Latvia bans its public broadcaster from producing regular Russian-language content (except during emergencies)

Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, recently passed a law that bans the country's public broadcaster, LSM, from producing regular content in Russian, except in three specific situations: during an emergency, a state of emergency, or when combating false information that threatens democracy and the Latvian state. The bill, passed with support from most of the 55 lawmakers from the governing coalition, permits Russian-language productions only under these three limited circumstances.

The law will take effect on January 1, 2027, and LSM stated that it will cease regular Russian-language content production in practice. Latvia has been gradually restricting the use of Russian in public life, removing it from ATM menus in 2024 and banning its use in banking apps in the summer of 2025. Public radio and television have not broadcast in Russian since January 1, 2026.

Russian is spoken as the native language by about one-third of Latvia's residents. The opposition parties Progressives and Latvia First, as well as unaffiliated lawmakers, voted against the bill. LSM currently produces Russian-language content primarily on its website and social media platforms. The story, written by a living journalist and translated from Russian using an AI model, was reviewed by a Meduza editor before publication.

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