Latvia has become one of the main targets of Russian propaganda, which is supposed to portray it as a state threatening the Russian-speaking minority. The Kremlin used the same argument just before the start of the full-scale war on Ukraine. Latvian counterintelligence points out that this is part of Moscow’s long-term strategy, the website reports.
A report by the Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution (SAB), one of Latvia’s three security services also responsible for counterintelligence, states that “in the Russian narrative, Latvia is portrayed as a Russophobic country that oppresses Russian-speaking residents.” In Latvia of about 1.86 million, the Russian minority makes up more than a quarter of the population, and more than a third of the population use Russian as their main language.
At the same time, Russian narratives refer to Latvia as a “Nazi state”, a “puppet of the UK and USA” and a “failed state”, according to the website. According to the portal, before the war, Moscow spread similar claims about Ukraine, and today it portrays all three Baltic countries in the same way.
Security services warn that while Russia does not currently pose an immediate military threat to Latvia, there are signals indicating Moscow’s potential long-term plans. One scenario is that Russia may try to use international mechanisms and sue Latvia and other countries in courts for possible discrimination against Russian-speaking residents.
The SAB said it was still receiving information confirming Moscow’s growing belief in its own propaganda that “Europe, including Latvia, is presented as a threat to Russia and its higher values”.
“There is no indication that the Russian elites would change this opinion, even if peace reigns in Ukraine,” said the head of the office, Egils Zviedris. He added that Moscow’s long-term goal is to “dismantle the world order based on rules and law and ensure that Russia is seen as a great power.”
