A former BBC journalist has been expelled from Latvia amid a clampdown on individuals serving “Russian interests”.
Leonid Ragozin, who had lived in the country for more than a decade, was declared persona non grata by Riga’s foreign minister.
The journalist, accused of expressing pro-Russian sentiment, had been in Latvia since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Announcing the move, Baiba Braze, Riga’s foreign minister, said: “Taking into account the information received today from the competent authorities, and after discussions with the prime minister and the minister of the interior, I have decided to initiate the process of adding another Russian citizen to Latvia’s list of persona non grata [sic].”
Sources familiar with the matter said the expulsion targets Mr Ragozin, who is a former producer for the BBC Russian service.
Responding to the decision on X, Mr Ragozin wrote:
Mr Ragozin has received criticism for comments he made on a podcast which were accused of pro-Russian sentiment.
He argued Russia was compelled to respond to the West with “brute force” because the country “always consider themselves as the underdogs”.
In comments that angered figures in Latvia, he said: “They always consider themselves as the underdogs and as the side that is being under constant pressure from the West, encroaching on its sphere of influence, on its strategic interests.
“It compels them to respond to hybrid actions, to clandestine actions, to sort of invisible actions that change the landscape in the former Soviet Union.”
Baiba Braze, the foreign minister, is clamping down on Russian citizens in Latvia – Yevhen Kotenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Janis Dombrava, Latvia’s minister of the interior, accused the journalist of serving “Russian interests” and said a situation where he remained in Latvia was not possible.
“Persona non grata is precisely the instrument intended for that purpose. The process has been initiated. Let’s await a swift result!” he wrote on X.
Last month, Mr Dombrava urged the foreign ministry to declare Mr Ragozin persona non grata owing to “opinions that are in blatant contradiction to the interests of the Latvian state”.
Mr Ragozin worked at the BBC from 1998 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2013. He now writes for titles including Bloomberg and Politico, which, like The Telegraph, are owned by Axel Springer.
Mr Ragozin’s expulsion is the latest in a long list of Russian figures declared persona non grata by Latvia.
Dozens of Russian journalists, commentators, actors and musicians have been expelled from the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In October 2025, Latvia ordered 841 Russian citizens to leave the country for failing to meet language and security requirements.
In 2022, Latvia blacklisted Alexey Korostelev, a journalist with the Russian broadcaster TV Rain, over his comments on mobilised Russians.
The Baltic states have frequently called on Europe to adopt a stronger stance against Moscow.
In September, Latvia was the only EU nation to oppose the lifting of sanctions against Alisher Usmanov, the Russian-Uzbek billionaire.