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An attack against an Alexey Navalny associate brought to light Latvian police corruption, divisions among Russia’s opposition and Latvian reserves regarding the latter.
An attack against a Russian opposition figure
On March 12 of this year, Leonid Volkov, a representative of the Russian political emigration, was attacked in Vilnius. He is a well-known figure to those interested in Russian politics, working for the Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by the late, possibly murdered, Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in February this year. Like many critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Volkov had left Russia fearing for his freedom, health, and life. Vilnius is a popular place for Russian emigrants, and Volkov is not the only well-known Russian activist, journalist, or representative of any creative profession living in Lithuania.
Volkov was attacked close to his home. First, they sprayed gas in his eyes and then hit him on the legs with a meat mallet. It was speculated that the assailant didn’t want to kill Volkov, as he was only hit in the legs, and the injuries were mild enough to allow him to return home from hospital the same day. Everybody suspected that the Russian secret services, suspected to be behind a string of sometimes deadly attacks against Putin opponents, had something to do with the one that targeted Volkov. Nothing much was found out and the case gradually slipped away from the spotlight.
“The Baltic price-list”. Corruption allegations against the Latvian police
However, things changed in September. The Anti-Corruption Foundation published an investigation alleging that former Russian oligarch Leonid Nevzlin ordered attacks against Volkov, another foundation activist, Ivan Zhdanov, economist Maxim Mironov, and his wife.
Nevzlin is a well-known figure in the Russian opposition. He once worked for years with another well-known oppositionist, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud, tax evasion, and economic crimes in 2003 as the head of the Yukos oil company. Now Khodorkovsky also lives in the West, but Nevzlin fled to Israel and became its citizen, at the same time opposing Putin's regime.
The anti-corruption foundation linked the attack on Volkov with the campaign against Putin organized by the foundation after the death of Navalny and during the Russian presidential election in the middle of March.
According to the foundation's investigation, the initial plan was to beat Volkov until he became disabled and then hand him over to Russia’s Federal Security Service. This would be done by taking VIolkov by ship to Russia from the port of the Latvian capital Riga. It was also alleged that Anatoly Blinov, a Russian citizen living in Riga, organized the attack on Nevzlin’s order. He moved around Europe with a fake Latvian passport, issued with the name of a non-citizen of Latvia, a repeatedly punished recidivist. A non-citizen of Latvia is a resident of Latvia who has not acquired Latvian citizenship, but who also does not have the citizenship of another country and who has certain civil rights and obligations in Latvia – for instance, they have the right to receive a pension but they don’t get to vote in the elections.
The investigation made by the Anti-Corruption Foundation also features allegations of corruption against Latvia’s law enforcement agencies. It quotes correspondence between Nevzlin and Blinov who were discussing about bribing the Latvian police to initiate a criminal case against the former executive director of the Anticorruption Foundation, Vladimir Ashurkov. There was even talk about a so-called “Baltic price list”, that featured a EUR 50 000 cost for initiating a criminal case against one or two persons, charging them with financial crimes through Latvian banks.
Representatives of the Latvian police and General Prosecutor’s Office, together with British police officers, even met with Ashurkov in London, where he lives.
Latvian officials are pouring doubt over the corruption allegations
Although Latvia is still verifying the allegations made by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, officials seem to be skeptical about them.
Latvian Minister of Internal Affairs Rihards Kozlovskis stated in September that the facts mentioned in the film are not related to the attack on Volkov, but to Ashurkov, and that’s a different criminal case. Thus, according to the minister, the filmmakers have created a “cocktail”, trying to create a scenario involving Latvia, which initially does not seem justified. Latvian police and the General Prosecutor’s Office did not comment on allegations that their representatives met Ashurkov in London. Moreover, Latvian police rejects the allegation that officers were corrupted by Nevzlin and Blinov. Nonetheless, both institutions are verifying the information that their employees may have accepted bribes.
Latvian Television also reported that Nevzlin and its allies were preparing informative attacks on Nevzlin's opponents through the Latvian media “Kas jauns” and “kompromat.lv”. Both denied the allegation.
The Latvians do not put much trust in the Russian opposition
This is not the first time that notorious Russian emigrants in Latvia have been at the center of attention. At the end of 2022, Russian media “TV Rain” received a huge wave of criticism because its journalist called for help to “our guys” in Ukraine, who are fighting in winter in inadequate clothing and living conditions. In Latvia, where the majority of society supports Ukraine, the call caused an uproar, and “TV Rain” gradually moved to the Netherlands in the first half of 2023.
Police corruption is nothing new in Latvia, where the problems of the Latvian police – lack of funding, insufficient number of employees – have been widely discussed by the society and the media. From time to time, news about crimes committed by police officers or accusations about them also appear in the media. For example, in 2022, the former head of the criminal police of the Riga region was accused of collecting secret documents and money laundering. Also, now and then there are news about traffic policemen who have taken bribes of a few hundred euros. However, in general, news about police corruption is not a daily occurrence in Latvia.
Another reason for Latvian society’s reticence about this scandal is the image of the Russian opposition. The already mentioned case of “TV Rain” strengthened the feeling in Latvian society that Putin’s opponents should be kept at a distance. Opinions were voiced in society that even Putin's opponents are and remain insensitive to the history of Latvia and other nations and countries. In other words, there are no shared interests between Latvians and the Russian opposition. Moreover, the oppositionists themselves are immersed in their disputes without any possibility to influence what is happening in Russia. The attitude of Latvian institutions towards the Russian opposition is also restrained. At least officially, news of the two collaborating is rare. Therefore, after the Anti-corruption Foundation’s investigation, attention has been paid to possible corruption in the Latvian police only, not to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opponents and their internal conflicts.
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