Latvia decided to include advertising during the performances of Russians at the Olympics

Latvian television will include advertisements during the performance of athletes from Russia and Belarus at the Olympic Games. This was announced on January 19 by Thomas Circenis, Director of sports programs at TV3 Group.

"We even considered the possibility of not showing luge competitions, but this would harm Latvian luge athletes. <...> This is a conscious editorial decision, not a technical coincidence, so these moments are used for planned commercial breaks," he was quoted as saying by the Sportacentrs TV channel.

He added that a similar approach will be used in all news sections at the Olympics.

Punishing VAT: persecution of the Russian language continues in the Baltic States

Russian residents of Latvia were taxed for the opportunity to read in their native language

On January 21, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that Latvian TV channels show only the successes of their own athletes at the upcoming Winter Olympics "for entertainment," commenting on Circenis' words that Latvian channels would not broadcast the achievements of Belarusian and Russian athletes at the Olympics.

Latvia declared 14 Russian athletes persona non grata on December 24. It was noted that entry restrictions were imposed indefinitely. According to the Delfi portal, the decision was made against the background of the planned international winter Luge World Cup, which will be held in early January 2026.

Two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitry Vasiliev said on January 16 that the recommendations of the Latvian sports authorities to their athletes not to communicate with Russian and Belarusian athletes can be explained by a low level of intelligence. He also noted that athletes should have nothing to do with politics.

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