Swedish companies for 49%, in the first case to TeliaSonera, in the second – TeliaSonera AB and Sonera Holding B.V.

Foreigners completely supervise the market of telecommunications of Latvia.

In the sphere of mass media the Swedish MTG group bought up the main channels of commercial TV and supervises 60-65% of the advertising market of television.

Two of three leaders and perspective Internet portals TVNET belongs to the Norwegian company Schibsted Media Group and apollo.lv — to the Finnish concern Sanoma Oyj.

More than 50% of all retail trade of Latvia are supervised by two networks of supermarkets from which the second-large Rimi Latvia belongs to the Swedish ICA AB.

In realization of the press and small goods absolutely the dominant position is occupied by the Norwegian Narvesen.

According to Council of the competition, more than 70% of the small wholesale market of fuel — gas stations belong to three companies, two of which are foreign: Canadian Statoil Fuel & Retail and Finnish Neste Oil.

From 13 to 30% of national wealth of Latvia – the woods is also in the hands of foreigners, nobody knows the actual figures. The biggest owner of the wood in our country is the Scandinavian firm Bergvik Skog.

The fifth part of the Latvian land, including the best agricultural grounds, belongs to foreigners or structures which are under their control. By our calculations it is more about 30%, the actual situation can be worse.

About 5 billion lati of the credits are given to house farms of Latvia that equal to annual budget of the country. Thus, practically all economically active population of the country has debts for some decades forward which will be inherited by children. In 2012 on the average 27% of house farms were late with payments on the credits and according to official figures of the Central statistical management, 85% of house farms have difficulties with payment of current accounts, including for utilities, schools and kindergartens, food.

According to the report of Global Wealth Report prepared by the company Allianz it appeared that Latvia is on the fourth place in ten EU countries the inhabitants of which have the largest debts. The debt on the credits and other obligations of the average Latvian makes about 4 thousand Euros and to extinguish the debt the average Latvian should give all the savings in a triple size.

In comparison with the neighbouring countries of the Baltic States, the position of inhabitants of Latvia in the scheme “debt size – private financial means” look in the most unenviable way. In Latvia this indicator counting on one inhabitant makes 4000 Euros — 1400 Euros, in Estonia – 5900 Euros — 9700 Euros, in Lithuania – 3300 Euros — 4100 Euros.

The economic crisis of 2008 in Latvia was one of the heaviest in the world. Unemployment from 5% in January, 2008 increased to 16,6% in December, 2010. These are official figures.
With all responsibility the author of performance assures that there was every third able-bodied member of society without work in Latvia. For the last 10 – 15 years the country was left by about 400 000 people that is equal 1/4 — 1/5 parts of the population as a whole. In 2011 according to the official calculations of scientific Latvian higher education institutions the country was left by 37 000 people. We lose one city in a year.

The head of the Central Land Commission of 1997-2001 years Aivars Tiesnesis reasonably declared in interview to the Diena newspaper on March 27 of this year: “Almost all normal people left, there are losers and incapable who are left here”. Latvia is in the deepest demographic hole and actually it is the accident of national scale. Latvia for years of membership in EU lost several times more human resources, than at the time of World War II.

During the crisis the gross domestic product of Latvia fell to 25% and economy falling in 2009 made 18%. The figures are more than, for example, damage of Belgium during World War II.

On December 19, 2008 the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and some EU countries agreed about providing the help to the Republic of Latvia in the sum of 7,5 billion Euro. Till 2011 Latvia within “help” received from so-called “international donors” 4,4 billion Euro from which 38,5% were used for repayment of a public debt. The closed debt ring was formed.

In 2008 the government of Latvia nationalized the largest bank of the country belonging to the national capital – Parex bank. For so-called “rescue” of backbone bank the money which has been saved up in the social budget was used. So they destroyed the penultimate competitor of the Scandinavian banks and at the same time deprived of pension of future pensioners.

The last competitor to the Swedes in the banking sector was the Latvian Savings bank with the centenary history, belonging to Russians, which was made artificially bankrupt some years later.

The same things happened to national airline AIR BALTIC — the main competitor of SAS in the region. In 2012 the government of Latvia sold to the Scandinavian bank structures the only bank of 100% belonging to the state — the Latvian mortgage and land bank. By the way, the bank which worked with stable indicators of profit. Scandinavians answered a question of the price and an amount of transaction that it is confidential commercial information.

Also the foreign capital in Latvia dominates in insurance business, among car dealers, the beer industry. Today it is easier to list that remained behind the national capital. On the verge of bankruptcy there is the oldest and only metallurgical plant in Baltic – Liepajas Metalurgs.

All sugar plants of Latvia were closed on the order of EU and their brands were bought by the Scandinavian structures. For example, Jelgavas cukurs belongs today to Dan Sukker which under an old brand sells the sugar from Europe. All money allocated with EU for development of fishing fleet, actually can be used only on cutting of harvesting vessels. Thus, in Latvia suddenly were destroyed the competitors of Europe and liquidated two historical branches of economy – sugar and fish.

Since 90th years, Latvia steadily has negative balance of foreign trade. We import more than we export, we lost sales markets in Russia and in CIS countries, but didn't get them in the West. We are unique even to the Western measures: personnel of the Latvian government are coordinated with the ambassador of the USA in Latvia, and foreign policy vectors are written for us in State department of Washington. Economically we are given up with EU, but all fiscal and monetary policy in the country is defined by the Scandinavian banks.
Economic collapse is accompanied by other negative derivatives in the social sphere, culture, education and health care.

Latvia is in the power of unknown political corruption, significant growth in drug addiction and suicides, commission of heavy and especially serious crimes is noted. Our country takes the first place in Europe on divorce. We also in the list of leaders on abortions and child mortality, 1/3 childbirth is made at means of Cesarean section that testifies to a critical state of health of women.

Let’s consider the ideology of the state and the interethnic relations in a separate point. From the first day of formation of the country the Latvian state ideology is zoological Russophobia, ethnic intolerance, revision of results of World War II and open falsification of recent history.

As a result today in Latvia there are more than 300 000 of so-called “non-citizens”, that 1/6 of population of the country has no constitutional and all-civil laws, but thus 80 bans are imposed on them, beginning from professional and finishing the property. Apartheid in style of Rhodesia.

Already the second convocation the deputies of pro-Nazi party Visu Latvijai sit at parliament of Latvia. Representatives of this party enter into a ruling governmental coalition and hold positions of Ministers of Justice (!) and Culture.

This year in day of a legion of the Latvian Waffen SS (murderers of the Soviet peace population) the heads and the deputies of parliament representing Visu Latvijai party, participated in commemorative events in the centre of Riga and in fights with police, motivating the behaviour with parliamentary immunity.

In Latvia there is no obligatory compulsory military service, actually there is no regular army, but there is well prepared contingent of very highly paid professional mercenaries who on the first order of NATO can get into the plane and go to every spot on the globe. In case of external aggression we aren't able to protect the country, but thus we help the USA to kill the peace population in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Republic of Latvia is integrated into all collective institutes of safety, policy and West economy. But could we thus keep the national sovereignty or we are the pawns of global geopolitical game of superstates?