The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has had a huge impact on the Latvian media landscape: As of 2026, public service media will no longer offer content in Russian.
Latvia: struggling to keep Russian influence at bay
Latvia's media landscape has traditionally been bilingual, with content provided in both Latvian and Russian. However, the Russian full-scale war against Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022 has changed the attitude towards Russia and the Russian language. In 2023, the Latvian parliament decided to remove Russian content from the public service media from 2026 as part of its national security concept.
A controversial decision: representatives of the Russian-language media disagree with the argument that there are two different discourses in the Latvian media landscape, depending on which language is used. They point out that in the case of Russian-language content, a distinction must be made between content produced in Russia and locally produced content. Private media outlets such as the daily newspaper Neatkarīgā, web portal Delfi and the news website Tvnet want to continue offering Russian content because of its considerable reach. The decision to revoke the Latvian broadcasting licence of the exiled independent Russian television channel Dozhd also sparked fierce debate.
Ties to oligarchs
Latvian media face major financial challenges: the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the shift from print to online media and inflation are making it hard for them to generate profit.
Many private media outlets are suspected of having close links to the country's oligarchs. A lawsuit initiated in spring 2023 uncovered evidence that oligarchs had allegedly exerted influence on the publishing groups Dienas mediji and Dienas bizness (daily newspaper Diena) via payments disguised as loans.
From 1999 to 2016, the leading daily newspaper Neatkarīgā belonged to oligarch Aivars Lembergs, who was also mayor of the city of Ventspils from 1988 to 2021. Lembergs was sentenced to five years in prison for bribery, money laundering and concealing assets in 2021. The publishing company Mediju nams, which operates Neatkarīgā, was temporarily owned by the brother of Lembergs' daughter-in-law before it was sold in 2022 to Anastasia Udalova – the partner of Oleg Ossinovski, formerly the richest man in Estonia.
News and opinion mixed
There are three competing journalistic cultures in Latvia. The culture of the Russian-language media, which are particularly prone to mixing news and commentary. Then there is the instrumental and authoritarian (post-Soviet) journalistic culture, often characterised by the aforementioned close ties between media and powerful figures in politics and business. And thirdly there is the culture of publications that maintain high journalistic standards.
An example of the third category is the investigative journalism in which Latvia, with its innovative projects, excels among the northern and eastern European states. The flagship project here is Re:Baltica, an organisation for investigative journalism which is financed by donations and international grants.
The public service broadcasters are also expanding their activities in the area of investigative journalism. De facto, a programme broadcast by public television channel LTV, provides weekly reports on corruption. Another LTV programme, Aizliegtais paņēmiens (Forbidden Methods), has been airing since 2013 and has a unique format based on undercover investigations. The TV3 show Nekā personīga (Nothing Personal) also presents a weekly analysis of current political affairs. Some of this investigative journalism – as practised by the weekly newspaper Ir and web portal Delfi – would not be possible without the funding these outlets receive from a state fund for supporting the media.
World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders):
Rank 16 (2023)
Last updated: November 2023
