From Russia with “Russophobia”: Kremlin propaganda accounts are posing as “angry Latvians” to influence the country’s Telegram communities
After Latvia banned broadcasts by Russian federal television channels, Telegram became a key platform for Kremlin propaganda in the country. The Insider estimates that around one-third of socio-political channels in Latvia’s Telegram ecosystem are controlled by Russian propagandists posing as “angry Latvians” — and the figure rises to upwards of 65% when only Russian-language channels are…
The Insider has uncovered a concerning pattern of Kremlin propaganda on Telegram. Russian state media, official government channels, military bloggers, and pro-war "Z-channels" are responsible for 43.7% of shared content, influencing Latvian socio-political Telegram communities. The research analyzed 72 Latvian channels, revealing that 65 of these channels are pro-Russian and publish exclusively in Russian.
The channels frequently repost each other's content, amplifying Kremlin messaging that portrays Russian speakers in Latvia being persecuted, rising Nazism, and economic decline, all blamed on Latvia's support for Ukraine. The largest channel, Aleksejs Rosļikovs' Telegram page, boasts around 30,000 subscribers. Rosļikovs, a former parliament member and controversial political figure, has recently left Latvia for Belarus and continues to run his channel from there.
Another significant channel, Baltnews, run by RT's editorial staff, has 24,000 subscribers and frequently reposts content from other pro-Russian channels, emphasizing negative aspects of Latvia's economic situation and the alleged rise of Nazism. Despite presenting positive news in a negative light, the channel claims that Latvia's standard of living has declined due to ongoing financial aid to Ukraine.
Written by urgent.news from The Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
