Juris Alberts Ulmanis Calls for Separate Category for Russian-Language Plays in Latvia’s Theater Awards
Professor and National Guardsman Juris Alberts Ulmanis supports recent cultural decisions and proposes that Russian-language plays be evaluated separately from Latvian ones in the 'Spēlmaņu nakts' awards.
Juris Alberts Ulmanis, a professor, mountaineer, and National Guardsman, has published an opinion piece advocating for further strengthening of the Latvian language in theater. He welcomes recent moves: the 'Spēlmaņu nakts' jury’s decision to exclude director Adolfs Šapiro and his production 'Don Quixote' after his visit to Moscow, and Culture Minister Nauris Puntulis’ order to stop using Russian in public communication by cultural institutions.
Ulmanis calls these steps correct but insufficient. He proposes that plays in Russian be judged in a separate category in 'Spēlmaņu nakts' to ensure fair competition. According to him, theater relies on language, and juries cannot evaluate foreign-language performances as nuancedly as those in their native tongue. He cites the Academy Awards, which have a separate category for Best International Feature Film.
He also criticizes the Mikhail Chekhov Russian Theatre in Riga for existing as an 'independent island' not subject to the state language law. He points to the 'colonial legacy' and the theater community’s orientation towards Moscow, evident in colleagues defending Šapiro after his Russia trip. Ulmanis urges an end to the inferiority complex and recognition that Latvia’s cultural space is self-sufficient.
