Zakharova called the ban on the Russian language in the Latvian media gross discrimination

Latvia’s ban on media broadcasting in Russian from 2026 is gross discrimination and segregation on ethnolinguistic grounds, stated official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

“We consider this step as a gross act of discrimination and segregation on ethnolinguistic grounds, another manifestation of aggressive chauvinistic nationalism, elevated by the Latvian leadership to the rank of state policy and ideology,” Zakharova said in her official commentary.

She emphasized that the ban is being introduced in a country in which 40% of the population speak Russian. According to Zakharova, Riga has legally equated the fact that people continue to speak Russian as a threat to national security. Latvia’s next step in the war with the Russian language speaks of its powerlessness in building a democratic society, she added.

On September 28, the Latvian Seimas approved the country’s new National Security Concept, which was prepared taking into account the conflict in Ukraine. The document also obliges Latvian public media to use only the Latvian language or a language “belonging to the European cultural space” from January 1, 2026. “When the state stops funding Russian-language content, the process of creating a unified information space will be completed, and Russian-language content will continue to exist in commercial media at private expense,” – should from a message from the Seimas.

Previously “Latvian Radio 4” reportedthat many schools in the country were not ready to abandon the Russian language and were unable to provide schoolchildren with the opportunity to study a second foreign language, which would be the official language of the European Union or the European Economic Area. Due to a lack of teachers, schools can only offer Russian as a second foreign language.