[LINK] "Latvia: Russia's playground for business, politics – and crime"

[rfmcdonald]

The Guardian's Luke Harding had an article recently published taking a look at the considerable scale of Russian influence at all levels in the Baltic state of Latvia. Starting from the murder of Russian tycoon Leonid Rozhetskin in the resort of Jurmala, it goes on to note how the country's large Russophone minority and history with the Soviet Union, the country's openness, and a compliant financial system has allowed Russians and Russia perhaps too much influence.

I've heard of this before. I have a November 2012 note regarding extensive Russian influence in the small states of Cyprus and Montenegro, the first a European Union member-state and the second on the threshold of said bloc. Latvia is another natural destination for Russians wanting a Russian environment within a law-abiding European Union, all geopolitics aside.

[Russian influence] It is most visible in Jurmala, the picturesque resort of pine forests and wooden dachas from where Rozhetskin is thought to have disappeared. Every summer Russia's fashionable super-rich gather here for the New Wave pop festival. They meet, socialise and party. A table in the VIP lounge of the town's concert hall costs £25,000. It is joked that their combined wealth exceeds Latvia's budget.

[. . .]

"Jurmala isn't really a music festival. You don't need to go to Latvia to listen to Russian pop stars. You can do that in Russia," Jakobson said. "In reality Jurmala is an important moment. The Russian mafia and Russian government are together in one place. They discuss common problems, global problems and how to move money through the Baltics."

Some including Jakobson believe the Kremlin's agenda in Latvia is to slowly reverse the country's strategic direction from pro-west to pro-Moscow. This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and, arguably, Georgia have all recently returned to Russia's geo-political fold following unsuccessful revolutions.

Latvia has the biggest proportion of ethnic Russians of the three post-Soviet Baltic states, accounting for about 25% of Latvia's population. Some 37% speak Russian as a first language, the highest figure for any EU country. The charming capital Riga is effectively bilingual, with Russian and Latvian spoken on its art nouveau streets.

There is also growing evidence the country has become a haven for dubious Russian money.

In a report last week the European commission praised Latvia's post-2008 economic recovery. But it said the authorities had not done enough to stop Latvia's banking system being used for "complex economic, financial, money laundering, and tax evasion crimes".