The Claim:
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has falsely claimed that the Baltic States are “removing everything Russian from their cultural and media space”
Narrative Context:
The Russian regime has persistently targeted the Baltic States with disinformation campaigns designed to portray them as Russophobic, particularly in the realms of culture, media, and language. These narratives aim to sow division within Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as undermine the loyalty of Russian-speaking citizens in those countries. Within Russia, this strategy seeks to incite hatred towards the Baltic nations by falsely accusing them of victimizing Russian speakers. On the international stage, these false accusations are meant to damage the Baltic states’ international relations.
The Facts:
Lithuania has become an important center for Russian opposition groups who have fled the Kremlin’s repression. Many are based in Vilnius, and the Lithuanian government supports the ongoing activity of vulnerable Russian and Belarusian civil society organizations and journalists.
The Estonian government established a Russian language news service in 2015, ETV+ which it continues to support. Estonia supports Russian community cultural initiatives, including the Russian Theater in central Tallinn, which features Russian-language theater performances. Estonia is also home to exiled Russian cultural leaders, like Artemy Troitksy, who were forced to flee Russia due to political persecution.
Latvia has become home to several exiled Russian media outlets, where they are offered a safe space and support to continue their journalism and media work, including Novaya Gazeta and Meduza. Most of these journalists were forced to flee Russia due to political persecution and have been outlawed and censored by the Russian government.
The governments of Estonia and Latvia have relocated and removed some Soviet-era war monuments, which they deemed to improperly glorified Russia’s colonialism and occupation of these countries during the Soviet era.
