The Foreign Minister declares 34 Russian citizens personae non gratae in Latvia

On 1 June 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, passed a decision on including 34 more citizens of the Russian Federation in the list of personae non gratae in the Republic of Latvia in accordance with Section 61, Paragraph two of the Immigration Law. Latvia continues to ban the persons supporting the Kremlin regime from entry into Latvia, and will consistently do that in future.

Pursuant to the Foreign Minister’s decision, those persons will be prohibited from entering Latvia for an indefinite period of time. The said persons, mainly Russia’s cultural figures, who have taken part in public events and have expressed their active support for the decision of the President of Russia to carry out an invasion of Ukraine. The individuals put on the persona non grata list have been justifying Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.  

Latvia condemns in the strongest terms the unprovoked and unjustified war unleashed by Russia on Ukraine, where, as the result of brutal actions by Russia’s armed forces, Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are losing their lives every day. Support for atrocities perpetrated by the Kremlin regime means complicity with the crimes committed; therefore, the entry of such persons into Latvia is not permissible.

The following persons have been added to the persona non grata list: