It has already been reported that the majority of Russian citizens living in Latvia in the referendum have strongly supported the amendments to the Russian Constitution, which will allow President Vladimir Putin to remain in power for two more terms.
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According to the above data, a total of 10,945 Russian citizens from Latvia took part in the referendum, of which 10,147 or 92.7% supported the constitutional amendment, but only 723 or 6.6% voted against, while 75 ballots were declared invalid.
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Balodis said that such a result of the vote is not surprising in itself, as similar tendencies have been observed in the past, for example, during the presidential election, when Russian emigrants express more support for the power in their homeland than the Russian population.
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The researcher explained that the only connection of Russian citizens living in Latvia with the neighboring country is through the Russian-controlled and official media, which had launched an impressive information campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin also took part in it, making various statements.
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As an example, Balodis mentioned what the Kremlin host said that the vote on the constitution was a step towards democratization. Putin has also pointed out that the amendments to the constitution will ensure the country’s survival and further development.
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According to the researcher, an important part of the information campaign was Putin’s article “The National Interest” about the role of the USSR in the Second World War and the resulting Russian ambitions today, as well as the Victory Day parade.
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“These events evoked feelings of patriotism and nationalism. It could be said that there was a game of emotions.
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Using media propaganda, as well as arousing the country ‘s feelings of unity and pride in its country, the subsequent support of people can be explained, “said the researcher.
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Balodis acknowledged that knowing the violations in Russia could not completely rule out the possibility that the results of the vote had been tampered with. However, in his view, there was considerable support for the constitutional amendment.
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The researcher summed up that voters living outside Russia were subjected to such an information campaign that 92.7% of support for the respective constitutional amendments could be achieved even without violations.
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Asked whether people voted in favor of extending the presidential term or other amendments envisaged, the researcher stressed that the main change in the whole package was directly related to the term of the president and its extension until 2036.
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“Following the propaganda campaign, it is interesting that this issue was the only thing that was hidden, and even the official website was corrected only when it was noticed by journalists,” the researcher said.
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In his opinion, the propaganda was saturated with both unifying issues and very emotional ones, calling for the future of children, security, protection of culture and history. Balodis emphasized that the main thing was to get amendments that would allow Putin to keep his job, but the way to achieve this was by using emotionally saturated arguments.
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They, in turn, were designed to ensure public involvement and responsiveness, creating the illusion of a democratic process in which the people express their will.
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“In my opinion, the illusion was decisive so that after the referendum it could be said that the people have expressed their will and Putin has the right to remain in office until 2036,” Balodis said.
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Responding to a question about what the vote says about Russian citizens living in Latvia, Balodis said that the results of the vote could become a basis for questioning the loyalty of Russian voters, including Russian speakers, to Latvia.
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However, the researcher emphasized that the vote was for an emotionally saturated concept, accompanied by a strong information campaign, so, in his opinion, this fact should not be cited as an example that this section of society is not loyal to Latvia.
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Balodis pointed out the results of previous surveys among both Russian-speaking and Russian citizens, which testified that they were not hostile to Latvia.
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According to Balozis, there is an important question about both integration policy and media policy, namely, how to ensure that high-quality, objective information is available in the country also in Russian, which could compete and counter Kremlin propaganda. According to him, this would directly affect Russian-speakers, including Russian citizens.
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