VMI and Sodra will continue serving clients in Russian

The State Tax Inspectorate and Sodra will continue serving Russian-speaking clients in Russian, LRT reported, despite Vilnius Municipality’s decision to stop accepting residents’ requests and complaints in Russian.

The two institutions said they aim to serve as many people as possible and do not currently plan to end or reduce their use of Russian.

“We have noticed that the number of Russian speakers has recently increased, due to the geopolitical situation and the arrival of people from Asia. This year, until July, around 44,000 Russian speakers contacted us by phone about tax matters,” State Tax Inspectorate head Martynas Endrijaitis said.

Sodra representative Malgožata Kozič said the institution follows a client-focused approach and tries to provide services in the language used by each person. Consultants are not required to serve clients in a language other than Lithuanian, she said, adding that doing so is voluntary.

At the Šeškinė Polyclinic in Vilnius, Russian is not listed on the information screens, which display only Lithuanian and English. However, the clinic says patients can still receive medical services in Russian.

During registration, staff determine which language the patient speaks and assign a doctor accordingly. If no medical worker speaks the required language, patients may be asked to come with an interpreter, the clinic said.

“The younger generation speaks less Russian, which is why registration is important. There are different situations, and we have also had conflicts, but we try to solve problems flexibly and find a colleague who can help,” Šeškinė Polyclinic representative Evaldas Pilipavičius said.

Some patients told LRT they would not be able to manage at the clinic without Russian. One woman said she had never had an opportunity to speak Lithuanian because she had used Russian in institutions, at school and at work.

Vilnius Municipality has announced that it will no longer accept residents’ requests and complaints in Russian. Information in Russian and other non-European Union languages will be provided only orally, if a particular employee speaks the language.

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the use of Russian should generally decline in the city. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the issue could require different approaches depending on whether it concerned Russian citizens, Belarusian regime opponents or Ukrainians.

Russian is no longer available for taking the driving test at Regitra, Lithuania’s vehicle registration and driver licensing institution, as of January.