Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially confirmed that on 7 October it updated its list of undesirable persons by adding another Russian citizen.
According to Delfi, this is the journalist Leonid Ragozin. Latvia’s Foreign Ministry did not name him.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Liga Ermacane, explained that diplomats took the decision after a joint assessment of the situation with other competent authorities and in accordance with the Immigration Law. The minister’s adviser added that the authorities would not disclose the grounds for adding the Russian national to the list in the interests of national security.
The move was prompted by Ragozin’s recent remarks on an American podcast. The Russian described the Kremlin’s position and claimed that Russia feels compelled to respond with brute force to Western provocations. Politico notes that it was these comments that angered the Latvian community.
Ragozin has lived in Riga since 2014, having moved there after the annexation of Crimea. He has previously worked with the BBC, Politico, Bloomberg and other international media.
The latest review of his case was initiated by the Minister of the Interior, Janis Dombrava. The official said the Russian journalist has for a long time publicly harmed Latvia’s interests, justified the Kremlin’s foreign policy and discredited Ukraine. These are not the first allegations against Ragozin: in 2022, Latvia’s then defence minister also publicly described him as a suspected agent of Russian influence.