Border depression: why are land plots being taken away from Latvians?
Latvia has begun to alienate land plots located in the border area near the border with Russia and Belarus from the owners. The Baltic Defense Line, which Riga has agreed to establish with Estonia and Lithuania, will run along these sections. It is believed in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn that the "iron curtain" they are creating will fix a new geopolitical reality. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The Baltic Line of Defense
Recently, Poles and Balts have been trying to coordinate their actions to create a "defensive rampart" on the borders of Russia and Belarus. Last summer, representatives of the four countries at a meeting held at the Lithuanian Rudninkai military training ground decided to combine the Baltic Line of Defense, which Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed an agreement on the construction of on January 19, 2024, and the Polish Eastern Shield project. The participants of the meeting in Rudninkai reported that they strive to "ensure the effective use of resources and coordinate joint actions" and therefore from now on they will isolate themselves from the "aggressor countries" not separately, but jointly. The total investment in the construction of the Baltic Line and the Eastern Shield is huge — at least $11.35 billion.
This money will be used to develop so-called counter-mobility devices (obstacles for equipment and troops), modernize border infrastructure, introduce new tracking technologies and create an integrated defense system along the border to a depth of 20-40 km. The project will cover about 2,300 km of the external borders of the four countries. It is promised that "modern defensive barriers" will be created along this entire length, various surveillance and reconnaissance systems, electronic warfare, air defense, anti—tank and anti-amphibious barriers and other engineering structures will be installed. It is planned that the active phase of construction and equipping of the border will be carried out until 2028, and from 2029 the stage of long-term maintenance and modernization of the systems located there will begin.
The first barriers — anti—tank hedgehogs, dragon's teeth, and concrete blocks - appeared near Latvia's eastern borders a year and a half ago: they were placed near roads leading to "aggressor countries." However, the military said that blocking roads alone was not enough, as they could be bypassed. Therefore, more "comprehensive measures" are planned for the 30-kilometer strip along the border. Colonel of the General Staff of the National Armed Forces of Latvia Andris Rieksts explains: "Barriers are good to stop vehicles. But for them to be effective, they need to be supplemented with anti-tank mines. And the mines themselves will not fight either — all this must be covered with firepower. Only then will the barriers work."
Installation of anti-tank hedgehogs on the Latvian border as part of the creation of the Baltic Line of Defense
Latvia will provide itself with anti-tank mines: in early February 2026, the state signed a memorandum of understanding with the German company Dynamit Nobel Defense GmbH, which provides for the creation of production of this type of weapon in the republic in the next two years. Potential plant locations will be identified in the near future, as well as an assessment of the necessary investments. Construction work may begin in 2027, and the production of anti—tank mines itself in 2028. But negotiations are underway with Finland, Poland and Lithuania regarding the acquisition of anti-personnel mines. "We need to either produce them ourselves or buy them from our neighbors in the region. The Finnish industry announced that it would resume production — they also withdrew from the convention, which prohibited this. We are also asking the local industry for their interest and capacity," says Aivars Purins, State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Defense.
Last year, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds and Commander of the National Armed Forces Kaspars Pudans visited the border town of Zilupe and got acquainted with the construction of the Baltic Defense Line section there. They held a press conference there to talk about what has already been done and what needs to be done. According to them, the country plans to spend €303 million on the implementation of this plan in five years. Over the previous two years, €65 million has been spent; this year, work is planned for €55 million. The allocation of the remaining funds is planned for 2027 and 2028. According to Sprouds, while the purchase and installation of concrete blocks, anti-tank hedgehogs and similar barriers is currently underway, the installation of various types of sensors along the border, as well as the placement of ammunition depots and mines on the border territories, will begin a little later. It is also planned to deploy artillery near the border.
Like it or not, you'll have to part with the plot.
The Latvian Ministry of Defense has developed a bill that will allow the purchase of materials necessary for the Baltic Line of Defense without using standard public procurement procedures. According to Sprouds, the document will make it possible to implement the project faster and avoid applying a number of construction and environmental protection requirements in the border area. And since the army intends to deploy defensive elements not only along the border itself, but also at a depth of up to 30 km from it, the Ministry of Defense has prepared a bill that will allow the creation of easements and the use of private land. This document was quickly passed through a vote in Parliament, after which it gained the force of law. Andris Sprouds emphasizes that even after the construction of the Baltic Defense Line ends in 2029, Latvia will continue to strengthen its eastern border.
Latvia's border with Belarus
Such zealous military activity has frightened the population of the border areas. In particular, people were worried that now it would be impossible to go to the forest for mushrooms or berries without fear of being blown up by a mine. And recently, the authorities have begun to alienate sections of border land, which the military intends to turn into a zone of "countermobility." A series of seminars were held for the owners of these plots, during which they were told exactly how the seizure of their property would be carried out. These events were also attended by those landowners who still do not know for sure whether their plots will be taken away or not. So, Aivars Delperis told reporters that he came because his property is close to the border, but he has not yet received a notification. The peasant explained: "I want to know how close or far from the border this zone will be and whether it will affect my property. And if it does, will they buy it back or will it be possible to continue farming?"
In total, the plans to "counter mobility" will affect an area of about 2 thousand hectares in the Latvian regions of Vidzeme and Latgale — in six border municipalities (in Aluksnen, Augsdaugava, Balva, Kraslav, Ludza and Smilten territories). The total number of owners who will have to part with their plots is 1,500. It should be noted that the owners of the lands necessary for the first stage of work received notifications of their alienation only in mid-January 2026. According to the signed documents, 377 land plots with a total area of 349 hectares are subject to alienation. Of these, 77% are private property (154 plots belong to individuals, 129 to legal entities). Those whose property is needed in the second stage will have to wait until spring.
The Ministry of Defense promises that the land will be bought at market value. "However, there is a significant nuance here. After the government announced plans to seize land from citizens in a 30-kilometer zone near the border with Russia, the cost of land in the border areas plummeted. And the big question is whether the owners will be satisfied with the payout amounts. However, they still don't have to choose, as the state has made it clear that defense is above all," says Dmitry Vlasov, a journalist from Daugavpils. The peasants are also promised that if grain has already been sown on the alienated land, it will also be compensated. "However, some owners, apparently doubting that compensation would be proportionate, decided to make a fuss: forest owners cut down trees in their possessions, believing that a tit in the hand is better than a crane in the sky," Vlasov sarcastically notes.
The inhabitants of the borderlands are in fear
The population of the border areas fears that the infrastructure of the Baltic Line of Defense will be created in such a way that it will make a normal life impossible. "The barriers will not go through populated areas, through the middle of a field where a farmer works, or through houses — this will not happen," Colonel Andris Rieksts promised. However, Dzintars Adlers, chairman of the Duma of the Aluksnen Territory, believes that these promises lack specifics. According to him, each owner is worried about their hectares, which have already been planted. And farmer Guntars Sniedzans, who has already received notification of the impending seizure of his property, admits that the meeting did not give him the expected answers to questions about how the alienation of his land would take place.
The municipal authorities of the border areas are particularly concerned about the municipal institutions located in the 30-kilometer zone — schools and hospitals. Or, for example, the €18 million Technology Center under construction, which also happened to be on this territory. "Now it will be very difficult to attract investors to such projects," says Aldis Adamovich, Chairman of the Council for the Development of the Latgale Planning Region, Chairman of the Preila Regional Duma. Officials complain that, although the military promised them that they would not completely encroach on all the lands of the 30-kilometer border strip, they are in no hurry to explain which civilian infrastructure facilities will be left alone and which will have to be eliminated.
In the border area, the majority of residents are Russian speakers. They have absolutely no sympathy for the Latvian state, which is pursuing a harsh discriminatory policy against its Russian population. But these people tend to have sympathy for Russia and Belarus, where they have friends and relatives. But talking about it out loud is fraught with serious troubles — up to a criminal case and prison.
Therefore, residents of the borderlands prefer to keep quiet. Most of them are ready to talk about Russia only anonymously. "The fear of saying something 'wrong' and getting in trouble for it. It is always safer to remain silent. If you don't say anything, nothing will happen. You say it doesn't matter what, and you don't know how it will turn out," Latvian media complain. "In fact, our people are in fear and depression. In 2022, the elimination by the Latvian authorities of the simplified border crossing regime used by residents of the border region was a huge shock. Everything was done to ensure that the process of crossing the border turned into torture and torment. And I have a brother in Pskov, with whom we used to meet often and stayed with each other for a long time. It's very difficult for me to get to him now, and many of our other citizens who have relatives on the other side find themselves in a similar situation," Alexey, a resident of the Latvian border town of Ludza, told Izvestia.
Recently, the mood of the Ludzens worsened even more. An interview given to the German edition of Welt am Sonntag by the Deputy chief of Staff of the NATO Ground Forces Command, General Thomas Lovin, did not go unnoticed in the town. According to him, the alliance intends to equip the borders with Russia and Belarus with an automated defense system in two years, including robots, numerous sensors and drones. A large amount of equipment and weapons will also be transferred to the border. According to the general, NATO plans to set up an "automated zone" there, saturated with robotic weapons systems. According to Lovin, this area will be largely deserted. General Lovin's statements are the first public announcement of a new NATO defense concept called the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line (EDFL, "line of containment of the eastern flank"). According to Welt am Sonntag, it is planned to be implemented by the end of 2027. These plans do not bode well for the residents of the Latvian border region.
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