Edvīns Šnore (born 21 March 1974, in

Saulkrasti Saulkrasti (; german: Neubad) (literally ''Sun shores'' in Latvian) is a town in Latvia on the east coast of the Gulf of Riga and the capital of the Saulkrasti municipality. Made up of a number of historic fishing settlements, the town stretches ...

) is a Latvian film director and politician. He was elected to a four-year term in the Latvian Saeima in 2014 and 2018. Šnore's family comes from

Kuldīga Kuldīga () (german: Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It join ...

. He went to high school in Riga. During the

Revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

he sympathized with the

Popular Front of Latvia The Popular Front of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Tautas fronte) was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and th ...

. He first studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in Norway, and then earned his master's degree at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

. In 2013 he completed his

Doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on the Western European view of Holodomor. Šnore has become known for his 2008 documentary ''

The Soviet Story ''The Soviet Story'' is a 2008 documentary film about Soviet Communism and Soviet–German relations before 1941 and after, written and directed by Edvīns Šnore, and sponsored by the far-right Union for Europe of the Nations group in the Euro ...

''. For this film, he was awarded with the Latvian

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

in 2008, and the Estonian

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...

in 2009. In 2016 Šnore released another documentary called ''The Unknown War: Baltic Resistance'' on the

guerrilla war in the Baltic states The Guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an armed struggle which was waged by the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian partisans, called the Forest Brothers (also: the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars"; et, metsavennad, lv, mež ...

Views

In his article "The goal: A Latvian Latvia", E. Šnore expressed his views about the Russians in Latvia, as well as the Russian language as such. According to him, "… the Russophone immigrants of the Soviet times disparage and rail at Latvia all the time, yet still do not leave it. At least, not at the rate desired by the Latvians". He also refers to Minister of Social Affairs of Latvia Alfreds Bērziņš saying "… the Russian louse, once let into a coat, is hard to get rid of" and

Paul A. Goble Paul A. Goble (born 1949) is an American analyst, writer and columnist with expertise on Russia. Trained at Miami University (B.A., 1970) and the University of Chicago (M.A., 1973), he is the editor of four volumes on ethnic issues in the former ...

that "…the Russian language is exactly the primary weapon of the Kremlin's hybrid war against the Baltic States". E. Šnore concludes that "… the Latvian Latvia <…> is the only way towards a prosperous, safe and united Latvia". Mr Šnore was reprimanded by the parliamentary ethics commission - with the mildest possible punishment, an oral warning. The article and the mild reaction to it have drawn criticism from two Council of Europe bodies - the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.ACFC/OP/III(2018)001REV
para. 77

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* 1974 births Living people People from Saulkrasti Municipality National Alliance (Latvia) politicians Deputies of the 12th Saeima Deputies of the 13th Saeima Deputies of the 14th Saeima Latvian film directors Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 4th Class {{latvia-bio-stub