Minister questions Vilnius move to restrict Russian-language submissions

Social Security and Labour Minister Inga Ruginienė has questioned the Vilnius city municipality’s decision to stop accepting residents’ written requests and complaints in Russian, saying such initiatives encourage social exclusion, LRT reported.

“The debate over whether people speak Russian or not is very strange,” Ruginienė told Žinių radijas on Tuesday.

She said she supported the use of Lithuania’s official language but noted that some citizens, particularly older people, speak the way they speak.

“It seems to me that this is also related to respect. Are we creating exclusion and sorting people into good and bad, those who are with us and those who are not? I do not like this approach,” Ruginienė said.

The Vilnius municipality announced last week that it would no longer accept residents’ written requests and complaints in Russian. Information in Russian and other non-European Union languages will be provided orally if a particular employee speaks the language.

Russian has also been removed from the municipality’s website and its administration’s customer queue management system.

Ruginienė’s party colleague Mindaugas Sinkevičius also questioned the decision, saying it was unclear whether it was a political initiative or a communications measure.

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the decision was part of the municipality’s consistent policy.

The municipality also said last week that it was expanding opportunities for residents of foreign origin to learn Lithuanian. More than 1,000 people are expected to receive training this year through free courses and remote learning, supported by an additional 300,000 euros in funding.

Language clubs are also due to begin operating in different parts of Vilnius in the autumn. By the end of the year, foreigners living in the city are expected to be able to study Lithuanian independently through a dedicated learning platform.