*The Latvian police have declared the practice of putting stickers on personal vehicles with “potentially provocative inscriptions in Russian”, such as “I am Russian”, unacceptable.*
*Details: This was the reaction of law enforcement officers to a photo of a car with a Latvian number plate and the inscription “I am Russian” posted on the social media platform Twitter.*
*Given the current geopolitical situation and the war in Ukraine, the agency stated that such stickers could be perceived as an endorsement of military aggression or support for Russia’s war crimes.*
*The Latvian police said that if such stickers were found, they would demand that car owners immediately remove them and explain the purpose of displaying them.*
*Drivers may also be fined for propaganda promoting military aggression.*
This may need some context for those who are not exposed to Russki Mir in its full glory and don’t know much about Russian culture. “I’m Russian” isn’t just a basic phrase to describe one’s nationality or ethnicity. It’s a popular slogan to express condescending, entitled, imperialistic, chauvinistic and nationalistic pride and superiority mixed heavily with absolute disdain and disrespect to other nations, especially Russia’s neighbours.
The motto has been around since at least as early as mid 2010s, probably from earlier, popular both with radical groups like skinheads and ordinary Russians alike.
The popularity led to the cultural presence manifesting itself in many Russian artists using this phrase as song title and/or lyrics line. The most recent and likely most famous — but not the only one — example is the hit single “I’m Russian” by [the Russian fascist pop star Shaman](https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1649410035275931651) released in 2022. It is as bad as you expect, but it’s still tame compared to some earlier songs using the slogan for a title or a line.
As always in these cases, there’s also a whole lot of various merchandise: t-shirts, cups, and, of course, car stickers.
Latvian police is correct in interpreting the “I’m Russian” stickers as “potentially provocative inscriptions in Russian” and “endorsement of military aggression or support for Russia’s war crimes”. This is what “I’m Russian” means and has been meaning since long ago.
[deleted]
Interesting.
Lol what in the fuck. The eastern european hysteria continues.
Cringe that such stickers exist in the first place, but banning them sounds stupid unless you ban all foreign countries’ stickers or foreign language stickers. Sounds stupid to ban stickers just because they point to the nationality of the driver
They should try this stickers in Poland. There would not be a need for any fines, if you know what I mean.
Thank god we have the first amendment in the USA. I might loath what you have to say, but I’ll fight like hell for your right to say it.
then why don’t they go back to russia?
It’s something I wouldn’t even expect from China.
Eastern EU members are a disappointment when it comes to liberties and freedom of expression. They were sadly too long under Soviet oppression and have adopted some oppressive culture.
Butthurt belt strikes again
Would I be correct in drawing a comparison to “Pax Romana”, which began as a term for the golden age of stability, early in the empire and became the rather tongue in cheek classical notion of peace under the boots of the legions?
edit: spelling
What?! Russians in Latvia actually put these stupid signs on their cars?
12 comments
*The Latvian police have declared the practice of putting stickers on personal vehicles with “potentially provocative inscriptions in Russian”, such as “I am Russian”, unacceptable.*
*Source**: [Latvian police on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Valsts_policija/status/1706278601589497988)*
*Details: This was the reaction of law enforcement officers to a photo of a car with a Latvian number plate and the inscription “I am Russian” posted on the social media platform Twitter.*
*Given the current geopolitical situation and the war in Ukraine, the agency stated that such stickers could be perceived as an endorsement of military aggression or support for Russia’s war crimes.*
*The Latvian police said that if such stickers were found, they would demand that car owners immediately remove them and explain the purpose of displaying them.*
*Drivers may also be fined for propaganda promoting military aggression.*
This may need some context for those who are not exposed to Russki Mir in its full glory and don’t know much about Russian culture. “I’m Russian” isn’t just a basic phrase to describe one’s nationality or ethnicity. It’s a popular slogan to express condescending, entitled, imperialistic, chauvinistic and nationalistic pride and superiority mixed heavily with absolute disdain and disrespect to other nations, especially Russia’s neighbours.
The motto has been around since at least as early as mid 2010s, probably from earlier, popular both with radical groups like skinheads and ordinary Russians alike.
The popularity led to the cultural presence manifesting itself in many Russian artists using this phrase as song title and/or lyrics line. The most recent and likely most famous — but not the only one — example is the hit single “I’m Russian” by [the Russian fascist pop star Shaman](https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1649410035275931651) released in 2022. It is as bad as you expect, but it’s still tame compared to some earlier songs using the slogan for a title or a line.
As always in these cases, there’s also a whole lot of various merchandise: t-shirts, cups, and, of course, car stickers.
Latvian police is correct in interpreting the “I’m Russian” stickers as “potentially provocative inscriptions in Russian” and “endorsement of military aggression or support for Russia’s war crimes”. This is what “I’m Russian” means and has been meaning since long ago.
[deleted]
Interesting.
Lol what in the fuck. The eastern european hysteria continues.
Cringe that such stickers exist in the first place, but banning them sounds stupid unless you ban all foreign countries’ stickers or foreign language stickers. Sounds stupid to ban stickers just because they point to the nationality of the driver
They should try this stickers in Poland. There would not be a need for any fines, if you know what I mean.
Thank god we have the first amendment in the USA. I might loath what you have to say, but I’ll fight like hell for your right to say it.
then why don’t they go back to russia?
It’s something I wouldn’t even expect from China.
Eastern EU members are a disappointment when it comes to liberties and freedom of expression. They were sadly too long under Soviet oppression and have adopted some oppressive culture.
Butthurt belt strikes again
Would I be correct in drawing a comparison to “Pax Romana”, which began as a term for the golden age of stability, early in the empire and became the rather tongue in cheek classical notion of peace under the boots of the legions?
edit: spelling
What?! Russians in Latvia actually put these stupid signs on their cars?