Latvian authorities are tightening rules for Russians at the border and inside the country

Since October 15, Latvia has introduced a paid electronic queue at the border with Russia and Belarus, explaining this with "security measures and congestion control." At the same time, more than 800 Russians who did not comply with the new migration requirements, including knowledge of the Latvian language, had to leave the country before October 13 under threat of forced expulsion. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the new rules

On October 15, Latvia began implementing a paid electronic queue system for crossing the country's external border from Russia and Belarus. According to the authorities, this decision is due to the need to improve safety and prevent traffic congestion. At the same time, in 2024, the republic tightened the immigration law for Russian citizens, obliging them to obtain long-term EU resident status by June 30, 2025, demonstrate knowledge of the Latvian language at A2 level and undergo a security check.

So, about 30 thousand Russian citizens suffered from the new rules. Madara Puke, Director of Public Relations at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (UDGM), noted that about 2.6 thousand people left Latvia voluntarily, and 841 people did not provide the necessary documents on time. The stay of these individuals in the country after October 13 became illegal, they were denied access to social services, and in the future, forced deportation is possible.

Moscow's reaction

On October 14, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Latvia's decision inhumane barbarism and Nazism. She clarified that the Russian Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the development of the situation around the expulsion of compatriots. At the same time, Zakharova considers it premature to talk about immediate mass deportation, noting that various administrative and legal mechanisms may be involved to protect the rights of citizens.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian citizens whose stay in Latvia is about to expire can return to their homeland and build their lives here. In addition, Leonid Kalashnikov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the CIS, told Izvestia that the Russian government should submit a proposal for retaliatory economic measures against Latvia within a month. According to him, the parliament will prepare an appeal to the cabinet with an appropriate purpose.

As the Russian Embassy in Latvia told Izvestia, in order for Russians to legally protect themselves from deportation from Latvia, they need to issue a temporary residence permit (residence permit) if they have close relatives in the country. Also, the decision on deportation can be challenged in pre-trial and judicial proceedings, obtaining a postponement of departure for a valid reason or because of difficult life circumstances.

The story of the deported pensioner

Grigory Yeremenko, a 74-year-old Russian citizen who was deported after 40 years of living in Latvia, told Izvestia that almost all communication in the republic, especially in Riga, was conducted in Russian. According to him, the authorities deprived him of his pension and permanent place of residence, and the reason was the inability to pass a 52 euro Latvian language proficiency exam. Yeremenko stressed that this deportation, in his opinion, is necessary for the authorities in order to expel Russian speakers.

It is reported that due to the blocking of his Russian pension by the Latvian authorities, he had to spend all the accumulated money on food, which he collected for dental treatment. The man also noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the attitude of the Latvian government towards Russian-speaking citizens changed for the worse. In his opinion, the authorities would like to expel all Russian citizens and Russian speakers from the country, for which the relevant laws were specially invented.

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