Russians in Latvia

Just a detail about my surroundings: I feel like I am back in elementary school. A herd of little loud stomping boys just invaded the internet cafe, and I have forgotten how rude and loud they are. Why are boys so rude? Maybe just these boys. Although actually - this definitely risks being offensive! - I have noticed that Latvians tend not to apologize. I have trouble myself using the word "atvojnojut" (excuse me) and it is because I do not ever hear it - I almost don't believe that that's how one apologizes. I was talking to a Latvian-American about Russians in Latvia, and she said that she noticed that whenever anyone excuses themselves on the street, it is always in Russian. Also she said - though I have no idea if this is a general Latvian perspective, or her own impression - that Russians are very passionate and emotional, whereas Latvians are much more reserved and maybe even apathetic. But then other young Latvians I've talked to have said that there's pretty much no difference between Russians and Latvians (aside from the language, religion, and some Latvian traditions).

So a little bit about Russians in Latvia. In general, it doesn't seem that Latvians hold bad feelings towards Russians. Latvians have been very polite to me when I speak Russian, and no one has refused to speak Russian to me. It does seem, though, that socially most people stay within their ethnic group, at least among the older generation. Politically, Russians living in Latvia were not automatically given Latvian citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union. There was a period when they could automatically take on Russian citizenship, but now that's not the case, and Russians in Latvia (who do not already have a citizenship) need to apply for citizenship, whether it's Russian or Latvian. As far as I understand, there are people who therefore don't have any citizenship, but they do have Latvian residence and travel documents. From Russians I have heard that people don't want to apply for Latvian citizenship because they are somewhat offended/insulted that it requires a language test (there are several categories of Latvian language proficiency and one has to have the first or second, I think, to become a citizen - which is just a little bit of Latvian) and history test (which apparently requires recounting a very subjective view of history, which even, I have heard from one person, denies the existence of the Holocaust - !!!). In other Baltic countries, at least in Estonia, all residents were automatically granted Estonian citizenship. On the other hand, in Estonia the Russian population is much smaller than in Latvia. But Estonians are much more strict in terms of language - they won't speak Russian (I have heard), whereas almost everyone in Riga, even young people, speak at least some Russian. Although in Riga all the signs are in Latvian. But that's about it. It seems to me that people live pretty smoothly together, and in Riga there is a big Russian-Latvian mix without particular friction. Any questions?