They used to work together in one way or another. Since the collapse of "Harmony" – once the leading party for Latvia's Russian-speaking voters – four political groups are now competing for what's left of its supporters in the upcoming parliamentary elections in October. One is the faded old brand trying to reinvent itself, and the former allies who split off to build careers of their own.
For years, the Baltic states dismissed the Kremlin's increasingly outlandish claims – from implying they were allowing Ukrainian drones to strike Russia from their territory to allegations they were preparing to deport their native Russian speakers – as propaganda. Note, debunk, move on.
In May, the Baltics experienced a perfect storm of events capable of fuelling public anxiety. There were repeated emergency alerts about Ukrainian drones entering airspace, some of them hitting an empty oil depot in Latvian town close to the Russian border and one being shot down by NATO air force in Estonia. Vilnius, including the government, was ordered to go to shelters. Latvia experienced power outages.
In the history of Latvian banking, February has often been a month of fateful turns.
From the dismissive view that “it's a family matter” to more than 10,000 people gathering in Dome Square to declare that “violence against women is not our value.” Efforts to combat domestic violence in Latvia have at times been pushed by Europe and at others by grassroots activism. Yet some of the country's laws have been written in blood.
With parliament elections approaching, populist politicians and their supporters are increasingly fanning hatred against arrivals from third countries.
When several Ukrainian drones crashed in the Baltics two weeks ago, Russian propaganda swiftly pushed a story that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia had deliberately “opened” their airspace to enable Kiyv to attack Russia.
Is Russia preparing for a potential war with NATO? The question has loomed large since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resurfacing again and again across political and security circles.
Leaked documents show Valery Engel seeking money from Russia’s soft power fund under the EU sanctions.