History perceptions and national identity among Latvian youth: Entrapped between narratives of Latvia and Russia?

• Published in: Nations and nationalism 2023-04, Vol.29 (2), p.700-717
• Main Authors: Bērziņa, Ieva, Krūmiņš, Gatis, Šiliņš, Jānis, Andžāns, Māris
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Baltic; Ethnic groups; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; historical narratives; History; Latvia; Methodological problems; Minority groups; Narratives; National identity; nationhood/national identity; Russia; Youth
• ISSN: 1354-5078; 1469-8129
• DOI: 10.1111/nana.12930

This article examines the extent to which history forms national identity among Latvian youth. Being a multiethnic country, Latvia provides a unique opportunity to study the role of history in nation‐building among dominant and minority ethnic groups. The majority of Latvia's ethnic minorities are Russian‐speaking; therefore, a peculiarity of the Latvian case is the influence of the historical narratives promoted by Russia. The research problem of the paper is the formation of national identity when a foreign country promotes distorted historical narratives to discredit a state. The empirical findings are based on 30 in‐depth interviews with young people. The main conclusion is that history plays a rather limited direct role in forming national identity among youth in Latvia. The influence of Russia's historical narratives is observable but not as strong as expected in the context of Russia's influence activities.