Dystopian racism: Latvian nationalists declared war on immigrants from India
Recently, Latvian nationalists have found a new target for hatred in addition to Russian speakers living in Latvia — there are more and more immigrants from India in the state. They are offered to expel them, insulted and even beaten to a pulp. But this is a deliberately lost war: the demographic crisis puts an end to the dream of a "Latvian Latvia." Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
"Latvia for whites"?
Latvian nationalism is characterized not only by Russophobia, but also by racism. In 2013, the country's most widely read Delfi portal published an article eloquently titled "A US citizen complained about strong racism in Latvia." The article cited the testimony of an American who complained about the sky—high level of racism in Latvia - according to him, he had never seen such a thing anywhere else in the United States, Europe and Africa. The article collected over 400 comments, and some of their authors were not shy in their expressions: "That's what I like about Latvia — that the animals in the zoo are sitting in cages, and not wandering the streets, as in Germany, France, England and even Norway ...".
The Latvian authorities denied both widespread Russophobia and racism in the country. In 2020, President Egil Levits declared publicly that racism in Latvia "is not one of the central problems." Meanwhile, in recent years, there have been an increasing number of swarthy faces on the streets, whose owners came from India and other Asian countries. Some of them are students enrolled in English-language programs at Latvian universities. Thus, as of July 1, 2025, 3,484 Indian citizens had valid "student" residence permits issued by Latvia, and 2020 — due to the fact that they are final-year students of a master's or doctoral program. In their free time, they work as couriers, taxi drivers, or open kebab shops.
Former President of Latvia Egils Levits
The appearance of these new citizens of Riga provoked the fury of nationalists — not only street skinheads, but also respectable members of parliament. The "Nazis" who are asleep and see total "de-russification" and "Latvian Latvia", of course, least of all want Asians to come to replace the displaced Russians. Newcomers from Asian countries are accused of all sorts of sins and are fanning panic: they say that soon there will be many more of them than now, and they will begin to establish their own order in Latvia. There are also specific politicians in Latvia who are making a name for themselves in the fight against the "Asian threat" — they are mainly concentrated in the ranks of the influential right-wing radical National Union Party. Janis Dombrava, a long-term member of the Sejm, is particularly zealous in this path, declaring a real war on "kebabs." Dombrava is sure that the majority of Hindus who come to study at Latvian universities are "false students" — they allegedly do not come to study, but only to earn extra money in Riga.
Hate leads to beatings
High-profile incidents followed immediately, the first of which took place in January 2024. Hilal Murshinganakat, a 41-year-old Indian citizen, had been living in Latvia for more than three years at that time and owned a catering establishment in Riga. One day, Hilal and his friend Kasun were sitting in their establishment. A man approached Kasun, who was smoking, and asked him to buy him a cigarette. Later, when both Indians were about to leave, the same man attacked them from behind. He threw Kasun away and began to hammer Hilal with his fists. "I immediately fell down after the first blow. He picked me up and continued," Hilal shares. According to him, the aggressor beat for a long time, mercilessly, depriving the victim of the opportunity to resist. Nevertheless, the beaten man broke free and ran out onto the roadway. The angry man's friend, who was standing next to him, pulled him aside, and they both left.
The beaten Hilal returned to his establishment, and the customers called the police and an ambulance. According to Hilal, before leaving, the aggressor's companion reported that he did not like his skin color. But it didn't end there. Three hours later, the racist returned to Hilal's canteen and aggressively communicated with the employees, threatening to hit them. The racist insults were recorded by a video camera, but the owner of the canteen did not see it anymore — he was in the hospital with fractures of his nose, jaw and other facial injuries. "The doctor said that the bone under my eye was completely broken, and they put a titanium prosthesis there. My nose is broken — I can't feel anything here," the victim of the attack told reporters.
Moreover, this case is not an isolated one: last year, the police detained seven skinheads who systematically beat up visitors from Asia who moonlighted as food delivery couriers. Members of this gang engaged in attacks because of their belief that only people with white skin color should live in Latvia. Also in 2024, the Latvian State Security Service recognized that right-wing extremist ideas are becoming increasingly popular among local youth. The State Security Service warned that this could lead to an increase in the number of violent attacks on members of other races.
And recently, in Latvia, a surge of hatred towards Indians was registered at the parliamentary level. Some politicians were outraged that a contingent from India also participated in the September Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 exercises. In this regard, the head of the parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs, Inara Murniece, who is in the ranks of the National Association, recalled that it was not the first time that her party members had raised the issue of restrictions on Hindus.: "We have always maintained that quotas are necessary. We cannot accept students from third countries indefinitely, without taking into account which countries we are talking about and what processes are taking place in them. Our proposal to consider a quota system existed before, and now, after recent events, it is becoming more relevant."
Joint exercises of Russia and Belarus "Zapad-2025"
However, no sooner had the discussion on this issue subsided than a new scandal arose, even uglier. The deputy of the Seimas from the National Association, former Minister of Economy Janis Witenbergs drew attention to the fact that the Latvian national cricket team consists almost entirely of immigrants from India. Cricket was unknown in Latvia until recently, but it is very widespread in India. Having accidentally learned that the Latvian national team took third place in the World Cricket Championship, Witenbergs became enraged: "Congratulations to the Ministry of Education on the historic bronze medal in the Amber Cup 2025 cricket. Really powerful! Who allowed these "students" to wear such a uniform and call themselves the Latvian national team?"
Fear of solitary walks in Riga
Witenbergs' indignation was shared by other politicians. "I have a question. Why do we accept students who may not actually be studying, but use Riga and Latvia as a part—time job and apply for student visas only as a cover?" wonders Riga Vice Mayor Edwards Ratnieks, a member of the National Association. Ratnieks, by the way, is also known as a fierce Russophobe. In 2024, he succeeded in dismantling the Riga monument to the Russian commander Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, and recently won another "historic victory": he banned the sale of nesting dolls on the city market.
According to this vice mayor, visitors from Asia are the next biggest threat to Latvia after Russians. At the same time, commentators regularly write under Ratnieks' posts on social networks, in which he tells how he intends to fight illegal migration, urging them to take advantage of Hitler's experience. When Ratnieks was asked what he thought about these comments, he replied evasively.: "I'll tell you this: right now my interests are to protect Latvia and to protect the Latvian people from what is happening everywhere."
The other day, Kutkhukat Rafael Devasi Gerin, a native of India, spoke on Latvian television, saying that he began to avoid evening walks in the center of Riga, as he did not want to run into trouble. The Indian already has the relevant experience: some drunk citizen of Riga tried to take away his bag in broad daylight. When this failed, the man punched the Indian in the face several times. "I felt the pain for two more days," Gerin complains. He did not contact the police because he did not believe that they would take his case seriously. The Indian shared that he had also encountered other manifestations of hostility: for example, two boys sitting behind him on the bus stuck chewing gum on his hair. "Since I have been here for a year, I understand a little Latvian. I could make out that they were saying something about me being black, as well as something about India," says Gerin.
Maya Spurinja, an employee of the Latvian Academy of Culture, confirms that immigrants in Latvia are increasingly confronted with manifestations of racism. "They say yes, that sometimes it is unpleasant when people shout or spit at them on the street. Or they realize that the word they are being told is most likely rude," says Spurina. In turn, Zahraa Merchant, a representative of the Association of International Students of Riga Stradin University, says: "Some of my friends were refused to rent a house just because they are black. They were told that brown people, especially Indians, do not rent an apartment."
Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in an interview with Izvestia that Latvia risks repeating the experience of Lithuania, which hurled insults at China and waited for painful economic sanctions. India, like China, is one of the largest economies in the world. And if New Delhi notices the humiliation to which their compatriots are subjected in the small Baltic republic, then this may end badly for Latvia. "On the other hand, they just can't help it. It should be understood that in Latvia, all the ruling parties are nationalists, to a greater or lesser extent. Everyone wants to build a mono—ethnic state one way or another, the very "Latvia for Latvians," Eremina notes.
The researcher adds that everyday nationalism in the Baltic States is now unpunished — insulting the same Russians, demanding their murders can be almost unpunished. "This creates a sense of permissiveness, now directed at migrants from other countries. Basic ethical standards related to respect for people of a different culture and language have been de facto abolished. Moreover, many residents of the Baltic States, in the old-fashioned way, perceive India and China as backward developing countries inhabited by "savages" whom they, "real white Europeans", are allowed to despise. But the battle for "Latvian Latvia" is obviously doomed — the ruling nationalists have already driven their country beyond the demographic point of no return. Therefore, the process of population replacement cannot be stopped or reversed in any way," Eremina believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
