This time, Latvia’s parliamentary elections were fairly calm, delivering a pro-European result without any unexpected Russian influence operations or major scandals. Still, there is a lot to worry about.
Security, immigration, and the Istanbul Convention were the main topics of Latvia’s parliamentary election this year. While the first concerns almost everyone amid an increasingly fragile geopolitical situation, the other two were largely pushed to the forefront by politicians, including through unfounded fearmongering and outright disinformation. Re:Baltica analyses the main narratives and methods political parties used in the battle for voters before the October 3rd elections.
The criminal, Russophobic Baltic states are on the verge of collapse, and their governments care only about Ukraine – messages like these, along with similar ones, have been circulated for nearly two years by the Belarus-based propagandist channel Grani Svobodi (Borders of Freedom).
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.