Nausėda on Russian language: Lithuania can set conditions

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has voiced strong support for reducing the use of the Russian language in public life, asserting that individuals should adapt to the country where they reside. He contrasted the current situation with the Soviet era, when learning the state language was not always deemed necessary by Russian speakers.

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A person must adapt to the state in which they live.

"A person must adapt to the state in which they live," Nausėda told LRT television. He emphasized that Lithuania is now an independent nation and can establish conditions for language use. The president's remarks come as the Vilnius municipality implements a plan to integrate foreign residents by expanding Lithuanian language learning opportunities and decreasing the use of Russian in education and public services.

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We are certainly no longer living in the Soviet era, when there was a phenomenon of the elder brother and the elder brother saw no need to learn our state language, because he simply did not think it was necessary. And he lived like that for 35-40 years without learning it. Now we live in an independent state, where we can set certain conditions.

Vilnius has already reduced Russian-language kindergarten groups from 181 to 112 over three years. The municipality has also stopped providing Russian versions of its website, removed Russian from its customer queue system, and will no longer accept requests and complaints in Russian. Residents will only be informed in Russian verbally if staff language skills permit.

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It is very good that the Vilnius municipality is raising these issues, but, as far as I remember, the mayor is from the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats. At that time, in 2023, when I vetoed a very liberal law on sanctions against Belarusian and Russian citizens, that veto was rejected primarily by the efforts of the conservatives and liberals themselves.

Nausėda also criticized the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats party, to which Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas belongs. He recalled that the party, along with liberals, was instrumental in rejecting his veto in 2023 on a law concerning sanctions against Belarusian and Russian citizens. "It is very good that the Vilnius municipality is raising these issues, but, as far as I remember, the mayor is from the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats. At that time, in 2023, when I vetoed a very liberal law on sanctions against Belarusian and Russian citizens, that veto was rejected primarily by the efforts of the conservatives and liberals themselves," the president stated. He added, "Well, if the threat has been understood and the problem has been understood, as they say, better late than never."

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Well, if the threat has been understood and the problem has been understood, as they say, better late than never.