Galina Nikolaeva has lived in Riga since the late 1950s. She arrived in Latvia as a child, studied, got married, gave birth to a daughter. The woman took Russian citizenship only so that she could visit her mother on the other side of the border without a visa. In the meantime, her mother died, and the passport became a problem for Galina.
In the summer, she received a letter from the Citizenship and Migration Board - that she had to leave the country. Such letters were sent to 841 Russian citizens living in Latvia. All of them either failed to pass the Latvian language exam or failed to submit documents to extend their residency.
The list now contains about 500 people
“I knew I would have to leave and now this moment has come“, Galina told DV. The woman admits that the Latvian language is difficult and complicated for her. “I am very tired. At my age, it is already difficult to study and take exams.“ Still, she is lucky - her husband managed to pass the exam and the family, as lawyers say, will be able to stay - the law does not allow the separation of spouses.
The situation of those who have not met the requirements of the migration services is completely different. According to authorities, in October the deportation list was updated and now there are about 500 Russian citizens on it. Some have managed to extend their residency, others have left the country voluntarily. It is not yet known how many Russians are subject to deportation by convoy. The migration service is clarifying their whereabouts in order to decide what further action to take against them.
10,000 Russians have already left Latvia
The law requiring Russian citizens to prove their proficiency in Latvian at the A2 level came into force shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Only people over 75 and those with serious health problems were exempted from the exam. Initially, it was about almost 25,000 Russian citizens who were subject to verification in accordance with the new requirements for staying in Latvia. Most of them met the requirements, including language skills, and were granted residency.
At the end of 2024, Latvian authorities mentioned the possible deportation of 1,167 Russian citizens, but then the number decreased to 841 people, and now there are about 500. They will first receive a recommendation to leave Latvia voluntarily, after which the authorities will conduct a second check - and only if the requirements are not met will the deportation procedure begin. People will have to be taken by convoy to one of the border crossings, where they will be handed over to the Russian side.
However, it remains to be clarified first how many of these 500 people are still in Latvia. “We need to find out how many have left, how many have still submitted documents, how many are probably no longer alive”, said Madara Puke, a representative of the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Board. So the final number of those subject to deportation will be even smaller. But in the meantime, about 10,000 Russians have left the country. Some have left for Russia, others - for Schengen countries. In 2022, 51,000 Russian citizens lived in Latvia, in the summer of 2025 - only 41,000.
A Russian passport means loyalty to the Kremlin
Politicians from the "National Unity" party, who initiated the amendments to the Immigration Law, initially explained the new rules by the need to strengthen the position of the Latvian language, create a single information space and achieve integration of society. "We must treat all third-country nationals equally. Whoever wants to stay in Latvia - to learn the language and become part of society“, told DW MP from the “National Unity“ Arturs Butans. “Learning the language is a matter of respect for the country you live in“, added his party colleague, MEP Rihards Kols.
In February 2024, the Constitutional Court in Riga announced that the presence of a Russian passport among residents of Latvia “creates risks to national security“, as they “have decided to establish relations of loyalty and solidarity with Russia, becoming its citizens“. The court confirmed that the new rules were in line with the country's constitution, noting that the geopolitical situation in the Baltic Sea region was influenced by "Russia's aggressive military and hybrid activity."
Russian propaganda uses language campaign in Latvia
The topic has become one of the central ones on the Russian political agenda. Russian politicians and propagandists have accused the Latvian authorities of extreme nationalism and persecution of Russian citizens for “dissent”. As an example, a case is cited with an elderly couple - a 75-year-old poetess and her husband were “expelled“ for refusing to confirm their “loyalty”, despite successfully passing a language test.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted these publications, calling them “a lie and another example of Russian propaganda”. The department emphasized that no order was issued for the poetess's extradition. “Therefore, both this fact and the plot as a whole are fabricated”, the press service of the ministry said.