Daugavpils theatre director seeks more spirituality in politics

Latvia should be governed in the interests of society as a whole rather than individual groups, director and Daugavpils Theatre head Oļegs Šapošņikovs told LSM.

He said achieving that goal would require politicians to show greater spirituality and put the interests of others before their own.

Šapošņikovs, who has worked in the performing arts for many years and has led the theatre in Daugavpils for 15 years, said his vision for Latvia’s future was based not only on political or economic decisions but primarily on society’s values.

Speaking as part of LSM’s “I have a dream” series ahead of the 15th Saeima elections, Šapošņikovs described his vision of a Latvia he had also imagined when the country restored its independence: “It is a state in which the interests of the entire nation prevail, rather than those of any particular group of people.”

He said one of the most important conditions for creating such a state was society’s spirituality.

“If politicians come to power for whom spirituality is the main thing, and for whom the interests of all people are more important than the interests of a group, then everything else will follow. Not quite automatically, but with a 99% probability, it will follow,” Šapoņikovs said.

He believes that if policymakers were guided by these principles, it could also influence other areas of Latvia’s development.