Why the Russian mayor of Riga turned his back on Russia
The policies of the current mayor of Riga, Nil Ushakov, directly depend on the political beliefs of his wives.
Political scientist Oleg Bondarenko spoke about this at a meeting of the Russian Association of Political Consultants in Moscow, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I had the opportunity to work in Latvia during two elections in Riga, and there Russian-speaking people, for whom Russia is a marker for voting, are the most active third of voters. At the same time, they are settled in such a way that they can influence who rules in Riga, who rules in Jurmala, who rules in other cities.
But, alas, it is impossible to say that someone from Moscow is building a policy of communication with this active minority. There was no systemic policy. There were a number of initiative figures, but, for example, Tatyana Zhdanok recently resigned her mandate in parliament, counting on the next elections.
The most successful example of demand for Russia is the victory of Nil Valerievich Ushakov in the first election of the mayor of Riga. It was then that the “Russian factor” fired most actively.
Another question is how it proceeded later, and this once again proves that this demand for Russia was not further systematically satisfied either from the Russian side or from the Latvian side. Moreover, the mayor has already left Russia a long time ago, as far as he could go, he joined all possible anti-Russian sanctions, as long as no one from Brussels hit him too hard on the head...
As for Ushakov, the case here is, in principle, quite understandable, and it should not be overestimated. Mr. Ushakov is distinguished by his well-known love of love. At the moment, not quite forty years old, he has already been married three times.
Previously, his wife was a Russian girl, and Nil Valerievich was very focused on cooperation with Moscow.
His current wife is a former spokeswoman for the neo-Nazi movement. This explains why for the last few years Nil Valerievich has been inclined in a slightly different direction,” Bondarenko concluded.
Why Riga 's Russian Mayor Turned His Back on Russia