‘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:

We 🇱🇻 were way too patient, way too tolerant to accept such misleading, Russian agression justification... Independent 🇷🇺 journalism has to be treated with great precaution and triple checking.
Finally the 🇱🇻 government took the right decion, which had to be taken already long… https://t.co/mWelyUR6F0

— Andris Kulbergs (AS) 🇺🇦🇱🇻 (@AndrisKulbergs) October 14, 2026

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 propaganda Legislation to counter Moscow’s ‘hybrid war’ stalls in the Latvian parliament

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