НА БАЛТИЙСКОЙ ВОЛНЕ · published 5 days ago ·
found by watching this channel
Seizure of temples in Lithuania, bans on artists and a split in Baltic society
Захват храмов в Литве, запреты артистов и раскол общества в Балтии | НА БАЛТИЙСКОЙ ВОЛНЕ
What the site found
Pushes the agenda · agenda: Baltic Russophobia and Russian retaliation
Belief the Pravda network pushes: The Baltic states are Russophobic, mistreat Russians living there, and will face Russian retaliation, while EU visa bans and sanctions on Russia are unjustified.
A panel of Russia-aligned exiles claims Lithuania's government is waging a Russophobic campaign to destroy the Orthodox Church, copying the Ukrainian scenario, and hints that Russia's law protecting Russian speakers is the answer.
“These are two staunch Russophobes: Audronius Ažubalis and Arvydas Anušauskas.”
These are two staunch Russophobes: Audronius Ažubalis and Arvydas Anušauskas.
The video presents the Seimas bills on the Lithuanian Orthodox Church as a Russophobic plot to seize property and force a change of faith, calls it the 'Ukrainization of the Baltics', and links it to Russia's law on protecting Russian speakers. It never mentions the security-based justification beyond dismissing it as 'alleged threats', so it bends events in the same direction as the Pravda stories.
The Pravda stories it echoes
Closest stories from the Pravda network, by meaning. Each links to the site’s comparison with trusted Lithuanian news.
27 days ago · Lithuanian Orthodox Church may be removed from traditional religious communities of the country
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27 days ago · Lithuanian Orthodox Church will be removed from the list of traditional religious communities
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26 days ago · Lithuanian authorities seek to strip Orthodox Church of buildings and believers
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24 days ago · Lithuanian Orthodox Church speaks out against subordination to Constantinople
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Transcript (en, 1415 lines)
0:07 Hello to our dear radio listeners who
0:09 have tuned their receivers to the right
0:12 frequency, and with a simple press of a
0:14 button have joined us here on the Baltic
0:16 Wave.
0:18 And hello to our dear viewers, who go
0:20 through more complex maneuvers to find
0:22 the latest episode of the Baltic Wave
0:24 program somewhere on the internet, so
0:26 they can not only listen to it, but
0:28 watch it too.
0:31 "On the Baltic Wave" is a program where
0:34 I, Alexei Belyaev, a Belarusian
0:36 journalist, political scientist, and
0:38 historian, invite guests to the studio
0:40 who know firsthand what life on the
0:42 shores of the Baltic is like, who were,
0:45 so to speak, members of Baltic societies
0:47 , who know from their own experience all
0:50 the troubles and difficulties that
0:52 citizens of the Baltic region are going
0:54 through today, and can therefore share
0:56 with you their memories, impressions,
1:01 and feelings, offer wise advice, and try
1:03 to lift the veil on the future and make
1:05 some predictions about how the Baltic
1:07 states will develop further.
1:10 And these wonderful people will be with
1:13 us today. First, a former Latvian, now a
1:15 Belarusian, and currently a Belarusian
1:17 journalist, Yuri Alekseev. Hello, Yuri.
1:19 >> Hello.
1:20 >> Also a former Latvian, now a Belarusian
1:23 blogger, Roman Samul. Hello, Roman.
1:27 An active Lithuanian public figure and
1:29 activist, chairman of the International
1:32 Good Neighborliness Forum, but currently
1:34 forced to stay in Belarus because, for
1:37 some reason, they decided to prosecute
1:39 him in his native Lithuania for calling
1:42 for good neighborliness between our
1:44 countries.
1:46 Edikas Jagelavicius, hello.
1:47 >> Greetings to everyone.
1:48 >> And finally, another active Lithuanian
1:51 politician, entrepreneur, and blogger,
1:54 also forced to stay outside of Lithuania
1:57 today, because they keep opening case
2:00 after case against him, sometimes over
2:03 nothing at all.
2:05 But most importantly, all of this is
2:07 connected, first and foremost, to his
2:09 political stance, because he also
2:11 suggests using common sense and building
2:14 relations between countries based on
2:16 mutual interests rather than inventing
2:18 mutual grievances.
2:20 Antanas Kandratas, hello, Antanas.
2:22 >> Friends. Let me clarify. I thought my
2:24 criminal cases were already over, that I
2:26 had been sentenced once and for all. I
2:28 was mistaken.
2:30 The following week, I was under
2:32 suspicion again, and they opened a new
2:35 criminal case, this time from the
2:37 cybercrimes department.
2:41 Well, it’s most likely related to the
2:43 Baltic Wave, I suspect.
2:45 >> I have a suspicion that with every
2:47 broadcast, more and more of these
2:49 criminal cases will just keep piling up
2:52 . In the end, seven lifetimes won't be
2:54 enough.
2:56 >> So, well, my friends, where should we
2:58 begin?
2:59 There is an interesting topic currently
3:01 circulating on the internet that also
3:04 pops up in our news from time to time.
3:07 It is related to religious denominations
3:10 , specifically the Lithuanian Orthodox
3:13 Church.
3:14 And now, Lithuanian politicians have set
3:17 their sights on this confession as well
3:19 .
3:20 Let me remind you that the Lithuanian
3:23 Orthodox Church is still considered a
3:25 traditional religious community.
3:27 If we look at it, the emergence of
3:30 Orthodoxy in Lithuania dates back, well
3:34 , at least to the 13th century.
3:37 There are the famous Vilnius martyrs who
3:40 were martyred back then, and in their
3:43 honor there are churches, icons, and
3:46 veneration throughout the Russian
3:49 Orthodox Church.
3:52 At least a couple of years ago, the
3:54 number of believers who consider
3:56 themselves part of the Lithuanian
3:58 Orthodox Church was about 140,000 people
4:00 in Lithuania.
4:01 That is a significant amount, actually,
4:04 yes, a significant number.
4:07 But today we see that there is a very
4:09 active assault on canonical Orthodoxy by
4:12 the Lithuanian government.
4:14 And I will remind you that the
4:17 Lithuanian Orthodox Church is, in
4:19 essence, spiritually connected; it is
4:22 linked to the Russian Orthodox Church
4:25 and is, in a way, a branch of it.
4:28 And so, today,
4:31 bills are being considered in the
4:34 Lithuanian parliament that provide for
4:37 the possibility, first of all, of
4:40 seizing certain shrines from the current
4:45 This refers primarily to the Holy Spirit
4:48 Monastery and several churches.
4:50 Secondly, they want to exclude it from
4:52 the list of traditional religious
4:54 communities of Lithuania. And what then
4:57 could be more traditional than Orthodoxy
4:59 ? Because, well, in essence, Orthodoxy
5:01 and Catholicism entered Lithuania almost
5:04 simultaneously.
5:06 And perhaps Orthodoxy was even there
5:08 earlier, because the same Grand Dukes,
5:11 like Algirdas, for example, he ruled—
5:13 well, Algirdas was much earlier than the
5:16 statutes.
5:19 Algirdas ruled the territory of the
5:20 Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which included
5:23 Belarusian lands and Ukrainian lands.
5:25 That is, in essence, he was ruling over
5:27 Orthodox lands.
5:28 And the Orthodox Church was present in
5:30 Lithuania, among other places.
5:32 And there are Orthodox churches in
5:35 Vilnius today that are among the oldest
5:37 , even compared to many Catholic
5:40 churches.
5:42 Trying, under some political pretext, to
5:45 squeeze out the Orthodox Church—this is
5:48 the task that Lithuanian politicians
5:51 have set for themselves today.
5:55 In response to this, the head of the
5:57 Lithuanian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan
6:00 Innocent of Vilnius and Lithuania,
6:02 appealed to the country's leadership
6:04 with concern regarding these actions and
6:06 measures being gathered against the
6:09 Lithuanian Church.
6:12 Appeals have already been made to the
6:15 leadership, committees, and factions of
6:18 the Lithuanian Seimas.
6:21 The brotherhood of the Orthodox Holy
6:23 Spirit Monastery of Vilnius and the
6:25 parishioners of the Vilnius Orthodox
6:28 parish of the Holy Great Martyr
6:30 Paraskeva Pyatnitsa have spoken out,
6:32 stating that they categorically disagree
6:34 with any initiatives and actions based
6:37 on political suspicions and fabricated
6:39 accusations, which could lead to the
6:42 eviction of monks from the monastery,
6:44 the seizure of the church and monastery
6:46 property,
6:48 and the restriction of the legitimate
6:50 religious activities of the Lithuanian
6:55 And besides that, the church is
6:57 essentially being forced to change its
7:00 jurisdiction, effectively compelling the
7:03 Lithuanian Orthodox Church to come under
7:05 the leadership of the Ecumenical
7:07 Patriarchate of Constantinople.
7:12 In other words, to change their faith,
7:14 if we speak plainly, to switch from the
7:17 subordination of the Russian Orthodox
7:19 Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, to
7:22 move to an entirely different church,
7:26 because today we have more than a dozen
7:29 independent existing churches—the
7:31 so-called autocephalous ones—and all
7:34 this is happening against the backdrop
7:36 of the church being officially separated
7:39 from the state in Lithuania.
7:43 So the Lithuanian government and the
7:46 Seimas are trying to violate the
7:49 canonical, or internal, church rules,
7:52 forcing them to change their leaders and
7:56 effectively move to a slightly different
7:59 faith.
8:00 Yeah.
8:02 At the same time, for example, Mindaugas
8:05 Goscevičius says he is open to any
8:07 discussions regarding restrictions on
8:10 the canonical church, but so far he
8:13 hasn't received any information on this
8:16 matter from his State Security
8:18 Department.
8:22 Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda
8:24 stated that he has no reason to doubt
8:26 the loyalty of the Orthodox community,
8:29 but he said he wants to believe that the
8:31 Orthodox community are first and
8:33 foremost citizens of the Republic of
8:35 Lithuania, and only then believers.
8:40 And it is important that the Orthodox
8:41 community must decide who they want to
8:43 walk the path with.
8:45 So it is still a form of soft
8:47 arm-twisting.
8:49 >> And who is promoting these bills by all
8:52 means?
8:54 These are two staunch Russophobes:
8:56 Audronius Ažubalis and Arvydas
8:58 Anušauskas.
9:00 Arvydas Anušauskas is a seasoned
9:03 Russophobe, an ally of Vytautas
9:05 Landsbergis from the Sajūdis movement.
9:09 This is the inner circle of these most
9:11 fervent Lithuanian Russophobes. So they
9:14 are the ones pushing this bill through
9:17 the Seimas.
9:19 They are citing alleged threats to
9:22 national security.
9:24 And as Bishop Ambrose of Trakai said,
9:31 they are transferring the Ukrainian
9:33 conflict, what happened in Ukraine, and
9:36 they want to do the same thing in
9:38 Lithuania.
9:39 And this is, of course, very dangerous,
9:41 and this is certainly what those
9:43 Russophobes are striving for.
9:45 >> Let me just add a little bit.
9:48 Well, not a little, a bit more. Yes,
9:50 this is obviously the Ukrainian model.
9:54 Well, everyone immediately understood
9:58 what this is all about.
10:00 I’m not even surprised that this is
10:03 exactly how it will happen; regardless
10:06 of how the situation in Ukraine ends,
10:08 they will need to ignite a new epicenter
10:12 And most likely, they are preparing for
10:15 this model as well and are betting on it
10:19 Because
10:22 the Russian Federation recently passed a
10:24 law regarding the protection of Russian
10:26 speakers. Naturally, this includes
10:29 Orthodox people as well.
10:33 I follow the news very closely, but the
10:35 most interesting thing is that this news
10:38 wasn't presented broadly, because I only
10:40 heard about it here, and I'm very
10:42 surprised.
10:45 But I'll say right away that I
10:46 understood where this is heading, and
10:48 why nothing was spread broadly, and why
10:50 none of the portals we follow wrote
10:52 about it at all.
10:55 Because, naturally, well, religion is
10:58 sacred.
11:01 And even those who aren't Orthodox will
11:03 say: no, guys, stop, this is already too
11:05 much.
11:07 Even some people, Christians, are
11:09 already afraid...well, if they say
11:11 anything publicly in the comments, the
11:14 public opinion will be there, everyone
11:16 will understand, and they won't support
11:18 this anymore.
11:20 So obviously, it's too early to bring
11:23 this out, especially to the public.
11:26 Yes, the information passed somewhere
11:28 among journalists, but they didn't throw
11:30 it to the general public, because, I
11:32 repeat, my team and I monitor social
11:34 networks very carefully, and what the
11:36 main channels post, this information
11:38 definitely didn't leak.
11:41 There is a reason. Now, one point you
11:44 mentioned is about striking them from
11:48 the list of traditional religions.
11:54 This is very, very serious, and I will
11:56 now explain the proposed model.
12:00 I hope this won't serve as advice for
12:01 them on how this could happen.
12:05 When you remove an organization, any
12:08 religious organization, from these lists
12:11 of traditional religions, they lose
12:13 their tax-exempt status.
12:18 And remember, there were huge protests a
12:21 couple of years ago in Lithuania when
12:24 they calculated how much they raised and
12:27 imposed property taxes.
12:31 And can you imagine what the valuation
12:33 is, because it all stems from the price
12:37 And I assume, what will they do for the
12:39 church?
12:40 They will calculate the property tax.
12:45 I imagine all such places, temples, how
12:47 they will be valued is unclear, but most
12:49 likely, it'll be expensive.
12:53 And I think, the first year, the second
12:56 year, obviously, this is a long-term
12:58 project.
13:01 And simply, in this way, for non-payment
13:05 of taxes, they will just seize the
13:08 property, and guess who they will hand
13:11 it over to?
13:15 They will hand it over to the
13:17 Constantinople
13:18 >> Patriarchate?
13:20 >> Patriarchate, and they will say: you
13:22 know, we didn't do anything.
13:24 We just moved an egg from one basket to
13:28 another basket. And you, Orthodox people
13:31 , can continue to go there, yes, you can
13:33 do everything there, just like that.
13:37 So, basically, this is being done very
13:40 skillfully—well, you have to praise your
13:43 opponents sometimes—the destruction of
13:46 the Orthodox Church specifically is
13:48 being carried out in this very way.
13:52 I think it will be done exactly like
13:54 that. The method is in question.
13:56 Or it will be the same thing that
13:58 happened when the Right Sector and so on
14:01 and so forth were kicking people out of
14:03 monasteries.
14:05 We have the same kind of volunteers, the
14:07 Riflemen's Union; those local
14:09 nationalists will be found, and they
14:11 will definitely be found.
14:13 And they will set fires, and so on, and
14:16 so on. I think here
14:18 >> It's a very dangerous game, because as
14:21 you said, everything related to religion
14:24 and so on, it's very, let's say, in the
14:27 future
14:27 >> Roman, do you think they won't go for it
14:29 ? They already have.
14:31 >> No, they will, they will.
14:33 The Ukrainization of the Baltics has
14:35 happened. Yes, the Ukrainization of the
14:36 Baltics has happened. And the very same
14:38 processes were happening there, right?
14:40 Alexei Viktorovich is saying, yes.
14:41 >> in the Seimas, the parliament, they are
14:43 all under the Ukrainian flag.
14:45 >> I can tell you a little bit about Latvia
14:47 Starting from 2014, um, Metropolitan
14:51 Alexander—that is,
14:55 so to speak, the head of the Latvian
14:58 Orthodox Church—was forced several times
15:02 to repent on television, to announce
15:04 that he has no, no, no ties to the
15:07 Moscow Patriarchate, that he belongs to
15:10 the Russian Orthodox Church, sort of,
15:13 but not really, and has no ties
15:16 whatsoever. And uh, well how is that?
15:20 So this is starting, so to speak, as a
15:22 kind of autocephaly, like, well, how can
15:24 the church belong to the Russian
15:26 Orthodox Church and be part of it?
15:29 But he has no ties.
15:31 So, regarding Ukraine
15:34 >> It’s just that in 2022, the Seimas
15:36 adopted an amendment to the law on the
15:39 Latvian Orthodox Church, and the state's
15:43 Seimas changed the status of the Latvian
15:46 Orthodox Church to autocephalous.
15:50 So, a decision by secular authorities
15:51 >> Uh-huh.
15:53 >> was made regarding a church organization
15:55 , and in Latvia, the church is also
15:56 separated from the state.
15:59 So they decided that now the Latvian
16:01 Church will be autocephalous, meaning it
16:03 will no longer be subordinate to the
16:05 Moscow Patriarchate as it was before.
16:07 At the same time, the Moscow
16:09 Patriarchate still does not agree with
16:11 this and considers the Latvian Church to
16:14 be its self-governing church within the
16:16 Moscow Patriarchate.
16:19 They did essentially the same thing in
16:21 Estonia, where they even forced the
16:23 Orthodox Church to change its name twice
16:25 , and where they also declare today that
16:28 it is not part of the Moscow
16:29 Patriarchate, even though these were
16:31 directly, as it were, branches.
16:35 Well, here we see the secular
16:36 authorities of the Baltics meddling in
16:38 matters that are not their business at
16:39 all.
16:41 Not their business at all.
16:43 And why don't they declare, for example
16:46 , the Latvian Catholic Church, or the
16:48 Lithuanian Catholic Church?
16:51 Why don't they declare them
16:53 autocephalous and say that it's time to
16:55 stop obeying the Vatican, let the
16:57 Lithuanian or Latvian Catholic Church be
16:59 independent?
17:01 Well, it's exactly the same logic.
17:05 If you want to have a state church in
17:07 your country, go ahead, take it further
17:11 Separate the Muslim communities, say
17:13 there is no global Ummah, there is only
17:15 the Muslim community of Lithuania and
17:17 that's it, and you will only answer to
17:18 us, right?
17:20 The same thing there with the Lutherans
17:24 Well, the attack is aimed exclusively at
17:27 the Orthodox Church, because it is
17:30 Russian, because it is one of the
17:32 foundations of Russian identity within
17:35 the Baltics, and because it remains
17:38 influential and still has an impact on
17:41 its followers in some way.
17:45 In Latvia, by the way, the community of
17:47 Orthodox believers was also around
17:49 100,000. 140,000 in Lithuania, 100,000
17:52 in Latvia. Of course, this scares the
17:54 authorities.
17:55 But, excuse me, you are meddling in
17:58 things that have existed here for
18:00 millennia, you are beginning to use them
18:03 for your own political
18:06 >> I mentioned the night.
18:08 Sorry for interrupting, but I think it
18:10 is important to say, I'll tell you one
18:12 story that happened a few years ago.
18:15 You specifically mentioned the Vatican.
18:18 Well, we know perfectly well, and as a
18:20 historian you definitely know, when the
18:23 crusaders arrived we had a different
18:25 faith, right?
18:27 We believed in trees and so on, there
18:30 was a different faith.
18:32 >> Pagan.
18:32 >> Yes.
18:34 And there are quite a lot of people who
18:37 still profess this faith.
18:42 And there was a situation where an
18:44 organization called
18:48 it has a complete structure.
18:50 I don't know exactly how many members
18:52 they have, but quite a lot.
18:56 They celebrate all these old holidays,
18:59 some of which are even state holidays, I
19:02 don't know how to say it in Russian,
19:04 even a national holiday.
19:07 And they had this story, because how?
19:12 We officially have religious sects that
19:14 are looked upon askance; they have some
19:17 sort of strange image, they pray there,
19:20 do something, and so on, but the state
19:23 does not recognize them.
19:27 After 25 years, an organization can
19:30 apply to be recognized by the state.
19:34 Well, they applied, this was about 4
19:36 years ago.
19:39 They appealed, saying look, we have been
19:41 professing this faith for over 30 years
19:42 , burning bonfires, celebrating the same
19:44 holidays.
19:47 Like Janis.
19:49 By the way, these are their traditional
19:50 holidays and so on, right?
19:53 And what happened?
19:57 Everything had already passed in
19:58 parliament, everything was ready, there
20:00 would be a vote in parliament and they
20:02 would be recognized.
20:04 They had already gathered ceremonially,
20:07 there was a press conference, and so on
20:11 And some deputies told me back then that
20:14 certain individuals, including the
20:17 president, received worried calls from
20:21 the Vatican saying, "Stop."
20:25 And what do you think? At that moment,
20:27 they were not recognized.
20:29 This was in 2020 or 2021.
20:34 And only last year or this year, I don't
20:37 remember exactly, they achieved official
20:40 recognition through international courts
20:45 So, there you go, a local religion under
20:48 leadership, well, there's no country
20:51 involved, no curators needed, right?
20:55 I want to clarify this point in what you
20:58 described. Let's say we renounce the
21:01 Vatican. No. But the local one
21:03 suppresses and stifles them so they stay
21:05 silent and disappear, right?
21:09 And what kind of wars were there when
21:10 the Crusaders arrived?
21:12 The Battle of Grunwald. Why are we in
21:14 Lithuania proud of that? What was that
21:16 war actually about? Who was fighting
21:18 whom there, if we're being honest, right
21:20 ?
21:21 And the Crusaders really lived it up
21:22 there, didn't they?
21:24 >> The Crusaders had already made their
21:27 mark back in the days of Constantinople
21:29 . So, they came as if to seek the Holy
21:32 Sepulchre, you know, over in Palestine,
21:35 right?
21:36 >> Yes, yes, yes.
21:37 >> But on the way, they looted the Church
21:39 of Constantinople.
21:41 >> They plundered everything they found
21:42 along the way.
21:44 >> Yes, everything here is like...
21:46 Those were good times, the Crusaders,
21:49 >> It was a good time.
21:50 >> A good time.
21:51 >> We won't look at the Middle Ages. We
21:54 just have to proceed from the fact that
21:57 Europe is a place where religious
22:00 tolerance should exist. No one says, you
22:04 can't say in Germany or France, that the
22:07 Muslims or Arabs are to blame.
22:10 That's forbidden.
22:11 You might offend the migrants, right?
22:14 Exactly.
22:15 But here, it turns out, one can dump all
22:17 the sins onto a traditional denomination
22:20 , onto a church that has existed here
22:22 for not just centuries, we are talking
22:24 about a millennium practically.
22:28 >> No, well, if you remove the financial
22:30 component here, you know, taxes and so
22:32 on, that is also dangerous for them,
22:34 because the church has great influence.
22:38 And those grandmothers and grandfathers
22:40 who go there, they have sons and
22:42 daughters.
22:44 And accordingly, they raise their
22:45 children in the correct Orthodox, you
22:47 know, these traditions.
22:49 And how is it for us?
22:50 We need to be strong in spirit, we need
22:52 to know how to forgive and so on, we
22:54 need to be able to think and accept
22:55 everything correctly, so to speak.
22:58 Well, if you look at the Orthodox Church
23:00 in general.
23:01 And, of course, they don't need such
23:03 people, because they can, let's say,
23:05 with their mercy—and Russians, and
23:07 generally people, Slavic people
23:09 themselves are very kind and forgive a
23:11 lot.
23:12 And, well, it's hard to paint us as
23:15 those kinds of beasts that they are
23:17 trying to portray. Well, it's pure
23:19 ideology on one hand, if you look at it
23:21 that way.
23:22 >> No, well, if we return to Ukraine again
23:24 , in 2014 there was still no 8-year war
23:27 yet.
23:28 So, President Poroshenko comes into
23:30 power.
23:31 What the hell, I don't know what his
23:33 religion, you know, is.
23:36 He comes and announces "Army, Language,
23:39 Faith."
23:41 I mean, you understand, first the army,
23:43 meaning prepare for war.
23:45 >> Yeah.
23:45 >> Language means we are replacing our
23:48 identity. And faith, naturally. And
23:52 really, eight years later, the war
23:54 begins.
23:55 And it starts—it began exactly with that
23:57 , with Army, Language, Faith.
23:59 >> Well, by the way, yes.
24:00 >> As for language and faith, that was the
24:03 granting of this mythical Tomos, a kind
24:06 of autonomy from the Russian Orthodox
24:09 Church; that is, driving a deeper wedge
24:12 , a schism that still hasn't been
24:15 overcome in Ukraine.
24:18 And we see this method of splitting
24:20 society being used in the Baltics as
24:22 well, for a long time and consistently,
24:23 unfortunately.
24:27 But now, after the special military
24:28 operation, they’ve stopped being shy.
24:31 They just stopped being shy. I will
24:33 repeat again, churches are separated
24:35 from the state everywhere, and the state
24:37 should not interfere in matters of
24:39 religious doctrine.
24:42 It can regulate the activity of a church
24:44 as a public organization, things related
24:47 to property ownership or tax payments,
24:50 but you shouldn't meddle in the
24:52 foundations of faith or issue directives
24:56 And the canonical subordination of a
24:58 church is one of the foundations of
25:00 internal church life.
25:03 Meaning who to commemorate as your
25:05 primate—the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow
25:08 and All Russia—or commemorating the
25:10 Patriarch of Constantinople, that is
25:12 interference in canonical, that is,
25:14 purely internal church affairs.
25:16 >> This is preparation for war.
25:19 Just as you rightly said, language, then
25:22 religion, it's all part of it, and all
25:24 of it, of course, combined, is
25:26 preparation for war.
25:28 That's it. That is exactly how states
25:30 disappear later on.
25:32 >> At the moment in Ukraine, what's
25:34 happening is that monks and priests have
25:36 had their draft exemptions revoked and
25:37 are being conscripted into the army,
25:39 into the UAF.
25:41 Meaning they are being called to war. I
25:43 mean...
25:44 >> All monks and priests, or only those of
25:46 specific confessions?
25:49 Is anyone drafting the Catholic Church?
25:51 No. The Uniate Church? No. Just this
25:54 Orthodox OCU.
25:56 >> And Muslims are most likely being
25:58 drafted too.
25:59 >> Only, only, only the ROC.
26:02 Those who didn't renounce their faith.
26:04 It should be noted that some did
26:06 renounce it; not everyone turned out to
26:08 be that strong in spirit.
26:11 >> Well, of course, when you are being
26:12 beaten and killed, not everyone has the
26:14 courage for that.
26:16 But what we are observing, yes, is state
26:18 terror against the church, exceptional
26:20 political persecution.
26:23 Well, it's quite strange that this is
26:25 happening in the 21st century, that
26:27 today we are somehow back in the times
26:29 of Nero, as if they were burning
26:30 Orthodox Christians.
26:35 >> You know, as we said in one of the past
26:38 shows, for Belarusians, many things
26:40 happening in the Baltics seem strange.
26:43 But for those who lived in the Baltics,
26:44 the circus isn't funny anymore. It is a
26:46 fact. What is happening there today does
26:49 not seem strange to us—to Antanas,
26:52 Edikus, Yuri, or to me personally. When
26:55 we talk about these things, why do many
26:57 Belarusians not take it seriously? They
26:59 think that we are propagandists, and
27:01 that we are intentionally slandering our
27:04 countries here. That is, in fact, the
27:05 case. I have spoken with some of them.
27:07 But if they were to immerse themselves
27:10 in that unhealthy Baltic atmosphere, God
27:14 forbid, their hair would stand on end,
27:17 you know? Well, it is a fact. Such
27:19 things are happening there.
27:20 >> What, Roman? In almost every broadcast,
27:23 we discuss this spike in military
27:25 spending, that is, the militarization of
27:28 the Baltic republics. What is this? It
27:30 is an army following Poroshenko’s
27:32 formula.
27:33 "Mova," language.
27:35 Russian language in Latvia now—not only
27:38 have all Russian schools been switched
27:41 to Latvian.
27:43 They are simply forbidden to speak it;
27:44 the police even forbid them from
27:46 speaking Russian among themselves.
27:48 So what is left? Well, faith. That is
27:51 >> That is it, this is the final stage.
27:52 >> The trinity, the holy trinity of a Nazi
27:56 >> And this is leading—where is it leading
27:58 ? Well, it is leading to war.
28:00 >> Faith is a cult.
28:01 And the modern cult of the modern person
28:04 is sports.
28:04 >> It is a form of ideology.
28:07 >> And sports, too, have now come under the
28:09 close scrutiny of the vigilant Baltic
28:14 An Estonian TV channel has deprived its
28:16 viewers of watching the closing of the
28:19 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in late
28:21 October and mid-November.
28:24 This is because the International
28:26 Olympic Committee allowed athletes from
28:29 Russia and Belarus to attend ceremonies
28:31 with national symbols.
28:33 Therefore, Estonia will not broadcast
28:36 these ceremonies for its viewers.
28:38 And apparently, when Russian or
28:40 Belarusian athletes win and are awarded
28:43 , they will likely also cut the live
28:46 broadcast.
28:47 There you go. One has to ask, who
28:49 benefits from this, who is this
28:52 interesting to?
28:54 In Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, the head
28:57 of the Foreign Ministry, criticized the
29:00 International Modern Pentathlon Union,
29:02 which stripped Lithuania of the right to
29:05 host a World Cup stage in 2027.
29:09 And they were stripped of it because
29:10 Lithuania decided not to let in Russian
29:12 and Belarusian athletes and stated that
29:14 they would not issue them visas.
29:17 And in doing so, they violated the
29:19 decision of the International Olympic
29:21 Committee.
29:23 Well, the minister noted that Vilnius’s
29:25 position regarding the participation of
29:27 Russians and Belarusians in
29:28 international tournaments has not
29:30 changed.
29:31 This means that they will not even sit
29:34 in the same field next to Belarusian and
29:36 Russian athletes.
29:39 But when we see that in the global
29:41 Olympic movement, more and more Olympic
29:43 committees are lifting the bans on the
29:46 participation of Russian and Belarusian
29:49 athletes, yes, and allowing them to use
29:51 national symbols.
29:54 Then the Baltic states find themselves
29:55 in the minority. Their teams are
29:57 prohibited from participating in the
30:00 games.
30:01 They refuse, for example, if the
30:03 football teams of Lithuania and Belarus
30:05 are drawn against each other, the
30:06 Lithuanian team won't take the field,
30:08 they accept a technical defeat, but are
30:10 very pleased that they demonstrated
30:12 their political stance.
30:14 One has to ask, why is this necessary
30:17 and what will it lead to?
30:19 And what is the point of it all, if we
30:22 are already seeing a warming trend, the
30:24 lifting of these bans that were
30:26 introduced under the guise of fighting
30:28 an "aggressor country."
30:31 >> I was following this event, and the
30:35 point is that
30:39 I think we have already turned the tide
30:43 Meaning, from our side, common sense is
30:46 returning to the whole world.
30:49 Well, of course, the Baltics are always
30:51 the first to be bad and the last to
30:52 accept anything good.
30:54 But that is just how it is.
30:56 Yes.
30:58 And this sign, that the organization
31:01 behind these competitions refused and
31:05 skipped one stage.
31:08 It is, well, naturally understandable,
31:10 because they see the politics. Why host
31:12 a championship in such a country if some
31:15 athletes from a certain country will be
31:18 denied their rights, won't be allowed
31:22 into that country, will be treated
31:25 negatively, or perhaps face some sort of
31:27 misconduct.
31:29 Why take the risk?
31:31 Every athlete, any federation—I know
31:34 many federation chairmen in Lithuania—
31:36 they try to normally and adequately
31:38 avoid any politics.
31:41 They say: "Guys, we are about sports."
31:43 And, of course, few say it publicly
31:45 because it is not safe for us. We are
31:48 expected to reason in a certain way.
31:49 Russia and Belarus must be needled,
31:51 athletes must be humiliated, and so on
31:53 and so forth. And whoever manages to
31:55 mock something or pull off a provocation
31:57 , they will be praised, maybe even given
31:59 some kind of prize.
32:01 This exists in Lithuania, and we are
32:03 already getting our own poison back.
32:07 And I think, it’s a pity, of course,
32:09 that my own country—every such world
32:11 championship in any sport is income for
32:14 the country.
32:16 Our people invest so much so that
32:17 Lithuania is known throughout the world
32:21 And where is it now? But now, a little
32:22 bit about the Dakar. That will be more
32:24 interesting. As a race car driver myself
32:25 , I find that much, much more
32:26 interesting.
32:27 Not only is the Dakar moving to Africa
32:30 in an accelerated manner.
32:32 Everyone was planning to go somewhere in
32:35 the Emirates. But what is happening
32:37 there now? What are the Americans doing
32:39 ? They pulled out their bases and said,
32:41 "defend yourselves." And things are
32:43 lively there. Well, that's that. And the
32:45 Dakar is moving back to Africa.
32:50 I'll tell a little bit of the history,
32:52 why the Dakar was always the famous
32:54 Paris-Dakar rally, right?
32:57 Why did the organizers move it out of
33:00 Africa and go to South America?
33:04 Because the situation in Africa was
33:06 simply uncontrollable, some terrorists
33:08 just killed athletes, and they
33:09 apparently stole a vehicle, it’s all a
33:11 bit unclear.
33:13 And just after a few such situations,
33:15 the federation said, well, they also had
33:18 their own political proclamations and
33:20 committed a murder, I don't remember in
33:22 which African country.
33:24 So that’s why...well, now we are
33:26 returning back.
33:28 It’s interesting what will happen, but
33:30 even though I am Lithuanian, in the past
33:33 season, Vaidotas Zala, whom I know well
33:35 , doesn't know me now because he is
33:37 pro-Ukraine.
33:39 He has already forgotten all about me.
33:41 He became the truck champion.
33:45 But I don't know if Vladimir Chagin will
33:47 return with KAMAZ or not, but I would
33:50 like for them to compete for real.
33:54 Because if, on the other hand, you keep
33:56 proving that one must defeat Russia,
33:58 Belarus, and so on and so forth, well
34:00 then, go ahead and win.
34:02 There was the Cold War.
34:05 Look at the matches there were, Canada
34:07 versus the Soviet Union, in hockey.
34:11 Basketball was the same thing.
34:13 Lithuanian Zalgiris versus the Moscow
34:16 Russian CSKA as well. Everyone
34:19 understood that it was rooted in
34:21 politics, how everyone rejoiced, "Oh, we
34:23 won over Russia!" So go ahead and win.
34:28 But when they realize they’ll get their
34:31 butts kicked, then everything goes the
34:33 other way.
34:36 And the main thing is that we also had
34:40 such a fight, this Sergey Masloboev,
34:43 very pro-Lithuania.
34:46 He, by the way, said he is more of a
34:48 patriot than, than, he says, even though
34:51 I have a Russian name and surname, I am
34:53 more of a patriot than some cellophane
34:55 wrapper, actually. He recently expressed
34:58 that.
34:59 But the point is, he refused, he was
35:01 scheduled for a fight with a Russian
35:06 a kickboxer.
35:08 The question was about defending the
35:10 belt.
35:12 Well, he's serious, he is very
35:13 professional, of course.
35:15 And he refused? Why did he refuse? He,
35:19 the belt...
35:20 >> He got scared.
35:21 >> Yes, he got scared because there was a
35:23 risk, he found out how much this Russian
35:25 had prepared during all that time.
35:29 And he backed out of this fight. So you
35:31 go, win, prove it, right?
35:34 No.
35:36 >> Come on, let me tell you a little bit
35:38 about how sports were in the Soviet era
35:41 So, there was a famous hockey team in
35:44 Riga, Latvia, Dynamo Riga.
35:48 And they played at the level of the top
35:51 three, you see. Well, the most powerful
35:53 one was, of course, CSKA, the Central
35:54 Sports Club of the Army. That’s the
35:56 Moscow one and so on.
35:58 The Soviet Union national team was
35:59 formed from that CSKA and so on, you see
36:03 Right.
36:04 And after one of the championships,
36:06 where Latvia took second place, in the
36:09 final they almost beat CSKA, almost took
36:11 first, but still lost, though they
36:13 played incredibly well.
36:15 And CSKA took from...
36:20 the Dinamo Riga team, coached by
36:22 Tikhonov, Vyacheslav Tikhonov...wait,
36:24 not Vyacheslav, I forgot, Tikhonov and
36:27 the famous forward Helmut Balderis.
36:32 So it turned out that Latvia had two
36:35 teams it was rooting for.
36:38 Basically, Dinamo Riga, of course, and
36:40 CSKA, because our coach was there, our
36:42 Balderis was there. Right.
36:45 But the funniest thing was, I was at
36:47 that match when CSKA played Dinamo Riga
36:49 in Riga.
36:51 And Helmut Balderis...
36:53 the stands started chanting "Helmut, go
36:56 home! Helmut, go home!"
36:59 Balderis scored a goal against Dinamo
37:02 Riga, then turned around, made a gesture
37:04 with his arm, and showed them everything
37:08 And the thing was, there was no malice
37:10 in it.
37:11 He started clapping, laughing, and they
37:13 started whistling. I mean, it was just
37:16 like that. And the fact that there was
37:18 real competition, that there was, well,
37:21 sort of politics?
37:23 Well, politics, let's say, also, because
37:25 the Latvian leadership was also somewhat
37:28 in opposition to the central government
37:32 Well, as it always happens, I mean...
37:36 >> some kind of competition.
37:38 >> Latvians cheered for CSKA when CSKA
37:41 played, say, against Dynamo St.
37:42 Petersburg or someone else.
37:45 Latvians cheered for CSKA, I know that
37:46 for a fact.
37:47 >> You see, sports is like that.
37:49 >> Vatniks.
37:50 >> We are in sports.
37:51 Well, for example, there’s some kind of
37:53 competition. You still root for your
37:56 side. That doesn't mean we have to fight
37:58 because of it.
38:00 We just watch the football.
38:02 I remember when I lived in Spain, they
38:04 were just crazy about football, right?
38:08 >> I know what you're talking about.
38:09 >> Yes. And for instance, in a bar, there
38:11 was a table of Englishmen, another table
38:14 of Spaniards.
38:16 It was a loud match, I remember, I don't
38:18 recall if it was the World Cup or the
38:20 European Championship.
38:23 But everyone was friendly, everyone
38:24 rooting for their side, and that's it.
38:27 Those who jumped up, they came with
38:29 their own, but, well, okay, Brazil is
38:32 playing Germany. Well, we're from Europe
38:34 , so we root for the Germans. We look
38:36 for those associations, but everyone is
38:38 friendly. Everyone is just friendly.
38:40 There are, of course, football hooligans
38:42 , how can football be without hooligans
38:44 That's something else entirely. But
38:46 mainly, there is no place for politics
38:48 there, and there shouldn't be. It’s all
38:50 not about war, no one is actually
38:53 fighting. Even though there is a
38:55 struggle, right? Well, they hit each
38:57 other, but...
38:59 >> Well, if you recall the origins of the
39:01 Olympic movement, in Ancient Greece the
39:03 Olympics were a time when all actual
39:05 wars would cease, and representatives
39:07 from different city-states would come
39:09 and compete together in sports.
39:13 And it was truly a time that celebrated
39:16 human strength and agility.
39:19 Back then, everyone loved and adored
39:20 these athletes. But the core idea was
39:23 indeed that sports should unite and
39:25 reconcile people.
39:27 We have already seen, during the 20th
39:29 century, during the revival of the
39:31 Olympic movement by Pierre de Coubertin
39:34 , that there were certain moments.
39:37 The Nazi Olympics in Hitler’s Germany,
39:40 Then the Soviet team's boycott of the
39:43 Los Angeles Olympics, and the American
39:45 team's boycott of the 1980 Moscow
39:47 Olympics.
39:49 But those were isolated incidents.
39:53 Yet, the Olympic movement itself
39:55 persisted.
39:57 What we have seen in recent years, when
39:59 they began to ban athletes from our
40:02 countries, Russia and Belarus, from the
40:04 Olympic Games simply for political
40:06 reasons—not allowing them at all, or
40:09 allowing only individuals to participate
40:11 without a national flag.
40:15 And all this while, those famous doping
40:18 scandals were concocted out of thin air
40:22 And, for instance, they disqualified
40:24 Russian and Belarusian athletes—the
40:25 Belarusians for no apparent reason at
40:29 The Russians were banned because their
40:31 country allegedly started an aggressive
40:33 war against Ukraine. Yet no one expelled
40:35 Israeli athletes from the Olympic
40:37 movement for their aggressive war
40:39 against Palestine. But why?
40:41 >> Wait, and what about the Americans and
40:44 Iran?
40:45 >> The Americans, yes, Iran and Venezuela.
40:48 What? How? Why did no one say anything?
40:52 Therefore, it is clear that this is all
40:54 double standards, and it is clear that
40:56 all these Olympic structures, which were
40:58 subservient to the West, have led to a
41:00 split in the global sports movement.
41:04 They forced us to hold the Eurasian
41:06 Games, they forced us to hold the CIS
41:09 Games, because our athletes need
41:11 somewhere to compete, to see each other
41:14 , and to showcase their achievements.
41:18 There you go. But in this case, we are
41:20 currently observing a situation where
41:25 many countries, including European ones
41:28 , as well as these global sports
41:29 organizations, have started to move away
41:32 from this rigid position.
41:35 But the Baltic states—not only are they
41:38 demonstrating this stubbornness, like
41:40 rams: meaning we won't play together, we
41:42 won't let them onto our territory, even
41:45 though we will lose because of it,
41:47 denying our own national teams points or
41:49 qualification and leaving them at the
41:51 very bottom of the table—but they, along
41:54 with some other European countries, are
41:56 once again demanding that sports
41:58 organizations impose strict sanctions,
42:01 bringing back harsh sanctions against
42:03 Belarus and Russia.
42:06 I mean, it just seems like such a
42:08 complete degradation today in the minds
42:10 of these people, the governments of
42:13 those countries, regarding their
42:15 understanding of what the global sports
42:18 movement is even about.
42:20 >> Well, let me remind you of the story
42:22 from 2022.
42:23 The European Hockey Championship was
42:26 taking place then, and one of the cities
42:30 where it was held was Riga.
42:33 The main competitions were held there.
42:38 And the athletes, including the
42:39 Belarusian national team, were staying
42:41 at the Hotel Latvija.
42:44 It’s right in the city center, and
42:46 across from it is a large square where
42:48 there were flagpoles with flags of all
42:50 the countries participating in the
42:52 championship.
42:55 Including the Belarusian one.
42:57 So, the current President of Latvia—he
43:00 was the Foreign Minister then—and the
43:02 Mayor of Riga staged a stunt.
43:06 They removed the state flag of Belarus
43:09 from the flagpole and hung up that BChB
43:12 flag instead.
43:14 >> After which we severed diplomatic
43:16 relations with them.
43:17 >> Well, there was another small
43:20 >> No, how—well, imagine, for this—this is
43:22 called the desecration of a sovereign
43:24 country's flag.
43:28 That is a criminal offense under the
43:30 penal code.
43:31 >> You know, it’s already become normal now
43:33 . Recently, recently in Estonia—hold on
43:36 , recently in Estonia, a Ukrainian who
43:38 moved to Estonia was sentenced only to a
43:40 fine for wiping himself with an Estonian
43:42 flag in the bathroom.
43:45 >> He’s the master of his own house.
43:46 >> In Estonia, a runaway Ukrainian.
43:49 >> Regarding the flag, there was also a
43:51 story that one of our activists
43:54 was outraged and swapped that BChB flag
43:56 for the normal state flag of the
43:58 Republic of Belarus.
44:01 It hung for exactly 50 seconds before a
44:03 policeman came running and forced him to
44:06 change it back.
44:09 And the most interesting thing is that
44:11 he timed it so the Belarusian team bus
44:12 was passing by the hotel at that very
44:14 moment.
44:16 But finding that real Belarusian flag
44:18 was a whole problem; it was hard to find
44:21 one in Latvia. I interviewed him, we
44:24 talked.
44:26 He even reached out to the Embassy of
44:27 the Republic of Belarus in Latvia at the
44:29 time.
44:31 And they told him, "What, are we a shop
44:33 ?" Like, "Go, find it, buy it yourself.
44:35 "
44:36 And after that, news appeared that
44:39 Lukashenko absolutely tore into the
44:41 representative, the head consul of that
44:44 , yes, institution at the time—I
44:47 wouldn't call it anything else.
44:51 Well, heads were rolling, so to speak.
44:54 >> Well, if you look at where major
44:56 Lithuanian sports were born, for
44:58 instance.
45:00 In the USSR, yes.
45:02 The rivalry between CSKA Moscow and
45:05 Žalgiris went far beyond just Lithuanian
45:09 sports. Lithuanian sports simply grew up
45:11 on that. And if we even take
45:15 hockey, I even have a specific example.
45:19 I am from the city of Elektrėnai, where
45:22 the Lithuanian national hockey team
45:24 always was. Yes, the entire national
45:27 team was in Elektrėnai. Because there is
45:29 a large ice rink there, built back in
45:31 the Soviet era, yes.
45:33 Yes, and since Soviet times, we happened
45:35 to have that strong team left there.
45:38 And so, I actually went to school with
45:40 Darius Kasparaitis, he's an NHL star.
45:43 He was recognized as the best defenseman
45:45 in the entire NHL. Darius Kasparaitis, a
45:48 Lithuanian. He was one grade ahead of me
45:51 I was little back then too, and I also
45:53 went to hockey practice there.
45:55 Probably all the boys at that time,
45:57 there wasn't a single boy who didn't go
45:59 to that section.
46:00 So what happened?
46:01 Kasparaitis was involved, well, he went
46:04 to hockey, to training sessions all the
46:08 And then, the CSKA coach arrived, what
46:10 was his name, Tikhonov, Tikhonov, what
46:12 is his last name?
46:14 Tikhonovsky, I think.
46:15 >> Tikhonov.
46:17 >> Tikhonov, Tikhonov.
46:20 >> Good heavens.
46:23 >> That’s the hockey coach, Nadya, it’s
46:25 Tikhonov for hockey.
46:26 >> Yes, yes.
46:27 This CSKA coach arrived, and he was just
46:29 sitting there, watching the training;
46:32 they were preparing for some kind of
46:34 competition.
46:36 And he looked at Kasparaitis, he watched
46:38 Kasparaitis and said, "I'm taking this
46:41 one with me to Moscow."
46:43 Yes, well, he liked him for some reason
46:45 , and he said that he was taking him
46:47 with him to Moscow. So what then? How
46:50 did he become a star? He went to live in
46:52 Moscow, played for CSKA, and went to
46:55 school there, yes.
46:58 And then he made it to the NHL and
46:59 became the best defenseman in the NHL.
47:02 But again, it just goes to show, an
47:04 ordinary guy from a small town.
47:07 >> Yes, and the USA bought him out.
47:09 >> This shows exactly where big-time sports
47:11 in Lithuania came from in the first
47:12 place.
47:13 >> By the way, in Riga, the place where I
47:16 lived nearby, there was a sports cafe,
47:21 where they watch different matches on TV
47:25 over a beer, and on the wall hangs
47:28 Kasparaitis 'hockey jersey.
47:32 And there's a signature, Kasparaitis.
47:35 So I asked the cafe owner, or rather,
47:37 not the owner, but the cafe worker, "
47:39 What does Kasparaitis have to do with
47:41 this?"
47:42 She said, "Well, the cafe belongs to him
47:44 ." I said, "Wow."
47:46 >> Not bad.
47:49 >> Well, so that we can end not on the
47:51 topic of sports, but on the general
47:53 theme of Russophobia, yes, Russophobia
47:56 is taking on very bizarre forms in the
47:58 Baltics today.
48:01 In Latvia, in Riga, they decided to ban
48:05 performances
48:08 by such artists as Haddaway, Dr. Alban,
48:12 and La Bouche, who for some reason in
48:15 Latvia were considered
48:21 a problem for national security, because
48:23 they performed in Russia and are
48:26 connected to the Russian concert
48:28 industry.
48:29 >> I’ll tell you more, they were in Belarus
48:31 too.
48:32 >> Yes, and that’s why they decided to
48:35 strike them from the list for the big,
48:38 grand concert that was scheduled for
48:41 November 20th, a 90s disco show, yes.
48:46 So, okay, you’re not letting in Russian
48:49 artists, or Belarusian artists, sure.
48:53 But to stop letting in foreign artists—
48:55 actual foreigners—to stop black artists
48:57 from entering Latvia because of ties to
48:59 Russia. That, forgive me, is just, well
49:02 , some kind of insanity.
49:03 >> identity. They have Laima, who is
49:06 world-famous across the courtyard, so to
49:09 speak, for that one good song.
49:11 >> let me comment on this news. When this
49:13 news about Latvia came out
49:14 >> Yes, it was funny.
49:16 >> the very next day the same thing was
49:18 done in Lithuania.
49:20 >> Are you serious? How could that be?
49:22 >> Literally the next day.
49:24 So, this news came out, the one you,
49:27 Alexei Viktorovich, just voiced.
49:29 And that was it.
49:31 >> That’s what I’m thinking, too.
49:32 And what was it that Lavrov recently
49:34 said, I believe, about knowing where the
49:36 decision-making center is?
49:38 So, it must be somewhere in Latvia, in
49:40 Riga, probably.
49:41 >> artists, yes.
49:44 Because those people of ours, it turned
49:47 out, probably missed it, somehow didn't
49:49 notice. It all came out in Latvia, and
49:51 they looked and thought, "Wait, we have
49:52 the same thing."
49:53 >> Yes, the Entente, look at that.
49:56 They gave permission for the whole
49:58 concert at first, and then discovered
50:00 that three out of four performers slated
50:03 to participate were linked to the
50:05 Russian industry.
50:07 And they didn't know before that, right
50:10 , that Dr. Alban—how many of those 90s
50:13 discos has he toured, I don’t know. Well
50:16 , he toured so many in Belarus back in
50:19 the nineties.
50:22 Exactly. Well, that is just
50:23 >> Kremlin money.
50:24 >> This is already a situation that is,
50:26 well, simply senile. And even more,
50:29 since we’re ending our broadcast with
50:31 cultural issues, I was even more amused
50:33 by another piece of news.
50:36 There are artists who are brought in,
50:38 who are allowed in, but who can't draw
50:40 an audience.
50:42 Makarevich came with his once-popular
50:45 band Mashina Vremeni, right? He also
50:48 arrived in Latvia. The concert was on
50:50 October 18th.
50:53 Well, since something arrived from
50:55 Ukraine that day and exploded in
50:56 Lithuania, and everything was blocked in
50:59 Latvia, including the Riga airport being
51:01 shut down, the concert was delayed by an
51:03 hour and a half.
51:06 So, of those who did make it, part of
51:08 the audience couldn't handle it and just
51:10 left. Well, apparently Makarevich isn't
51:11 such a master that people would sit and
51:13 wait for him for an extra hour and a
51:14 half.
51:15 In short, they aimed for a stadium,
51:18 13,500 people, couldn't even sell half,
51:21 and the concert atmosphere was described
51:25 with a nice word— "rotten."
51:28 There.
51:29 And Makarevich himself was addressing
51:31 empty stands, trying to cheer the people
51:33 up.
51:35 >> It was probably like this: "You are the
51:36 best."
51:38 >> I should remind you that he is a foreign
51:40 agent, yes.
51:40 >> country.
51:42 A man who made such wonderful programs,
51:44 actually, I really liked watching Smak,
51:46 it was so cozy and family-oriented.
51:50 And to just repay his own country with
51:53 such diarrheal.
51:56 >> The man was cherished in every way
51:57 during the Soviet Union.
52:00 Although he calls himself a dissident,
52:02 they all fought against the Soviet
52:03 regime there, yet they had everything.
52:07 Concerts, stadiums, records, they held
52:09 underground concerts, and nobody dragged
52:11 him in for that.
52:13 He made huge amounts of money, yes, huge
52:16 popularity. Right. Then, indeed, in the
52:20 new Russia, after the collapse of the
52:22 Soviet Union, he also found his place,
52:24 everything.
52:26 A great showman, yes, a very famous
52:28 group and a show on television, and
52:30 everything else.
52:31 >> did he return the blood money?
52:34 >> So, the most important thing is that he
52:36 then got offended, he got offended that
52:38 Russia started the Special Military
52:40 Operation, left Russia, did not accept
52:42 the war, went around shouting "No to war
52:44 ."
52:45 Yes, but he has been doing it since
52:47 fourteen.
52:48 He condemned it since fourteen, went
52:51 around when the situation in Donbas
52:53 started. But he arrived in Israel,
52:55 renounced his Russian citizenship, and
52:57 everything is fine in Israel.
53:00 That is, the policy that Israel is
53:01 pursuing is quite normal, and the "No to
53:03 war" thing doesn't bother him there.
53:05 Well, and here is the result. And who is
53:07 his audience? I mean, who listens to him
53:09 now in principle, yes?
53:10 >> idiots.
53:11 >> So they are traveling now. I also heard
53:13 about another fugitive, whose songs the
53:15 whole country used to sing in karaoke,
53:18 Valery Meladze. He also has concerts
53:20 somewhere there, in Dubai, Paris,
53:23 whatever, anything but Russia.
53:25 Well, where will you gather the same
53:27 kind of emigrants there, who also left
53:28 with nostalgia for their homeland?
53:30 >> Fugitive foreign agents.
53:32 >> are you interesting to them in the West
53:34 ? Not interesting.
53:36 Laima Vaikule was putting on her concert
53:38 , couldn't get people together, yes,
53:39 they canceled the last one.
53:41 Uh, so. Therefore.
53:43 >> what an interesting coincidence happened
53:45 with one group. I don't remember their
53:47 name, they are very popular, an
53:49 Ukrainian group. They were also
53:50 cherished in Russia and so on.
53:53 When the Special Military Operation
53:55 began, they had a big tour across Europe
53:57 planned in advance.
54:00 And, of course, at that moment, they
54:01 didn't want to lose money. And they
54:03 immediately harshly condemned Russia,
54:05 they were afraid that they would, well,
54:07 even have those concerts canceled. They
54:09 were, naturally, welcomed, allowed to
54:10 dance there, sing their little songs.
54:13 But as soon as it all ended, they have
54:15 no more money, and no income from
54:17 anywhere.
54:20 And they suddenly started to see the
54:22 light and began to admit that one can
54:23 speak Russian, and in general, they want
54:25 to return to Russia.
54:27 >> Kamensky.
54:28 >> Nastya, yes, yes, that is exactly who we
54:29 are talking about, yes.
54:31 I just, I, I haven't even seen such
54:32 honeysuckle
54:33 >> TikTok's main Cerberus has become Mit,
54:35 that's ByteDance, right?
54:38 >> Yes, ByteDance.
54:39 >> Oh.
54:41 Anyway, my friends, you must love your
54:42 homeland, you must not renounce your
54:44 homeland.
54:46 Uh, so. And, uh,
54:47 >> The Soviet Union, so one can simply
54:49 label us as traitors, but we are not
54:51 traitors.
54:52 >> my homeland, yes, where is my homeland.
54:55 So. Well, the homeland, generally
54:57 speaking, is where a normal, adequate,
54:59 sane policy is conducted.
55:01 Uh, so, where they don't try to pit
55:03 people against each other, but on the
55:04 contrary, speak about the need for
55:06 friendship, peace, and good
55:07 neighborliness, which, for example, the
55:08 Republic of Belarus is doing.
55:12 Dear viewers, dear listeners, today's
55:14 broadcast on Baltic Wave is coming to an
55:16 end.
55:17 We wish you all the best, we wish you
55:19 not to lose your homeland, we wish you
55:21 not to lose your memories, no matter
55:24 what political upheavals may occur, but
55:26 a person must always understand and feel
55:28 their belonging to something great. We
55:31 had a great country, the Soviet Union,
55:33 we all come from it, at least those of
55:36 us in this studio. We all cherish a
55:38 piece of that Soviet childhood. So, we
55:41 cannot now divide it into Russia,
55:44 Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine, Lithuania. For
55:47 us, it is still all one big home.
55:50 We care about it, and we really want us
55:52 all to continue living in this home in
55:54 peace.
55:55 And we wish for you to also live in
55:57 peace. And that's all for now, friends.
55:59 See you next time.
Judged by claude-sonnet-5.5-eu on 2026-11-14 15:16 UTC. A flag means “worth a look”; a person decides.