A draft law on the possible dissolution of the Latvijas Krievu savienība has been submitted

A draft law has been submitted to the Saeima presidium which will allow for the easier liquidation of political parties hostile to the Latvian state and democratic society. At present, the pro-Kremlin party Latvian Russian Union (Latvijas Krievu savienība) qualifies as the main one for this description.

The political organization has already received a warning from the State Security Service in connection with activities "aimed at justifying Russian Federation's violations of the foreign policy and international law norms, as well as spreading propaganda messages". Neatkarīgā already reported about this a few weeks ago, and now the State Security Service has reiterated this warning through the national news agency LETA: "The State Security Service has called on the party to prevent further illegal activities, warning that otherwise the service will use the instruments provided for by law against it." But at the moment the instruments are too weak. It is already the third month of the war, but the Latvian Russian Union has not changed its pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Therefore, amendments to the Law on Political Parties are being proposed.

The many harmful activities of the LKS

The Latvian Russian Union is currently balancing on a very thin line. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not been condemned by the party in its public communications. The party has not supported the European Parliament's resolution against Russian aggression in Ukraine. At the same time, the party's leader, Tatjana Ždanoka, has spread Russian fabrications in the European Parliament about the suffering of compatriots in the Donbas, and continues to push forward initiatives to support bilingualism in Latvian education. In addition, other members of the pro-Kremlin party are also carrying out various activities that are clearly against Latvia's interests. At a time when monuments to the Red Army of Occupation are being dismantled in other countries because of the Russian attack, in Latvia the party has organized a movement to guard these monuments. Moreover, contrary to official calls not to gather for the Red Army celebrations on May 9, the party's members are agitating their supporters on social media to attend both the traditional flower-laying event at the "Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders" and the subsequent night-guard rally to demonstrate the unity of the Russian world. The message recently sent out by leading members of the party that

"an attempt to move the monument by even a millimeter would be tantamount to a declaration of war in which we will take no prisoners"

sounds most ominous. The other co-chair of the party, Miroslavs Mitrofanovs, has just given an interview to the Russian TV channel Первый канал - on a routine story about the revival of Nazism in Latvia - in connection with the discussions about the possible removal of the monument. Alongside Latvian Mitrofanovs, other stories on the channel talk about how "Russian soldiers are showing manhood and heroism every day in the special operation in Ukraine". The heirs of the Red Army are "liberating" someone again, as they once "liberated" Latvia. With death, rape and repression.

At the service of the letter Z

Basically all political and public manifestations of the Latvian Russian Union are currently in clear contradiction with the defined interests of the Republic of Latvia. It contradicts the interests of the democratic world to live in peace and harmony. In spite of this, the Republic of Latvia is providing this pro-Kremlin party with significant funding, allowing it to grow its pro-Kremlin supporters: €155,516 in 2020, €136,336 in 2021, and €143,809 in 2022. Of these, almost €72,000 have already been paid. And it is significant that, according to SKDS, the number of supporters of the pro-Kremlin Latvian Russian Union increased significantly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From 2.4% in February to 3.2% in March. Of course, in the context of the war, the party's program plays an important role in attracting supporters, which calls for the lifting of political sanctions against Russia and Belarus, promises more active cooperation with governmental and NGO institutions of the Russian Federation, supports the special protection of the rights of Russian-speaking people in all countries and encourages the creation of a common political and economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok. This would be the new Soviet Union. It is not only the State Security Service that is aware of the danger of these ideas, especially after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing "liberation of compatriots" there.

The Law on Political Parties needs to be amended

The need to restrict the activities of the Latvian Russian Union has also been discussed in the Saeima backrooms, but so far there has been a lack of formal justification in the legislation. The Latvian Russian Union is not in breach of the Law on Political Parties. It does not form its own armed or militarized units, it does not interfere with KNAB inspections, the number of party members is sufficient, and bankruptcy is far from imminent. The party has received one warning from the State Security Service for running its pro-Kremlin mouth, but that is all. But the situation may soon change. The National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība) MPs in the coalition have submitted a draft law to add the following article to the Law on Political Parties:

"In their activities, political parties shall be prohibited from publicly praising, denying or justifying genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, war crimes, as well as from carrying out or supporting actions aimed at undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence or constitutional order of democratic states." MP Jānis Iesalnieks argues that this should speed up the procedure for dissolving anti-state parties, which is currently quite cumbersome. As explained in the annotation of the draft law, "political parties that support Russia's aggressive policy and justify its crimes threaten Latvia's security and are contrary to Latvia's national interests".

Ždanoka cannot be stripped of her citizenship

Alongside the party's responsibility, of course, the responsibility of individual members, and in particular the leaders, for justifying Russia's policy should be assessed. The need to deprive Tatjana Ždanoka of her citizenship, who, representing Latvia in the European Parliament, is acting as an agent of influence for the Russian Federation, has already been repeatedly discussed in the public sphere. (It is no coincidence that the Russian opposition movement, the Free Russia Forum, has included her on the "Putin's List", which brings together those responsible for the creation and functioning of the system of usurpation of power and the suppression of civil liberties in Russia.)

Amendments to the Law on Citizenship have just been adopted which will allow war supporters to be stripped of Latvian citizenship, but this provision will only apply to dual citizens, such as the sanctioned Russian oligarch Petr Aven, who has chosen Latvia as one of his places of residence outside Russia and once even tried to become Prime Minister of Latvia. His Latvian citizenship can be revoked. But Ždanoka's cannot, because it is her only one. Moreover, it is a peculiarity of European Parliament elections that MEPs do not necessarily have to be citizens of the countries they represent. This means that the only way to remove Tatjana Ždanoka from the political stage, and from any stage at all, is by criminal law methods, by proving her collaboration with the Kremlin and her actions being hostile to the Republic of Latvia. Step by step.

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