---Just think. Use your brains
If Russia wanted & tryin to destroy your language & culture for 200 years! don't you think that your native language could be russian not latvian. ---
No, because it was the peasants that didn't go to school thet kept it alive.
oh yes the the peasants which didn't go to school could save written of the language grammar & structure of one.
"The Russians did their best to destroy the language and culture of this people."
Well i''m not ethnic russian too. I was born in Northern Caucasia & popularity of my nation is not realy big (only 150 thousand people) But i remember when i was visiting elementry school in the USSR we had a lesson called " the native language" where we were learning to read & to write in one. Also national Folclore & Traditions. Folowimg your logic the language & culture of my nation were much more important for Soviets then yours. But again as far as i know the official language of Latvia is LATVIAN NOT RUSSIAN. If any state want to assimilate any nation its not a difficult problem. Have a Look at Germany on which terretory used to live tens of the nations now there is only one nation with one native language one culture & one history. In Soviet Union & now in Russia every region have it own history, it own traditions, culture, folklore etc., language in the end (but all of them at same time speaks in russian cause they in the country)