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Latvia's Penguin Revolution

On 13 January 2009 a demonstration against the government in the Latvian capital of Riga turned unexpectedly violent. Ever since, the Latvian press has been discussing the country's political and economic situation against the backdrop of the global financial crisis and has dubbed the protests the "Penguin Revolution".

Latvia has been in a state of shock since riots broke out at a demonstration outside the parliamentary buildings in Riga on 13 January 2009. Around 10,000 people converged on the city centre and over 100 were arrested. Back in November 2007 mass protests were staged in the pouring rain, but unlike the "Umbrella Revolution", as it later became known, the demonstration on January 13 escalated to a level of violence not witnessed in Latvia since its declaration of independence in 1990.

Walking like a pinguine: Latvians gather for an anti-government rally in Riga's historic Old Town, Latvia, January 2009. Photo: AP/Roman Koksarov

For months the Latvian government has been faltering under the weight of a series of corruption scandals, and the population now blames it for the consequences of the financial crisis, which have been particularly drastic in Latvia. The daily Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze noted with concern on 15 January 2009: "From the point of view of old Europe it was no big deal, but we have been boasting about our non-violent protest culture for decades, so in Latvia more was shattered than just a few windows in the city centre."

Prime Minister Ivars Godamnis promptly described January 13, 2009 as a turning point in Latvia's history, but only three days later on January 16 the news portal Delfi warned that those in power had failed to understand the protestors' message: "Technically, the government is still in power but in reality our politicians have barricaded themselves off and are behaving like those in the Führer's bunker in May 1945. The opposition is trying to storm the government's bastions, but without any visible success. The growing sense of weariness was palpable."

Lithuania follows suit, Estonia remains peaceful

On January 16, demonstrators in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius also attacked the parliament there to protest the government's cost-cutting plans. Just as the Latvian press had done before, the Lithuanian newspaper Lietuvos rytas criticised the ignorance of the politicians and expressed understanding for the people's anger: "True, economies all over the world are in crisis, but in other countries measures are at least being taken to prevent people from losing their jobs and bail-out programmes are being passed for industry … People simply don't want to go down without a fight."

But unlike Latvia's government Lithuania's has only been in office since last autumn and therefore enjoys a greater degree of trust. As a result the country has been less hard hit by the consequences of the financial crisis. Postimees, a daily newspaper published in Estonia, Latvia's northern neighbour, also sees the combination of a particularly serious financial crisis and a political crisis as the reason why the protests in Riga have been so fierce. "Let us be glad that thanks to a half-way decent economic policy we're not faring as badly as they are," it wrote on January 29.

Resignation and gallows humour

In Latvia, January 13 is actually the day on which the barricades which were erected against the Soviet tanks in 1991 are commemorated. The Latvian press, however, has unanimously rejected all comparisons, and on January 20 the daily Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze pointed to a profound sense of disillusion among the people that contrasts with the mood during the struggle for independence: "Back then, as rudimentary as the barricades were, we were standing up for Latvia. Our state was still in its infancy and we ourselves were also children." Latvia still saw Europe as the bearer of its hopes, but in reality many of its problems had been caused by Europe: "We scrapped our ships because Europe already has enough fish and we sold our land because we were promised lots of money for it. Is this what we went on the barricades for in 1991?"

Learning from the penguins

In his New Year's speech Latvia's prime minister Ivars Godmanis called on his people to follow the example of the penguins, who in hard times huddle up close to each other. The head of government can hardly have made a statement he has more regretted since, as the daily Latvijas Avīze commented: "Despite all the attempts to rectify the situation penguins have become the demonstrators' trademark," and in addition to its "Umbrella Revolution" in November 2007 Latvia now had a "Penguin Revolution". The protests continue – albeit peacefully – and penguins are experiencing a genuine boom. But no one – neither the government nor the opposition nor the people on the street - has come up with a concrete plan for solving the current crisis.

Berthold Forssman

Dr. Berthold Forssman studied Scandinavian, Slavic and Indo-Germanic languages and literature and now works as a freelance journalist, translator, language teacher and author in ...
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