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Latvia Weighs Ban on Sanctioned Artists and Russian Language Radio
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Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) is proposing a ban on radio stations broadcasting music by performers currently under international or national sanctions.
The initiative seeks to limit the public exposure of artists sanctioned for their actions or affiliations due to their actions or affiliations, according to Delfi on March 18.
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Arturs Butans, an opposition deputy from the National Alliance, submitted an amendment to reinforce this move. He suggested establishing a rule that “musical works of persons to whom international or national sanctions are applied should not be used in programs and broadcasts of electronic media.”
The Seimas Commission on Human Rights and Public Affairs is also deliberating on the future of Russian-language radio stations in the country.
Commission head Leila Rasima noted that while the NEPLP sent a letter a month ago calling for these restrictions, the document did not indicate that the matter was urgent.
However, NEPLP Chairman Ivars Abolins urged the Seimas to take decisive action to end the operation of Russian-language stations. He argued that Latvia should not provide financial support for these broadcasts.
Abolins pointed out that the state effectively subsidizes these stations because “they all use free frequencies, which are state property and the most valuable part of the business.”
Abolins also criticized the delay in addressing a previous NEPLP proposal to phase out Russian-language radio over a period of eight years. He expressed concern that the issue had not yet been added to the official parliamentary agenda.
Similar discussions are taking place in Lithuania. Officials there have proposed a five-year entry ban for artists who have performed in Russia or Belarus following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On February 23, Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas asked the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defense to “provide in the law so that performers who perform in Russia and Belarus cannot give concerts in Lithuania.”
Іn February 2026, Latvian media regulators pushed the national government to shut down all private radio stations broadcasting in Russian.
The National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) argued that allowing these stations to use state-owned radio frequencies for free was no longer justifiable.
Ivars Abolins, the head of the NEPLP, emphasized that the state should not fund a Russian-language information space, especially since Latvia had already transitioned its entire education system to the Latvian language.
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