Laima Vaikule: If they gave me a gun, I would stay
In an interview, Latvian singer Laima Vaikule said she would stay and fight if Russia invades the Baltics, and discussed her duality, aggression, and stance on the war in Ukraine.
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Laima Vaikule, the only Latvian singer with millions of listeners, stated in an interview for the program "From the Other Side" that if Russia were to invade the Baltics, she would remain in Latvia and fight, provided she were given a gun. "I have nowhere to run... I have lived my life. The best years are behind me," she said, adding that she fears for animals and children, not for herself.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vaikule has become more than just a singer; she is a voice consistently opposing the war and propaganda, defending the Latvian language and Latvia. She acknowledges a dual nature: softer when speaking to Latvian-speaking audiences and sharper, more aggressive in Russian-speaking environments. She explains that at home in Latvia she feels calm, but when speaking Russian, topics of war and problems immediately arise.
Vaikule also speaks about her healthy aggression, developed through karate. As an example, she recounts an incident where she used a microphone cord and a karate move to subdue a rude man in a restaurant. She believes she could still act similarly today.
Regarding her efforts to explain the horrors of war to Russian audiences, she feels unheard. "I think they don't hear me. I was sure I could explain it... No!" She has lost a large part of her audience and now hopes that events like the Moscow fires might change people's perspectives.
Vaikule has experienced shootings twice in her life – at age 16 in Georgia and during the OMON attack near the Interior Ministry in Riga in January 1991. She believes that people who want war are sick and urges everyone to vote.
On the possibility of forgiving Russian President Vladimir Putin if he stopped the war immediately, Vaikule says, "If he stopped right now, then yes." However, she stresses she cannot forgive the fallen Ukrainians and that it is not her place. "If one drone hits us and my dog dies, I will never forgive him!"
The singer admits she actively follows the news and starts her day with world events. She also reads comments, finding especially painful those written in Latvian, as she has always considered Latvia and its people the best.
