Kremlin-Linked Fund Pays for Moscow Book Distorting Latvian History

A book on the history of Latvia has been published in Moscow this year, with its production funded by Pravfond, a Kremlin-linked foundation. According to the TV3 programme "Nekā personīga", broadcast on Sunday, the volume repeats Russian propaganda narratives about the occupation of Latvia, deportations and the country's independence. Historians regard it as propaganda, while also pointing out that Latvia itself lacks an equivalent academic publication to counter such works.

What the book claims

The book presents the events of 1940 as a voluntary accession to the Soviet Union, portrays deportations as a necessary measure, and describes present-day Latvia as an "ethnocracy" directed against Russian speakers. It also relies on questionable sources, including Wikipedia and media reports.

Pravfond, which is on European sanctions lists, granted 1.7 million roubles, or roughly 19,000 euros, for the project. Among the authors are several people who are unwelcome in Latvia or linked to Russia, including Ruslans Pankratovs, a former Riga City Council deputy. He has fled Latvia and faces charges of violating European sanctions and inciting national hatred.

Historians' assessment

Historians say the facts were selected to support a predetermined Russian message. Gustavs Strenga, a professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture, stresses that particular attention is also paid to the Middle Ages, in an attempt to prove an ancient Slavic presence on Latvian territory. Uldis Neiburgs, director of the Latvian History Institute at the University of Latvia, says the book also casts doubt on work by Latvian researchers on the Salaspils camp and on Latvian legionnaires.

A funding problem

Latvia has no comprehensive, modern and academically grounded publication on its own history. Historians identify insufficient and unstable funding as the problem: researchers are often forced to look for other jobs, and some periods, such as the 17th and 18th centuries, already lack enough specialists.

Politicians acknowledge the importance of historical research, but scientists say words are not enough. Without long-term funding and regular studies, Latvia risks losing the ability to tell its own history in full, while others do so in their own interests.