Propaganda media disseminate reports that the authorities of Ukraine and Latvia have banned the celebration of the New Year according to Moscow time and are going to punish them for it. “Arguments of the Week” in the article “Russian-speaking Latvia will be left without fireworks for the New Year” writes (grammar and punctuation preserved):
“It has long been no secret that the Russian-speaking residents of Latvia usually celebrate the New Year together with Russia – the time difference is an hour, the clock hands in the Russian Federation run forward … Every year, when the main chimes of Russia beat off the onset of the New Year, and the country's president Vladimir Vladimirovich congratulated the people on the New Year holidays, then the inhabitants of Latvia raise their glasses, wish all the best and launch fireworks! And only then, in an hour, they celebrate the New Year according to Latvian time.
This has been the case for all previous years, but this one is an exception! Why?
All those who will launch fireworks in Latvia on the “Russian New Year” will be punished…
This was officially warned the inhabitants of Latvia by the representative of the party "Conservative" Marcis Kulis. Moreover, those who dare to launch a salute, shout “Hurrah!”, then he is the enemy of Latvia. And it's official!
How will law enforcement agencies identify the “violator”?
First of all, for example, in Riga, cameras are installed on almost every street, near houses… There is also such a moment as denunciation – many national patriots will gladly "make a call" to the right place…
What is the punishment for the offender?
The “incident” will be reported to the Latvian special services, and they, of course, will start an investigation with prejudice.”
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Marcis Kulis, a member of the Conservative Party, did indeed tweet :
"Tell your neighbor!
If someone starts fireworks at 23.00 on New Year's Eve, he will be listed as an ENEMY OF LATVIA.
Let him blame himself later!”
But Kulis is not a politician and does not hold any public office. He is a famous musician, clarinetist, performer of the classical repertoire. His tweet reflects nothing but his personal views. No list of "enemies of Latvia", of course, does not exist.
The Conservative Party received 1.09% of the vote in the parliamentary elections in October and failed to enter the Seimas.
However, in most Latvian cities there will not really be New Year's fireworks at 23:00. And at midnight too. Municipalities are phasing out fireworks to avoid polluting the environment and scaring pets. So, in Riga, the use of pyrotechnics from 11 pm to 7 am is allowed only in agreement with the city authorities, and they decided to hold a light show without sound effects instead of fireworks.
Pravda.ru claims that a ban on celebrating the “Russian New Year” has also been introduced in Ukraine, and Ukrainian refugees in European countries are threatening to “punish” those who celebrate the holiday according to Moscow time. Referring to some unnamed chat rooms, the publication says:
“Ukrainians <…> call on each other to ‘keep an eye on the neighbors and call the SBU’ if someone dares to celebrate the holiday, Moscow time, even at home, not to mention fireworks on the street or loud congratulations ‘at midnight (time) in the capital of the Russian Federation ". They expect that such citizens will be charged with the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Treason to the Motherland”.
The publication offered to comment on this news to the editor of RIA "FederalPress" Andrey Gusiy, who for some reason was presented as a "famous political scientist." He stated (grammar and punctuation again preserved):
“But in fact, local law enforcement agencies do not have enough resources to control every yard, which means that all hope is for neighbors who inform. And even if they do not exist, the thought of a possible such option will instill paranoia in society against acquaintances or residents of the house, the landing. <…>
If the attempt to exclude Russian culture has already begun to look mundane, then the exclusion of an entire time zone is something new.”
The authors of the article did not take into account that martial law has been introduced in Ukraine and a curfew is in effect, which they are not going to cancel on New Year's Eve. Any fireworks and "loud congratulations" on the street are impossible, and it doesn't matter at 23:00 local time or at midnight. As the representative of the National Police Maryana Reva told the Ukrainian edition of Zerkalo Nedeli, violators will be taken to police units for identification. There is no curfew in only one of the regions of the country – the Transcarpathian region.