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Latvia probes EU lawmaker for Kremlin spying

March 16, 2024

Latvian politician Tatjana Zdanoka is accused of being a Russian agent, pushing Moscow's policies in the EU. The investigation comes weeks after a report claimed to show communications between her and Kremlin handlers.

https://p.dw.com/p/4do37
A woman with bushy, reddish hair and wearing a patterned brown and white jacket, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka, addresses a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels in December 2020
Tatjana Zdanoka is an outlier in Strasbourg, backing both Russia's Crimea annexation and its invasion of UkraineImage: Martin Bertrand/Avalon/Photoshot/picture alliance

Media reports in Latvia Saturday claimed the country's VDD state security services had formally opened a criminal investigation into Tatjana Zdanoka, a member of the European Parliament, on suspicion of espionage.

What is Zdanoka accused of?

Zdanoka is accused of having worked with Russia's FSB security services since she was elected to her Strasbourg post in 2004.

A January 29 report released by Latvian, Estonian and independent Russian journalists claimed to present email communications between her and her suspected handlers that would appear to substantiate claims that she was working as a Russian agent.

Latvian news agency LETA reports that the VDD made the decision to investigate Zdanoka on February 22.

The European Parliament also opened an investigation into Zdanoka's Russian connections after receiving reports that she had been operating as a Kremlin agent for years.

The 73-year-old Latvian citizen denies the accusations against her.

Putin claims discrimination of Russian minority in Latvia

Zdanoka often repeats Kremlin line

Latvian prosecutors have not elaborated on their investigation into Zdanoka's activities.

Among other things, however, Zdanoka is accused of parroting Russian propaganda about supposed rights violations against ethnic Russians in the Baltics, a line the Kremlin has pushed for years regarding, among others, Latvia and Estonia — both formerly part of the Soviet Union (USSR) — and their 25% ethnic Russian minorities.

In 2022, Russia used the pretext of needing to come to the aid of abused ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine as justification for its invasion.

Zdanoka, a Riga native and the daughter of a Soviet naval officer, is a member of the Latvian Russian Union (LRU) party and has always wholly endorsed the aggressive policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin — openly supporting both his illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea and his 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Latvia fears Putin could target unhappy Russian minority

After an early career that saw her advocate against Latvian independence and then for a coup against the government of the Latvian SSR, Zdanoka has consistently advocated for much closer ties between the Baltics and Russia, and against NATO.

In Strasbourg, she has shown support for Russia's annexation of Crimea; and on March 2, 2022, she was one of only 13 European Parliamentarians refusing to condemn Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine — a stance that saw her ejected from the European Greens-European Free Alliance bloc.

Zdanoka, whose website lists her as president of the EU Russian-Speakers' Alliance, an NGO, has also been criticized for backing disputed elections inside Russia as well as in separatist regions in Ukraine.

js/wd (AP, dpa)