The Latvian minister who wants to prosecute Russians who go to the embassy to vote

Latvia, like its Baltic neighbors, has been one of Ukraine's strongest supporters since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than two years ago.. It has also become a refuge for many Russians who have fled war or the draft.. But even in exile there are ambushes by local politics. A combative minister named Inese Libina-Egnere is becoming the nightmare of local Russians.

Russians living in Latvia face criminal charges for justifying war under Latvian law if they vote at the Russian embassy in Riga, where two polling stations are expected to open for the March 15-17 elections.. Latvia's Justice Minister believes that Russian citizens living in the Baltic country and planning to vote in Russia's upcoming presidential election “fundamentally support” Moscow's invasion of Ukraine simply by participating in the vote. , which is celebrated throughout Russia but also in the occupied territories in Ukraine.

“We cannot prevent Russian citizens from entering the embassy. What they do there and why they do it is their business and that of the state of which they are citizens,” explained last Tuesday Inese Libina-Egnere, a popular Latvian politician who represents the Unity party, a center-right force.. “Order will be maintained outside the embassy, but we consider that the people who enter also support the war,” the minister told local radio station TV3.

Libina-Egnere has some reasons to have little sympathy for the Russian government. She herself is among several Latvian cabinet members under arrest warrant from Russia's Interior Ministry accused of promoting the dismantling of Soviet monuments, a serious affront to a Russian regime engaged in a crusade for the glories of the past..

Moscow has not remained indifferent to the minister's threats. The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced that “several states in Europe and the United States” have intensified calls to “interrupt” the voting process in Russian embassies abroad.

The minister's threats come after a cascade of measures to remove Russia even from the refrigerators of Latvians. In a historic decision, Latvia's parliament this month approved a ban on agricultural imports from Russia and neighboring Belarus until at least 2025.

Additionally, the Latvian government decided on February 27 to extend restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens into the country given Russia's continued aggression in Ukraine.. The government believes that they “continue to represent a threat to the internal security of Latvia”, a country of only 1.8 million inhabitants..

Entry restrictions will continue to apply to Russian citizens wishing to cross the EU's external border for tourism and leisure purposes.. This means weekend getaways to Riga will remain banned well into next year.

Other restrictions also apply to Russian-registered cars using Latvia's road network, and they may even be subject to confiscation if discovered, a highly restrictive measure that has affected even Russian dissidents and Ukrainians leaving Russia to travel. look for a country where they can settle permanently after fleeing to the east to escape the fighting.