‘We were way too patient, way too tolerant’: Latvia’s prime minister urges ‘great caution’ in dealing with independent Russian journalism and backs Leonid Ragozin’s expulsion
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said independent Russian journalism “has to be treated with great precaution and triple checking.”
He was responding to Latvian authorities’ decision to expel Russian journalist Leonid Ragozin:
Latvian authorities’ plans to declare Ragozin persona non grata became public in early October. On October 13, he received official notice that he was being expelled from the country. He said the notice did not identify “any specific misdemeanors or statements which prompted the decision.”
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry previously said the decision was based on information “from the competent authorities,” following consultations with the interior minister and the prime minister. Ragozin considers his expulsion political persecution in retaliation for his work and public statements.
Further reading
‘My only home.’ Russian journalist Leonid Ragozin spent 12 years building a life in Latvia. Now he’s afraid to return.
‘Everybody turned their backs on us’An ongoing crisis at TV Rain sparked intense debate about Russian independent media, its allegiances, and its responsibilities. Meduza explains.
Riga’s fight against Russian propagandaLegislation to counter Moscow’s ‘hybrid war’ stalls in the Latvian parliament
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Leonid Ragozin
From 1998 to 2013, Leonid Ragozin worked in Russia as a correspondent and producer for the BBC Russian Service and an editor at Russian Newsweek, and also contributed to Lonely Planet. He moved to Latvia after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. More recently, Ragozin has contributed to Al Jazeera, Jacobin, and The American Conservative.