НА БАЛТИЙСКОЙ ВОЛНЕ · published 4 days ago ·
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Nuclear dreams, corruption in the Saeima and shooting on the border | On the Baltic Wave
Ядерные мечты, коррупция в Сейме и стрельба на границе | НА БАЛТИЙСКОЙ ВОЛНЕ
What the site found
Pushes the agenda · agenda: No nuclear umbrella for Baltics
Belief the Pravda network pushes: France's nuclear umbrella protects Europe but leaves the Baltic states unprotected, and Lithuanians are denied a vote on it.
Pro-Kremlin talk show hosts and guests say France left Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia out of its nuclear-armed fighter plan, so the Baltics are 'written off', 'dead weight' and 'lapdogs', and NATO could deploy nuclear weapons there secretly without referendums.
The video says · at 7:52 · quote checked against the transcript
“Ah, well, this again confirms my theory that the Baltics have actually been written off.”
Ah, well, this again confirms my theory that the Baltics have actually been written off.
The basic fact that the Baltics are not on the reported list of countries is accurate, but the video turns it into 'the Baltics are abandoned and unprotected'. It also speculates that nuclear weapons could be brought in secretly with no referendums, which matches Agenda 1 (Baltics left out, no say for Lithuanians) and partly Agenda 2. The opinions are framed as insults, though, so a fact-checker should weigh how far this is distortion rather than commentary.
The Pravda stories it echoes
Closest stories from the Pravda network, by meaning. Each links to the site’s comparison with trusted Lithuanian news.
9 days ago · Escalation at any cost. Lithuania and Latvia want atomic bombs
M low
F medium
4 verified differences
Transcript (en, 1534 lines)
0:07 Good day to our dear radio listeners
0:09 whose receivers are tuned to Baltic Wave
0:12 , so the moment you press the button,
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0:17 Good day to our dear viewers, who need
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0:24 broadcasting the latest episodes of our
0:27 show, Baltic Wave.
0:29 I highly recommend that you go to
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0:33 name: On the Baltic Wave. Then you will
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0:37 also watch us.
0:39 Also, look for us on the VK Video
0:41 platform and watch us on Telegram.
0:44 We have our own Telegram channel there
0:47 called Grani Svobody in Latin letters,
0:50 GraniSV, without any spaces.
0:52 Links to the current platforms where you
0:55 can watch our new episodes will be
0:57 provided there.
1:00 In any case, "On the Baltic Wave" is a
1:02 show where I, Alexei Belyaev, a
1:03 Belarusian journalist, political
1:05 scientist, and historian, invite guests
1:07 to the studio who know from personal
1:09 experience what life on the shores of
1:11 the Baltic Sea is like.
1:13 They can share their memories,
1:15 impressions, and feelings with you,
1:17 offer interesting advice, and make some
1:19 elaborate forecasts about how the Baltic
1:21 region will develop in the future.
1:24 In short, people who have experienced
1:27 all the charms of Baltic democracy
1:29 firsthand.
1:30 One such person with us in the studio
1:32 today is, first of all, Antanas
1:34 Kandrotas, a well-known Lithuanian
1:36 politician, entrepreneur, and blogger,
1:38 also known on the internet by the
1:40 nickname "Celofanas."
1:42 This is a man who cares about his
1:44 country and believes that Lithuania
1:45 should live in peace with its neighbors
1:47 .
1:48 However, the Lithuanian government for
1:50 some reason fundamentally disagrees with
1:52 him on this. Hello, Antanas. Hello.
1:54 >> We also have someone in the studio today
1:56 who also believes that Lithuania, as
1:58 well as Latvia and Estonia, should live
2:00 in peace with their neighbors. Yes. But
2:03 he himself represents the other side. He
2:05 is on the other side of the barricades.
2:07 He is a Belarusian political scientist,
2:09 analyst, and deputy chairman of the
2:11 International Good Neighborhood Forum.
2:13 So he is the one fighting for this good
2:15 neighborhood. Dmitry Zasukhin. Hello,
2:17 Dmitry.
2:18 >> Hello.
2:19 >> And we also have someone in the studio
2:21 today who simply fights for the
2:22 happiness. of the common person,
2:24 suggesting to those who are struggling
2:26 in Latvia to come to Belarus, just as he
2:28 did himself. That is, former Latvian and
2:30 now Belarusian blogger Roman Samul.
2:32 Hello, Roman.
2:35 >> And finally, a person who has seen much
2:37 , knows much, and has sailed the seas
2:40 and oceans, while also once being a
2:42 non-citizen of Latvia—implying someone
2:45 with residency but without citizenship.
2:49 This is also a blogger who moved from
2:51 Latvia to Belarus, Konstantin Rudakov,
2:54 who can also be found online under the
2:56 pseudonym Solomon Bernstein. Hello,
2:59 Konstantin Solomon.
3:00 >> Hello. Latvia.
3:01 >> Hello, Konstantin. Hello, Solomon.
3:04 Greetings exchanged.
3:06 Well, friends, let's talk now about some
3:08 interesting letdowns.
3:10 Specifically, how the Baltic countries
3:12 are falling short on many things.
3:14 Meaning they want one thing, but get
3:16 another.
3:16 Well, here is the first interesting
3:18 letdown. We have been discussing for a
3:21 long time how Lithuania, Latvia, and
3:24 Estonia have been hoping, by hook or by
3:27 crook, that nuclear weapons would be
3:30 brought and deployed there. They have
3:33 already been cozying up to France, Great
3:35 Britain, and the United States. All just
3:38 hopes and dreams. And now, some news has
3:41 appeared.
3:43 Paris is discussing with a full ten
3:45 European countries a plan to deploy
3:47 French Rafale fighter jets equipped with
3:49 nuclear weapons on their territory.
3:52 >> This is reported by the famous Wall
3:55 Street Journal.
3:57 We have already heard, yes, that the
3:59 French have offered Europeans a plan for
4:02 nuclear deterrence, extending their
4:04 French nuclear umbrella over them.
4:08 It is interesting, these countries are
4:11 interesting when we list them. So,
4:13 forward deterrence is being offered to
4:16 Belgium and Great Britain. I have just
4:19 one question here: why? Because Great
4:21 Britain already has its own weapons,
4:23 right?
4:24 But nevertheless, to Greece, Denmark,
4:26 the Netherlands, Norway, Finland,
4:28 Germany, Sweden, and Poland—with Poland
4:31 having recently stated that they are
4:33 ready to host French nuclear weapons on
4:35 their territory and will strive for it.
4:38 Alas, neither Latvia, nor Lithuania, nor
4:41 Estonia are on this list, even though
4:43 they really wanted to be, but they are
4:46 being quietly ignored.
4:48 >> You shouldn't give a fool a firearm.
4:50 >> There.
4:51 And there is also another wise country,
4:54 it turns out, which, despite having a
4:57 not-so-wise Prime Minister, has
4:59 nevertheless refused to join France's
5:02 nuclear club. That is Italy.
5:04 >> Italy. Italy.
5:06 >> There. So the Italians still have some
5:08 remnants of brainpower left, right?
5:10 There. And our three Baltic lapdogs are
5:13 sitting there worrying. "They didn't
5:15 take us, they won't give them to us.""
5:17 We have Rafales on temporary duty, but
5:20 they won't give us the nuclear missiles
5:22 ," those little dogs, those rats.
5:26 >> Well, I mean the political elite.
5:28 >> Well, I think that's, in principle,
5:30 deserved, right? So, even with these
5:33 countries, serious European states do
5:36 not want to have anything to do with
5:38 them.
5:39 >> I think the point here isn't that they
5:41 don't want to deal with them, but rather
5:42 that there is no pressing, strict
5:44 necessity yet.
5:45 So, it was important to create the
5:47 groundwork here, yes, to prepare, uh,
5:49 let's say, all the necessary documents,
5:51 approvals, and create, uh, let's say, a
5:53 staging ground so that at any moment
5:55 when necessary, it could be done.
5:58 Perhaps, right now, for some reasons,
6:00 yes, NATO generals are sitting there
6:02 thinking that, maybe, for now, it's not
6:04 worth escalating the situation so much.
6:06 But as soon as it's needed, all the
6:08 necessary preparations have already been
6:10 made, and it won't be any trouble to
6:12 openly or secretly deliver that very
6:14 nuclear weapon there, and perhaps not
6:16 even notify anyone about it.
6:19 And for this, there will be no need to
6:21 blow up this whole information campaign
6:22 again, to discuss, to talk, to beat
6:24 around the bush, to look for some
6:26 approvals, to hold referendums, and so
6:28 on.
6:29 The main thing is that they have solved
6:31 a key task. That is, they have prepared
6:34 the very groundwork that they will use
6:36 when they need it.
6:37 >> Well, I wouldn't agree with you there,
6:39 Dmitry. Why?
6:41 Because this nuclear umbrella and this
6:43 nuclear deterrence program that France
6:46 is proposing assumes that the countries
6:49 where French nuclear weapons will be
6:51 stationed must go through a certain
6:54 stage of training.
6:56 So, this is all not for now.
6:58 Those states that are being worked with
7:01 , that means they will be invited to
7:03 French maneuvers, where they will also
7:05 use the nuclear factor, yes, they will
7:07 be invited to bases, and there they will
7:10 be familiarized with some features of
7:12 its use, and so on.
7:15 But when countries like, for example,
7:17 Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia are simply
7:19 not there, then even if they want to
7:21 join this program, it will require a
7:23 rather long period of time.
7:25 Much simpler.
7:28 Dmitry is reasoning like an educated
7:30 person. Let's not forget that in Europe
7:33 , they really love to elect politicians
7:36 who, in fact, only have a secondary
7:38 education. I can confirm this to you 100
7:42 %. Take any politician, public figure,
7:44 and so on.
7:45 And look at what they actually finished
7:46 in their life.
7:47 The same goes for the generals, colonels
7:49 , lieutenant colonels, and so on there.
7:52 Ah, well, this again confirms my theory
7:54 that the Baltics have actually been
7:56 written off.
7:58 They are counting on the long term, if
8:00 you look at it that way, let's say,
8:02 having nuclear weapons, Poland, Finland
8:04 , notice, yes, it was mentioned as if
8:06 Russia won't attack them.
8:08 But this is also a major signal to the
8:10 Baltics themselves, who love to bark at
8:12 the Russian Federation and the Republic
8:14 of Belarus from behind the fence.
8:17 And perhaps they are being put in their
8:20 place now: saying, "Look, we won't
8:22 really support you, and we can't even
8:24 give you those nuclear weapons," or
8:27 perhaps—as an option—they're saying, "
8:29 You're not barking enough," or
8:31 conversely, "Go provoke them so we can
8:34 write you off."
8:35 This confirms once again that the
8:37 Baltics are dead weight for Europe.
8:41 These are countries that cannot even
8:43 support themselves and are always living
8:45 at the expense of larger EU nations.
8:48 That’s all there is to it.
8:50 >> Roman, I’m going to say something rather
8:52 indelicate, but you know, I want to give
8:54 you an example.
8:57 Imagine a guy who is seeing several
9:00 girls at the same time.
9:03 And so,
9:06 he respects one of them and sees a
9:08 long-term relationship with her.
9:10 But the others are just there, on the
9:12 side. Oh, I got drunk,
9:14 >> I want something, I called, and she ran
9:17 over. There.
9:19 And that’s exactly how Europe treats
9:21 these countries: when something
9:24 interesting is happening, a party, they
9:26 don’t bother to notify or call, but when
9:29 there's nothing to do, they’re bored, or
9:32 they just need a convenient fool.
9:35 Just like that. Yes, "Come on, come here
9:37 ." And they are like that girl who hopes
9:41 for something.
9:43 You know, when an unattractive girl, not
9:46 the prettiest, believes in some elite
9:49 guy, and she thinks, "He talks to me
9:52 sometimes, I have hope that he will
9:55 marry me."
9:57 But he spends his time with girls of his
9:59 own level.
10:01 I don’t know if this is an appropriate
10:04 subject, but it helps people understand
10:06 how relationships between young people
10:09 really work in real life.
10:12 And here, it’s exactly the same thing.
10:15 There are no serious relationships, just
10:17 the kind where you get drunk with
10:19 friends, and you're embarrassed to show
10:21 up drunk in front of the one you respect
10:24 I mean, I’m planning to get married, but
10:26 for this other one, "I want something."
10:28 "Hey, call her, tell her to come over."
10:30 That’s exactly how I see them operating
10:32 What does that mean?
10:34 No respect, just occasional one-off
10:38 >> compliments. "You know, tonight you’re
10:42 the best."
10:42 >> We know.
10:44 In reality, what is there to take from
10:45 them? Everything that could be taken,
10:47 they have already taken from the Baltics
10:50 They took the workforce, some of the,
10:51 let’s say, brains, and they’ve
10:53 practically cut down all the forests.
10:56 When I was living in Latvia during my
10:58 last few years there, I would just drive
11:00 along the highways. Along the highways,
11:02 at most you only see one row of trees
11:04 along the roadsides, and that's it.
11:05 There are practically no forests left.
11:07 You can even go now, if you don't
11:08 believe me, to Google Earth, for
11:10 instance, and look at those satellite
11:12 images. Everything was just logged in
11:14 squares and hauled away by such large
11:17 corporations as IKEA. The same goes for
11:20 half of the forests that supposedly
11:23 belong to the state. In reality, they
11:25 were mortgaged long ago to secure those
11:27 loans that are constantly being taken
11:29 out. There is nothing left there.
11:32 Why does Europe even need these
11:34 freeloaders, and they will never accept
11:36 us as equals, will they?
11:39 Because the Latvians still believed for
11:41 some reason that by joining the EU, they
11:43 would become, I don't know, almost the
11:46 main lawmakers, trendsetters, and so on
11:48 . Yes, to them, we are third-rate. These
11:50 are former Soviet people, and they will
11:53 never acknowledge them, or Slavs in
11:55 general, for that matter.
11:56 >> Roma, let me add a little something.
11:59 We were useful as long as they were
12:01 siphoning off our resources,
12:04 >> yes,
12:04 >> with all those factories and blah blah
12:06 blah, because we were selling things
12:08 ourselves, we had privatization, all
12:10 that yada yada yada. Now there's nothing
12:12 left to suck out. So let's give them a
12:14 different task. We need to take
12:17 everything we've drained and sucked out
12:20 —and they've devoured themselves—and
12:23 turn it into a military site. Isn't that
12:25 just wonderful? And that's it. And now
12:28 the purpose has changed. After whatever
12:31 happens—or God forbid, doesn't—there
12:35 will be a second, or rather a third
12:38 purpose. And it’s like some kind of tool
12:42 ,
12:43 >> you know, used for this.
12:45 Then adapted for something else, then a
12:49 third thing, but the tool itself doesn't
12:52 decide how it will be used. The one who
12:55 wields it decides.
12:58 I like to present things to the audience
13:01 through such examples during my show,
13:03 because people understand better that
13:06 way; we are just an ordinary tool.
13:10 It’s like, you have a car. I want to
13:14 modify the car. Its intended use has
13:16 worn out a bit. So let me convert it
13:18 slightly into an off-roader. Now it will
13:20 be good for the dacha, and later for
13:23 something else. And at some point, our
13:25 kind will pass on. But the land, the
13:27 territory itself, our kind will never
13:28 leave behind. It will always be needed
13:31 by someone. So, of course, they might
13:33 just evict everyone.
13:35 Look, it might be ours, because they had
13:38 plans precisely to haul out all the
13:40 trash and all that radioactive waste.
13:46 And don't forget, God still gifted us
13:48 ports and the sea, and for Russia too.
13:52 >> How beautifully you called the Soviet
13:54 Union "God".
13:57 Yes,
13:57 >> yes, I'm listening to you, I'm
13:59 specifically talking about the Baltic
14:01 Sea. Yes, yes, yes.
14:02 >> I understand that the Ukrainians dug the
14:05 Black Sea. I've heard that.
14:07 >> And carried it away.
14:08 >> Relocated it. Ah, ah, ah, and the Balts
14:11 in that case?
14:12 >> Ah, I haven't heard that about the
14:14 Baltic Sea yet. We’ve already had some
14:16 figures like that. Yes,
14:19 >> yes. This is a real scene, you know...
14:21 well, it's really a bargaining chip,
14:23 because, considering what's happening
14:25 there now, it's, I don't know, well, one
14:26 could, of course, think that maybe they
14:28 are so smart, cunning, and think that
14:30 through such manipulations, by building
14:32 all these testing grounds, they will
14:34 supposedly win some perks for themselves
14:35 from Russia.
14:37 But I don't believe that the Baltics
14:39 will remain as they are within the
14:42 European Union, because it's simply
14:44 impossible. The people there, in reality
14:46 , for the most part, haven't completely
14:48 lost their minds yet. And they see what
14:50 is happening, and their opinion is
14:52 leaning more towards, let's say,
14:54 friendliness with the neighboring
14:56 countries. Yes, and this is logical,
14:58 because, well, why be friends with a
15:00 neighbor who is supposedly a neighbor,
15:02 but is located across the ocean and, if
15:04 anything happens, won't even be able to
15:06 help.
15:07 Arm them or not, set up some bases, it’s
15:09 all nonsense.
15:11 It's always better to have excellent
15:13 relations with the nearest country,
15:15 which will never attack you because you
15:17 have excellent relations, from which you
15:19 can profitably receive any resources and
15:21 , excuse me, make your people happy when
15:23 utility bills and everything else are
15:25 low.
15:26 And the people, of course, always vote
15:28 with their wallets. When there are
15:30 normal, real elections in the Baltics, I
15:32 am sure adequate politicians will come
15:33 to power. Like you, like Solomon
15:36 Bernstein, and maybe Dima.
15:39 >> But not you.
15:40 >> But I don't want to.
15:42 >> You see, this neighbor you're talking
15:44 about across the ocean, it's like a
15:47 dream bride who will never marry you,
15:49 understand?
15:51 >> Never. What is that? So there you go.
15:53 >> To promise doesn't mean to do, right?
15:56 Well done.
15:58 >> So, if we are saying that the Baltics
16:00 are an instrument, then to think that,
16:02 for instance, such serious steps as,
16:04 let’s say, removing the clause from the
16:06 constitution that bans the deployment of
16:08 nuclear weapons is the Baltics 'own
16:10 initiative, well, specifically
16:11 Lithuania's, would be naive—wait a
16:13 second.
16:15 I don’t think it’s their own initiative
16:17 So, this means there are some strategic
16:20 NATO plans here that assume it might be
16:22 needed at some point.
16:24 >> And since it is necessary, they are
16:26 doing it.
16:27 Therefore, for now, they have created
16:29 the necessary conditions, and they will
16:31 act sometime later, well, apparently
16:32 later on.
16:34 >> Listen, this is a big problem, actually
16:37 If, after the New Year, they pass that
16:40 very law in its final reading which
16:42 strikes this from the constitution, then
16:45 essentially, it seems to me that even if
16:47 the weapons don't reach Lithuania,
16:50 something bad might already happen
16:52 because this is a real threat.
16:55 >> Roman, I see it a bit differently.
16:58 >> Uh, I would ask the question, maybe it's
17:00 already in Lithuania? Maybe, maybe,
17:02 >> because it was before. We didn't have
17:05 any prison, did we?
17:08 We are paying.
17:09 Lithuania is paying from its state
17:11 budget to three people—one of them even
17:14 had his eye gouged out—paying
17:16 compensation of hundreds of thousands of
17:18 euros, or has already paid.
17:22 But our president said, you know, that
17:23 no investigation is needed, when
17:25 everyone started raising questions.
17:28 How is that possible?
17:29 Well, regardless, if we are paying, it
17:31 means the fact existed, because
17:33 information about this surfaced 10 years
17:35 ago, and these things were happening 20
17:37 years ago.
17:39 And, uh, it’s clear that if they need to
17:43 , they will do it.
17:45 And I think they might have already done
17:49 it, and they just, well, need it now,
17:52 maybe so, and military bases are also
17:56 forbidden at the moment by the
17:58 constitution. They shouldn't exist. What
18:01 are the Americans doing? Yes, what are
18:03 the Americans doing here? They left, now
18:05 they've returned a little bit. And what
18:07 are the Germans doing here?
18:10 It's not a military base, it's just an
18:12 ordinary military base that doesn't even
18:15 have a legal basis yet.
18:18 So I have big doubts, maybe it's already
18:21 there.
18:22 You know, like Israel said back then: "
18:24 We don't have nuclear weapons, but if we
18:26 need to, we will use them."
18:29 Well, Israeli intelligence, yes, that's
18:32 the thing, yes, they certainly have it,
18:34 but perhaps not everything is reported
18:36 about it; I'm sure you remember when
18:39 there was that scandal in the UK
18:41 regarding the murder of the journalist
18:43 with plutonium.
18:45 What was his name?
18:46 >> He wasn't a journalist.
18:47 >> Not a journalist, but
18:48 >> Polonsky.
18:49 >> Polonsky, yes. Something like that. In
18:51 short,
18:51 >> he was from the Deep Drilling Committee
18:53 >> Ah, well, that makes sense.
18:55 So, back then, they tracked him through
18:57 the streets, where this plutonium had
18:59 been.
18:59 Like, right then and there.
19:02 And imagine if you were transporting a
19:04 nuclear warhead, for instance, well,
19:05 damn, it leaves a trail behind it.
19:08 In any case, I am sure that
19:09 >> what trail? What are you talking about?
19:12 There was a prison.
19:14 >> They were sentenced, they served time. A
19:15 trail, the buildings exist. The building
19:17 is standing there. What other trail do
19:19 you need? What is there to track?
19:20 They'll say, "Well, there is no trail."
19:23 There wasn't one.
19:25 You write to the prosecutor's office,
19:26 well, they'll write back some nonsense,
19:28 and you'll start talking about it
19:29 publicly.
19:30 We already talked about the consequences
19:32 . Why, why did you come here to Belarus
19:36 ?
19:36 >> Why did I come? And those are the
19:38 consequences others will face if they
19:40 start digging into this. And no trail,
19:42 the sooner these consequences happen,
19:43 the better; I believe the entire Baltic
19:45 region should leave for a while.
19:46 Although, colleagues, let's wrap up this
19:48 topic. It is clear that this is a
19:50 complex issue. In my opinion, no one
19:52 will ever give nuclear weapons to the
19:54 Baltic countries.
19:55 That
19:56 >> is to say, they won't give them. Firstly
19:57 , they won't give them in any case,
19:59 because even if they were deployed there
20:02 , they would remain under the full
20:04 control of the states that deployed them
20:06 . But I think that this will not happen
20:09 Today, it is more of a factor of
20:11 psychological pressure on the Russian
20:13 Federation, and attempts to threaten
20:15 Belarus.
20:17 While one could speak more or less
20:19 seriously about Poland, whether or not
20:20 they will be deployed in the Baltics is
20:22 another matter.
20:24 We also never thought that what is
20:26 happening today would come to pass,
20:28 >> but it happened.
20:30 And for some reason, I am sure that they
20:32 will give them to these inadequate
20:34 idiots—there is no other way to call
20:36 them—specifically so that they
20:37 self-destruct or get help doing so.
20:40 >> Alright, well, let's still finish this
20:41 topic, because there are many other
20:43 interesting things we'd like to discuss
20:45 >> Well, let's discuss it. It's related to
20:47 military matters, but also to a painful
20:49 topic. For example, for our non-citizen
20:53 of Latvia, Mr. Solomon Benshtein, a.k.a.
20:57 Konstantin Rudakov. So, Konstantin, you
21:00 are not a citizen,
21:01 >> how do you feel?
21:03 >> Could they have given you Latvian
21:04 citizenship, or what do you think?
21:07 No. And a certain citizen of India went
21:10 ahead and got it.
21:12 On October 15, the Latvian Saeima, in an
21:15 urgent manner and with unanimous support
21:18 , granted Latvian citizenship to a
21:21 citizen of India with a very complex,
21:23 unpronounceable name: Divya Vishwanath.
21:28 And the locals call her, well, how did
21:30 this visitor, Ms. Vishwanath, get
21:32 recommended for citizenship not by just
21:35 anyone, but by the entire Latvian
21:37 Academy of Sciences?
21:39 So, I found out that Latvia has an
21:40 Academy of Sciences.
21:42 >> That alone is a good piece of news.
21:45 >> We will get to that in a moment, yes.
21:47 So, the Latvian Academy of Sciences
21:49 presented Ms. Vishwanath as a
21:50 distinguished scientist in the field of
21:52 computer science.
21:54 Everyone in the Latvian Saeima quickly
21:57 teared up and felt such great love for
22:00 Ms. Vishwanath that the fact she is a
22:02 Hindu, a resident of India, didn't
22:05 matter at all, right?
22:07 And that is why they went ahead and gave
22:09 her Latvian citizenship, which many
22:12 people born in Latvia, like Konstantin,
22:14 can't even dream of, right?
22:16 And so, it seemed like happiness had
22:19 arrived for citizen Vishwanath.
22:21 I’m curious, was she planning to move to
22:24 blessed Latvia, or does she still live
22:26 somewhere over there?
22:29 >> So, the law was passed in an urgent
22:32 manner with broad support from the
22:34 deputies.
22:36 >> The deputies sat in the Saeima
22:37 specifically for her sake.
22:39 >> That is why the president also couldn't
22:41 help but proclaim this law. And so he
22:43 proclaimed it.
22:44 And immediately after that, a great
22:46 scandal began.
22:49 Citizen Vishwanath was accused on social
22:52 media of not being a doctor at all, and
22:54 that her publications were dubious,
22:57 forged, or, in general, made up.
23:00 Well, and now everything has gone in the
23:04 opposite direction.
23:06 So, the president stepped in and stated
23:08 that the Saeima needs to resolve all
23:10 doubts regarding the granting of
23:11 citizenship to the scientist from India
23:14 And if necessary, even have the Saeima
23:17 itself reconsider the law that was just
23:19 passed.
23:21 In short, let me remind you, on October
23:23 15 the Saeima recognized citizen
23:25 Vishwanath as a Latvian citizen, and on
23:28 October 22 it urgently passed a law
23:30 invalidating the act of granting Latvian
23:33 citizenship to Indian citizen Divya
23:35 Vishwanath from the moment it was
23:37 enacted.
23:39 >> Ms. Lemonade, who was receiving this
23:41 citizenship. First of all, I have two
23:44 questions. The first one,
23:46 >> you were a Latvian citizen for a week,
23:48 and then they said, "No, not you."
23:51 The first question for citizen Lemonade
23:53 from India. Why citizen Lemonade? How is
23:56 she even with the Latvian—Lemonade,
23:58 let's not offend her.
23:59 >> Citizen Lemonade, does she know the
24:01 Latvian language? In what language did
24:02 she voice the Latvian anthem, for
24:04 instance? Or did she just make sounds?
24:06 In
24:06 >> India, people have a very good command
24:08 of English.
24:09 >> But what about Latvian?
24:13 It is the language of the host, after
24:14 all.
24:14 >> The second question. They conducted a
24:16 check. Do you know how they checked?
24:18 Well, take India, for example.
24:21 No, India publishes its scientific
24:23 affairs on its website, right there.
24:27 Probably some scientific institute is
24:29 publishing all this too.
24:31 And for all the people who got a higher
24:32 education, they didn't even do this
24:34 basic check.
24:35 But the scandal is flaring up even more
24:37 , I'll tell you more. The Minister of
24:39 Foreign Affairs is involved here.
24:41 Dombrava, who Oh, not Dombrava, but now
24:43 it's this guy, yes, the minister.
24:44 >> No, I mean the Minister of Internal
24:46 Affairs.
24:46 >> Internal Affairs, yes, Dombrava. That's
24:48 him. No, it is him, Dombrava is
24:50 responsible for all migrants in this
24:53 scheme.
24:54 >> But wait, Dombrava, yes.
24:56 >> But the point here is that the scandal
24:58 is actually unfolding to such a degree
25:01 that it turns out the rector of this
25:03 scientific institute is also involved.
25:06 I wanted to say why all this fuss
25:09 started, right? I mean, suddenly the
25:11 entire Academy of Sciences is
25:13 petitioning for some obscure Indian
25:15 citizen and demanding that the entire
25:17 Latvian Saeima grant her citizenship
25:18 through a special law.
25:20 Then it turns out that, possibly, the
25:23 Secretary General of the Latvian Academy
25:26 of Sciences, Baiba Rivža, held an
25:29 official position or had contractual
25:32 relations with the Cayman
25:34 Islands-registered pharmaceutical
25:36 company ZO Limited, whose founder and
25:39 executive director is the citizen
25:42 Vishwanath.
25:45 Well, and on the website of this very
25:48 Cayman Islands-registered company, both
25:51 Baiba Rivža and the president of the
25:54 Latvian Academy of Sciences, Ivars
25:57 Kalviņš, were listed until the end of
26:00 October.
26:01 There.
26:02 And now, suddenly, the information that
26:05 they are members of the advisory board
26:07 has vanished.
26:08 >> It's just that here, as always, money is
26:11 to blame for everything. Let's start
26:13 with that. And if you remember,
26:15 >> not Putin,
26:16 >> no. Ah, well, Putin is definitely to
26:17 blame, of course,
26:18 >> that goes without saying, it doesn't
26:20 even need
26:21 >> to be clarified, not if you recall,
26:24 there was news about two years ago, when
26:26 the Latvian state allocated
26:29 >> that's a new timeframe, about two years
26:31 ago.
26:32 Well, actually, something happens there
26:34 every year, but this is the most
26:35 striking case, when a huge budget was
26:37 allocated for this so-called scientific
26:39 institute, because it seems to me that
26:41 they don't teach there anymore, but they
26:42 do busi—Wait.
26:44 The Latvian Academy of Sciences never
26:47 taught. It has always been a scientific
26:49 research institution. Right now, where
26:52 many used to do their internships, there
26:54 are now 300 scientists working.
26:56 >> 300 for all of Latvia. Well, that's a
26:58 lot.
26:58 >> That's a lot.
26:59 >> It's even too much, I would say. No, I'm
27:01 just, if
27:02 >> if they are all like this Ms. Lemonade,
27:04 then
27:04 >> yes. So, where Ms. Lemonade, in general
27:08 , they vouched for her, they received a
27:10 huge donation, you could call it that,
27:13 in the form of some insane, excuse me,
27:16 fabulous amounts of money, in short. Yes
27:19 , I said it correctly, by the way.
27:22 And they were supposed to launch their
27:24 first satellite into space.
27:26 Just imagine, a Latvian space program,
27:29 for God's sake. with an Indian astronaut
27:32 on board.
27:33 >> No, they have their own Gagarins.
27:34 >> Allow me a question. But why?
27:37 >> I don't know. They wanted to study
27:39 something in space. Maybe something is
27:41 irradiating them, making them so stupid
27:43 . Zhdanoka Vishvanat, lemonade is to
27:45 blame.
27:46 >> Vishvanat, lemonade. A beautiful name,
27:48 by the way. I agree.
27:50 >> The price, and most importantly, it’s
27:51 all set. That's it.
27:52 But listen, all jokes aside, this is an
27:55 obvious scheme, like a stupid
27:58 >> they sold citizenship and that's it. The
28:01 woman just bought a passport.
28:05 And it was done with all the fanfare; I
28:07 think beautiful sums were transferred to
28:10 those offshore accounts.
28:14 Not quietly somewhere through some
28:16 department of the Ministry of Internal
28:19 Affairs or migration department.
28:22 No, they needed a separate law.
28:27 It's happening cynically, just blatantly
28:29 in everyone's faces.
28:31 Roman, such huge money was moving there
28:34 , because when they handed over this
28:37 passport, you know, they needed an
28:39 orchestra, a red carpet, you know,
28:41 everything, all the decorations,
28:44 everything, because, well, they had to
28:46 be rewarded for all that.
28:50 But let's be honest, the cutlet-maker
28:52 deserved it.
28:54 That's exactly the kind of passport she
28:55 should be given.
28:56 >> She didn't deserve it. Well, no,
28:58 >> and what, what did she do for the
29:00 democratic movement of the new Belarus?
29:02 She stole money, just like in the boiler
29:05 Don't latch onto someone else's success
29:07 >> In Lithuania, er, by the way, there were
29:09 also scandals.
29:11 And this was quite a long time ago, when
29:14 they removed President Paksas, by the
29:16 way, who, yes,
29:19 >> well, unexpectedly, not according to the
29:22 curators, won the election, because I
29:25 remember, let me briefly recall this
29:27 story, a person I know very well also
29:30 participated in all this and said: "We
29:33 were talking to the Americans, and the
29:36 Americans weren't betting on him."
29:40 They said: "No, he will lose." And then
29:42 it turned out: "Well, there was a
29:44 business project and so on, and so on,
29:46 who is betting on whom."
29:48 And it's always connected like that.
29:51 And he just got through.
29:55 Well, of course, they removed him from
29:57 the case quite quickly.
29:59 Why was he removed?
30:01 Because he also granted citizenship to
30:04 his partner, a Russian citizen by the
30:08 name of Borisov, for allegedly deserving
30:11 it.
30:12 He was removed for that.
30:14 And if we take the president who will
30:17 soon be 100 years old, the still-living
30:20 Adamkus, who also, according to the
30:23 constitution, couldn't even run in the
30:26 election,
30:28 >> yes, who, yes, now his health is also a
30:30 questionable matter.
30:33 Well, he'll die, and they've already
30:35 planned to make such money on the event
30:38 Everything is allocated, everything is
30:40 planned. He's in the hospital, I think,
30:42 they’re keeping him there. Just don't
30:44 die. Let's wait at least until the next
30:47 day. So,
30:50 yeah.
30:51 So this president issued several hundred
30:55 , around 800 citizenships for
30:58 achievements, for a contribution, a
31:01 special contribution to Lithuania.
31:05 Among them were children, including a
31:07 baby who was like 5 months old. He had
31:09 already earned it.
31:10 >> Earned what? Yes, he had already managed
31:12 to
31:12 >> be born.
31:15 >> And the most interesting thing is that
31:18 his late wife, she has already passed
31:20 away.
31:22 She had a charitable foundation, and
31:24 journalists tracked down those who
31:27 received these passports.
31:30 Well, somehow everyone loved this
31:31 charity fund and everyone was
31:33 transferring money to it.
31:36 But as you understand, since we had a
31:39 prison, there was no investigation into
31:41 this, because when he was elected
31:43 president, according to the constitution
31:45 , a person was required to have lived in
31:47 Lithuania for at least 2 years.
31:50 And then he went to court.
31:53 And the court found that since he had
31:55 slippers in some apartment—and I’m not
31:57 joking, it’s written in the court
31:59 decision: "He kept slippers there, which
32:02 means he lived there."
32:04 Since he lived there, he could run for
32:07 president.
32:08 >> That is a complete joke. Well, I, by the
32:09 way,
32:10 >> it’s an old story, about 20 years old,
32:12 but still, it’s a state governed by law
32:14 >> I know, yeah. I don't know about
32:16 Lithuania, but Latvians were certainly
32:18 enterprising in that regard; for example
32:19 , they had a scheme.
32:21 Many people from Russia, by the way,
32:23 took advantage of this service, yes, the
32:25 enterprise called Latvia.
32:28 It's when, if you contribute 100,000 to
32:31 the Latvian treasury, for instance,
32:33 meaning you buy real estate there and
32:36 pay those taxes.
32:38 So if you had real estate worth over
32:40 100,000, for example, you had the right
32:42 to a residence permit, which granted you
32:43 Schengen access.
32:45 You could travel throughout the entire
32:46 European Union. I know a neighborhood
32:48 where the Chinese bought up
32:50 cardboard-thin houses at inflated prices
32:52 , around 100,000 each. Back at that time
32:55 . And they didn't even live there, they
32:56 didn't even show up. They just arrived,
32:59 took that card for a residence permit,
33:02 and left for Germany, Italy, France, and
33:05 so on.
33:06 Later they raised those prices, and I
33:09 think after a while—also in this last
33:11 five-year period—they just took
33:13 everything and canceled it completely.
33:16 How many people they stiffed and how
33:18 many people were left with that real
33:19 estate.
33:21 Roman, uh, well, it's a nice scheme, to
33:23 be honest, but basically, I want to
33:25 remind you—I don't know, I'm not sure
33:28 about now, but Malta, they officially
33:30 started selling passports for 120,000
33:33 euros.
33:34 >> You mean the state.
33:37 >> Malta.
33:38 And there was quite a big hysteria in
33:41 the European Union, but they didn't find
33:45 any law or anything to prohibit them
33:48 from doing it.
33:51 And you know, if we're being honest and
33:53 frank, when the state itself does it,
33:56 when it attracts an investor and wants
33:58 to provide some motivation and so on,
34:00 and they receive—I think a person who
34:03 has poured several million into the
34:05 economy (by the way, Great Britain has
34:07 been doing this for quite a long time),
34:10 who has invested this money into the
34:12 economy and so on, and so on.
34:15 Well, let them be a full-fledged citizen
34:17 , yes. They bought it, and there's
34:18 nothing wrong with that. Well, we also
34:21 buy tickets to a concert or some other
34:24 event.
34:25 That's buying, but here it's the
34:27 opposite; they just printed this
34:29 passport on behalf of the state, and
34:31 it's worth more than the person is.
34:34 >> And the officials just took money for it
34:38 . That is a crime, a criminal offense.
34:42 And I would be a proponent of this, that
34:45 , well, if someone is pushing their way
34:47 , say, somewhere, uh, into Germany, some
34:50 Pakistani person, but they invested into
34:52 the Lithuanian economy, maybe several
34:55 million or at least hundreds of
34:57 thousands, and they plan to live in
34:59 Germany.
35:00 To be honest, as a leader, I wouldn't be
35:03 ashamed to sell this passport, this
35:05 booklet, for that kind of money.
35:09 >> Well, you remembered Britain very well.
35:13 Britain actually has a rather long
35:16 experience of incorporating the lower
35:19 classes into the elite.
35:23 And for them, up to a certain point,
35:25 well, in principle, not just for them,
35:27 but for the European Union as a whole,
35:29 their favorite team sport historically
35:32 was probably winding the guts of their
35:34 neighbors around various sharp, cutting
35:36 objects. So, in principle, it never
35:38 really mattered to them.
35:39 When they had finished beating all their
35:41 own people, they would then go to their
35:42 neighbors. When their own people rose up
35:43 , they would stage something.
35:45 Well, in the end, they once staged this
35:47 slaughter of the Wars of the Roses,
35:48 so-called.
35:50 >> And quite accidentally, more than 80%of
35:52 the landed elite was finished off.
35:55 Well, in principle, they were wiped out
35:58 . And then they came up with—the British
36:00 authorities came up with a rather
36:01 interesting move.
36:03 You can buy an aristocratic title.
36:09 If you have enough money, yes, no
36:11 questions asked. They will let you into
36:14 the House of Representatives. They won't
36:16 let you into the House of Lords.
36:19 Even if you have everything, everything
36:20 , you are this "sir."
36:22 >> Are there any items that are impossible
36:24 to buy? Yes.
36:25 >> No,
36:26 >> but in Britain at the same time, well
36:27 yes, it’s impossible to buy. But for
36:29 example,
36:29 >> you get the title of Peer, you’ll be a
36:31 member of the House of Lords.
36:32 >> You won't.
36:32 >> You will.
36:33 >> It's hereditary.
36:34 >> Well, anyway, the number there isn't
36:37 limited. If the Queen bestows a title on
36:41 you, or the King, like the King now,
36:43 yeah, everything’s old-fashioned, right
36:46 ? Meaning, if you receive a peerage, you
36:49 become a member of the House of Lords
36:51 because you are a peer.
36:53 >> In short, Ms. Lemonade the Great, right
36:57 So, in short, the upper house of
36:59 parliament, the house of these peers,
37:02 has a veto right on any bills and any
37:06 decisions made by the house of
37:08 representatives. That's normal.
37:10 >> So much for democracy.
37:12 >> No, again. And Britain doesn't even have
37:14 a constitution.
37:15 >> I know that.
37:16 >> No, well, regarding the fact that the
37:18 upper house can override a decision of
37:21 the lower house. That's standard
37:22 practice.
37:23 In Belarus, for example, also, I don't
37:25 know, it's just hard to understand how
37:27 it works in a single-chamber parliament
37:30 The upper house always existed to
37:32 provide expertise on bills created by
37:34 sometimes not-so-smart people from the
37:36 lower house, because the people who
37:40 >> it's divided, divided by class.
37:41 >> The rabble,
37:43 >> uneducated, illiterate, just the common
37:47 folk.
37:48 >> And then there's the aristocracy. Well,
37:50 of course, the aristocracy is superior.
37:52 They don't even—well, I mean, yes, of
37:55 course, in the name of democratic
37:57 procedures we consulted
38:00 >> and in the name of and I will consult
38:02 and
38:03 >> decided that this law is absolutely
38:05 useless. Veto,
38:07 >> no, well, then let's recall that the
38:09 King actually has the right to cancel
38:11 any act of parliament, and it cannot be
38:14 passed after that,
38:15 >> meaning an absolute veto.
38:17 About freedoms, that's probably not the
38:19 case, though. No,
38:21 >> formally, formally it is.
38:23 >> The right exists, it's just that the
38:25 British monarchy hasn't used it since
38:27 the end of the 18th century.
38:29 Just like the British monarchy has many
38:32 rights.
38:33 The King can attend a cabinet meeting,
38:35 and then when voting on any issue, the
38:37 decision taken is: where the King is for
38:41 So even if all the ministers were
38:42 against it, but the King is for it, the
38:44 decision is adopted. Yes. But also,
38:46 since the end of the 15th century,
38:48 British monarchs haven't used this right
38:51 once. But that is the constitutional
38:53 setup of Britain itself, yes. But I
38:56 still think,
38:57 >> returning to Cromwell cut off the head
38:59 and they stopped doing that.
39:01 >> Returning to this citizen from India, of
39:03 course, it's clear.
39:05 >> The right remained, but the head was
39:07 gone. Yes.
39:07 >> A citizen from India really wanted into
39:10 Europe.
39:11 She found some kind of loophole here,
39:13 greased the palms of the right so-called
39:16 academics, you know, the ones who
39:18 lobbied for her interests. And now they
39:21 have all ended up in a very unpleasant
39:23 situation. The scandal, of course, is
39:27 massive. And I don't know how they’re
39:29 going to get out of this.
39:39 Not art, but some kind of scientific
39:41 institutions.
39:42 >> Well, if the general public, so to speak
39:44 , on the internet simply made a subtle
39:46 observation that citizen Vishwanath's
39:49 claimed scientific achievements do not
39:51 match reality, I think the Latvian
39:53 Academy of Sciences really should have
39:56 checked this.
39:57 >> Do you know how I think it all went down
39:59 ? Some woman showed up who had money,
40:02 and a certain theme took off. They
40:04 boozed, they partied.
40:06 >> Why be so blunt?
40:07 >> They made it all look classy.
40:08 >> Got shots. It's trendy.
40:11 >> Well, yeah.
40:11 >> Took a sniff.
40:12 >> Yes, just a little. Like the president.
40:14 >> Antanas, you're wrong. They told you,
40:16 you had to go to space. She came in and
40:18 said, "We've got Belka and Strelka,
40:20 let's launch them."
40:23 And then, she most likely convinced
40:25 these officials, these, uh, these other
40:28 professors, that she was experienced.
40:32 They fell for it; by the way, she isn't
40:33 even attractive.
40:34 >> And they most likely blew the whole
40:36 story up. They actually believed she was
40:38 the real deal.
40:40 >> When it would have been better for her
40:42 to keep it quiet, but the situation, as
40:45 they say, got out of control.
40:48 They intended to make it all loud and
40:50 beautiful, to show respect and all that
40:53 And they didn't dig into it, but the
40:55 people did, you see, it reached them;
40:58 ordinary people started digging up
41:00 information on her.
41:02 And on the official government website
41:04 of India, there was absolutely no
41:05 information about her, suggesting she
41:07 might not have even finished school.
41:09 Just some parish school level. So, I'm
41:12 saying.
41:13 But they didn't look into it, they just
41:15 believed her.
41:17 They said, "I'm a professor there, I
41:19 need a passport."
41:21 "Of course, no problem.""Just some money
41:23 , and that's it, we'll get the passport
41:25 done." And then, well, they got exposed
41:27 too much. Well, colleagues, they meant
41:30 well. But it turned out as usual.
41:32 >> Alexei Viktorovich, we want to discuss
41:34 this.
41:34 >> We’ve already discussed this topic. I
41:35 just don't want us to repeat ourselves.
41:37 I want us to discuss something more
41:39 interesting.
41:39 >> We need citizenship for Kostya.
41:40 >> Konstantin can already forget about
41:43 Latvian citizenship, because they'll
41:45 give him citizenship with what kind of
41:48 term hanging over him?
41:50 >> Nobody is just going to give me
41:51 citizenship. We'll send 50 euros
41:53 remotely, and they'll give it. What if
41:55 they do?
41:56 >> You're a great mathematician, aren't you
41:59 >> No, my dad is like, you know
42:02 >> the hands of the occupation regime.
42:03 >> Oh, God.
42:04 >> Oh, God. Yes, well yeah, there’s some
42:06 concern.
42:06 >> So, colleagues, let’s move on from the
42:08 migrant, citizen Vishwanat, who was
42:10 lucky enough to get a passport, only to
42:12 lose it a week later. Let’s move on to
42:14 other migrants.
42:16 So, a truly heartbreaking story is
42:19 starting to unfold here.
42:21 I don’t even know where to begin.
42:25 >> Well, with the saddest part.
42:27 So, uh, recently the deputy chief, uh,
42:30 the deputy chief of the Latvian State
42:34 Border Guard, Ivars Ruskulis, spoke to
42:37 the Saeima commission on defense,
42:40 internal affairs, and corruption
42:42 prevention, reporting that 61 cases of
42:45 infrastructure damage were registered on
42:49 the Latvian-Belarusian border this year
42:53 while there were only 23 such cases last
42:57 year. He said that three electrical
42:59 distribution cabinets were damaged.
43:02 Probably one of them is the one where
43:04 all the cameras we talked about went
43:06 dead. So,
43:10 >> and it takes at least a week to repair
43:12 these cabinets.
43:15 They even stole the border guards' sled
43:18 Moreover, he demanded that border guards
43:21 be given broader powers to use firearms
43:24 to protect the border from aggressive
43:26 violators.
43:28 >> So, anyway,
43:30 >> furthermore, a terrible case of an
43:33 attack on Latvian infrastructure by
43:36 migrants was registered.
43:39 So, two migrants, uh, oh wait, that was
43:42 actually in Lithuania, not Latvia, in
43:44 the Druskininkai municipality.
43:48 Two migrants tried to cross the
43:50 Belarusian-Lithuanian border through a
43:52 culvert with a diameter of 2.8 meters.
43:57 Meaning you could walk through it
43:58 upright.
43:59 >> The pipe was barred with a grate.
44:02 Uh, the migrants had metal shears with
44:06 So, these people were prepared,
44:08 >> and maybe some dynamite by accident.
44:09 >> But the metal gate turned out to be very
44:12 sturdy. Cameras captured the intruders,
44:15 and border guards headed to the scene.
44:18 The men spent just over a minute in the
44:19 pipe, after which they turned around and
44:21 went back to Belarus.
44:23 And the border guards checked the
44:25 barrier and inspected the area with a
44:27 drone.
44:28 >> How sad,
44:29 >> yeah. So, Lithuanian infrastructure is
44:31 also being targeted. And all this
44:34 >> they even unscrewed the cameras.
44:36 All of this led to the, uh, main point
44:39 of our conversation here.
44:42 The icing on the cake.
44:45 So, after all this, having gathered all
44:47 these facts and analyzed them in his
44:50 brilliant mind, a prosecutor from the
44:52 State Security Department of the Latvian
44:55 Prosecutor General's Office, Andres
44:57 Alekseev, made a statement.
44:59 So, Mr. Andres Alekseev
45:04 >> stated literally the following: that
45:06 illegal migrants on the Belarusian side
45:09 are being forced to damage
45:11 infrastructure on the Latvian border.
45:16 There is a certain migration route that
45:18 goes through Russia to Belarus, and then
45:21 leads to camps near the border.
45:24 So, there are some camps on Belarusian
45:27 territory.
45:29 Staying there costs about 5,000 dollars
45:31 for the migrants.
45:33 And payments are most often made in
45:36 cryptocurrency.
45:38 the migrants who are in these camps,
45:40 according to the story from this genius
45:42 prosecutor general—I can’t call him
45:44 anything else, a genius prosecutor.
45:48 So, the migrants living in these camps
45:51 are supposedly regularly visited by
45:54 people in uniforms, who line them up and
45:57 check against photographs whether
45:59 they’ve paid for their illegal border
46:02 crossing or not.
46:06 If they haven’t paid, they are given a
46:09 choice: either they are sent to damage
46:12 our Latvian infrastructure, or they
46:15 suffer bodily harm or are subjected to
46:18 other forms of torture to force them to
46:21 agree to the proposal to go and damage
46:24 Latvia’s infrastructure.
46:27 Listen,
46:28 >> what kind of mushrooms do you have to
46:29 eat to come up with that? I
46:31 >> don't know. Maybe Vishwanath brought
46:33 something with him for me.
46:37 Let’s recall the story in Lithuania,
46:39 where there was supposedly a
46:40 psychologist working who was "playing
46:42 around" with all of them.
46:44 They complained about it later; a "
46:46 technical inspection" took place there.
46:50 No, well,
46:51 >> listen, even a republic prosecutor
46:53 wouldn't...
46:55 >> The prosecutor of the State Security
46:57 Service in Latvia claims there are some
46:59 camps in Belarus where—it's unclear
47:02 which department, exactly, but men in
47:04 uniforms, clearly Belarusian, KGB agents
47:06 or border guards—gather these migrants
47:09 for money.
47:12 They don't pay and are told: "Go break a
47:14 relay cabinet, go rip out a camera, go
47:16 cut the fence with shears, and if not,
47:18 they beat them, break their legs and say
47:21 : 'Go, Alexei Viktorovich, I have a
47:23 tradition to go to the bathhouse with
47:25 the services once a year
47:27 >> worse and better'." Anyway, once a year
47:31 the State Security Service publishes a
47:35 report for the previous year on who,
47:38 what, and how is encroaching on this
47:42 holy Latvian land.
47:44 And when I read it, I honestly—
47:47 sometimes my wife and I, I can even—
47:49 from the laughter, I have to run to
47:52 another room where the restroom is,
47:54 because they write such nonsense there.
47:58 I am sure it’s more than a science
48:00 fiction novel.
48:02 Now I understand, I understand that he
48:04 most likely moonlights for the State
48:07 Security Service, because he gets paid
48:09 for the compositions they write.
48:13 I recently met with my alleged
48:15 accomplice in the criminal case against
48:17 anti-fascists in the Baltics and Russia
48:20 We, well, it just so happened that we
48:22 met.
48:23 And we were just discussing how in court
48:26 they present their evidentiary base
48:29 simply based on the words of an SGB
48:31 officer, right?
48:33 Meaning, no—no need—
48:35 >> that "highly likely" British style,
48:37 >> right? No need for any evidence, no need
48:39 for any facts, nothing.
48:41 It’s the same thing with this complete
48:45 They make a claim, and you see, everyone
48:47 is supposed to believe that this is how
48:49 it actually happens.
48:50 I’m still waiting for them to publish
48:53 the video footage. They weren't
48:55 recording on some VHS tapes there,
48:57 considering the cameras that were
48:59 present.
49:01 >> Probably because those same migrants
49:03 then stole them, the ones who also paid
49:05 5,000 dollars—I’m still waiting to see
49:08 where that tape will surface.
49:12 But at least show us something so we can
49:14 all believe that the fence, which cost
49:16 millions and was funded with insane
49:18 amounts of money, was actually damaged.
49:21 Where is all of it?
49:24 Talking is one thing, but if you don't
49:26 respect yourselves and can spout such
49:28 nonsense thinking you'll get away with
49:31 >> Wait, Roman, sorry, one second, let me
49:33 interrupt.
49:34 So, they still haven't published any
49:36 materials showing anyone approaching or
49:37 dismantling it.
49:39 >> No, of course not. It’s ridiculous.
49:41 There is no footage. You can say
49:44 anything you want. Friends, let’s take a
49:46 more practical look at this situation,
49:49 shall we? What is being masked behind
49:51 all this beautiful legend, this
49:53 incredible story about some masked
49:55 people driving migrants somewhere,
49:57 forcing them to cross the border, even
49:59 though they likely don't want to
50:01 themselves.
50:03 And let's try to figure out why the
50:04 Baltic authorities brewed this whole
50:06 mess in the first place.
50:08 Well, I watched all these reports. I
50:10 read these news stories from the primary
50:12 sources, specifically Lithuanian and
50:14 Latvian news.
50:16 The information is presented very
50:18 interestingly there, namely, all these
50:20 cases of migrant infiltration, damage to
50:22 infrastructure, cameras, electrical
50:25 devices, and so on are somehow vaguely
50:27 linked to that first case where some
50:29 people in masks allegedly crossed from
50:31 Belarusian territory, caused damage, and
50:33 ran back.
50:35 Yeah. I mean, they don’t say if it’s the
50:37 same people doing it now. It's a
50:39 Ukrainian channel that started it anyway
50:41 >> Well, that's not the point. I mean, they
50:43 present the information in such an
50:46 interesting, uh, very
50:48 >> opaque way.
50:50 And it’s unclear whether it’s
50:52 Belarusians in masks doing this, or if
50:54 it's the migrants, or if they’ve just
50:55 lumped them all together, so to speak.
50:58 It is completely unclear.
51:00 But what is clear is that this is
51:02 allegedly continuing, and it is starting
51:04 to create some significant problem and
51:06 threat.
51:07 And supposedly, the Lithuanian border
51:09 guards can’t do anything about it. I
51:12 mean, they can’t influence it at all
51:13 because as soon as they arrive on the
51:15 scene, these mysterious people in masks
51:17 disappear in an unknown direction.
51:19 >> Poltergeists.
51:20 But because all of this is causing such
51:23 serious concern on the part of, uh, the
51:25 Baltic, Latvian, and Lithuanian
51:27 authorities, an initiative was released
51:30 , the one Alexey Viktorovich spoke about
51:32 , namely, to revise the rules for the
51:34 use of firearms by border service
51:36 personnel.
51:38 Specifically, whereas before they could
51:41 only use them in the event of a direct
51:43 attack, that is, for self-defense, if
51:45 there is a danger, well, a threat to
51:47 life and health, now, apparently, they
51:50 want to make some kind of revision and
51:52 relaxation. That is, it will be possible
51:54 to use this weapon in other cases. And,
51:56 >> accordingly, if you imagined it, shoot.
51:58 >> Yeah, yeah. Yes. That is, roughly the
52:00 same principle. And, uh, the Lithuanian
52:02 authorities, as soon as they found out
52:04 about this initiative, completely
52:06 coincidentally decided that this
52:07 initiative is very sound and that they
52:09 need to act in roughly the same way,
52:11 because in Lithuania, allegedly, you
52:13 cannot even fire warning shots, because
52:15 , after all, it is the border, you never
52:17 know.
52:18 And what do we end up with?
52:21 We have the fact that they have received
52:22 such a, let's say, convenient, legal
52:24 pretext to allow border guards to simply
52:26 shoot at migrants in any unclear
52:28 situation.
52:29 And what will we see after all of this?
52:31 And we will see that the number of
52:33 migrants who have died at the border
52:34 will become much higher.
52:36 The Baltic authorities will no longer
52:38 need to secretly dump them onto
52:39 Belarusian territory under the cover of
52:41 night and pretend that they died here in
52:43 some mystical way; instead, they will
52:45 simply declare that it was some kind of
52:47 necessary self-defense, a huge danger to
52:48 the lives of the border guards.
52:52 And in this way, they, well, probably
52:53 plan to radicalize their approach to
52:55 combating migrants and, perhaps, dampen
52:57 their desire to head to the European
52:59 Union in this not entirely legal way.
53:02 Dimitry, I see this as deeper and think
53:04 it is all much more dangerous. I want to
53:07 continue your thought.
53:09 >> Quickly.
53:10 >> The essence is this: they will now say,
53:12 "We were shooting at migrants, tra-la-la
53:15 ."
53:16 But what if they conceive a super-duper
53:19 provocation and decide to shoot at your
53:23 border guards, what will happen then?
53:27 They will just go ahead and shoot them.
53:29 Plan B. Ira. "Oh, sorry, we thought they
53:31 were migrants."
53:33 And really, look, they are constantly
53:35 provoking, constantly testing these red
53:38 lines.
53:39 How many attempts have there already
53:42 been to stage all sorts of different
53:44 provocations against the Republic of
53:46 Belarus from the Lithuanian and Latvian
53:49 side. Oh, they'll just go ahead and
53:52 shoot some of your border guards. You
53:55 will have to react. You will have to
53:57 react. You will just let it all slide
53:59 quietly. "Ah, sorry, we made a mistake.
54:01 " Yes, I understand. No, this, I think,
54:03 is leading to very, very serious matters
54:07 . And these migrants are like, you know
54:10 >> a backdrop
54:11 >> such a backdrop.
54:12 >> Uh-huh.
54:13 >> And they will create the foundations.
54:15 Remember how our military behaved, uh,
54:18 near the Belarusian border, how they
54:20 shook their finger.
54:22 >> Yes. Yes.
54:24 >> So something will happen, someone will
54:26 get shot.
54:28 Or maybe they'll work it out further,
54:30 figure out who exactly these people are
54:32 Or perhaps some young father is gone,
54:35 leaving children behind, so that all
54:37 this emotion would be stirred up here
54:39 too, well, to demand things here.
54:42 And here you go, the perfect provocation
54:45 . And the Second World War, uh, didn't
54:49 it start after a shot, yes, after a shot
54:53 . So there you have it. I think this is
54:56 very, very serious, by the way. I just
54:58 started thinking about this.
55:01 >> Well then, our dear listeners and
55:03 viewers, I think you also have something
55:05 to think about, something to rack your
55:07 brains over.
55:09 The fact that the Baltic states today
55:12 act like geopolitical giants, while
55:14 being dwarves themselves, whom their own
55:17 allies don't want to deal with, which is
55:20 why they will never see nuclear weapons
55:24 And the fact that citizenship is sold in
55:27 the Baltic states and corrupt
55:29 connections play a huge role.
55:33 If someone really wants to, even without
55:35 any merits, they can still buy this
55:37 citizenship.
55:40 The fact that the current Baltic
55:42 officials and border guards have
55:44 complete nonsense in their heads, and
55:47 they peddle this nonsense with a
55:49 straight face to the masses, talking
55:52 about nonexistent dangers from migrants
55:55 , destruction of infrastructure, and how
55:58 supposedly some Belarusian authorities
56:01 here buy these migrants and forcibly
56:03 drive them to break through the Latvian
56:06 border.
56:08 I think all of this is pure
56:10 schizophrenic raving. Yes. But the
56:12 question is, why is it needed? Why
56:14 continue to fuel this hysteria? Well,
56:17 think about it, reflect on this.
56:20 Well, feeding your intellectual marathon
56:23 today with ideas were Antanas Kandrotas
56:26 , a Lithuanian entrepreneur, politician
56:29 , and blogger.
56:32 Dmitry Zasukhin, a Belarusian expert,
56:34 deputy chairman of the International
56:36 Good Neighborliness Forum.
56:38 Roman Samul, a blogger who came from
56:40 Latvia to Belarus.
56:42 And one more blogger just like him, who
56:44 never received Latvian citizenship even
56:46 while living in Latvia, and was a
56:48 non-citizen of Latvia.
56:51 Solomon Bernstein, also known as
56:53 Konstantin Rudakov. I, Alexey Belyaev, a
56:56 scientist, and historian, spoke with
56:58 these interesting people. We are saying
57:00 goodbye to you, but we look forward to
57:02 seeing you in new episodes of our
57:03 program on Baltic Wave. All the best to
57:05 you, friends.
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