Riga sees low turnout for Russian State Duma election voting

Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava (National Alliance) said on social platform X that turnout among Russian citizens wishing to vote in Russia's State Duma election at the embassy in Riga has been low. According to Dombrava, by 2 p.m. only 164 Russian citizens had been registered and checked after visiting the Russian embassy to cast a vote. No violations were recorded.

Checks outside the embassy

The State Police and State Border Guard are carrying out immigration checks outside the Russian embassy, where a polling station has been set up, logging every visitor. Dombrava noted that the embassy itself allows only one visitor inside at a time, which artificially creates a small queue outside the building. He questioned whether the embassy might later report a much higher — possibly fabricated — number of voters to its own citizens, and thanked Latvian services for their work.

Latvia rejects voting in occupied territories

Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously stated that it does not recognize the so-called State Duma election voting held in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories, Moldova's Transnistria region, or Georgia's Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions. The ministry stressed that Russia's illegal occupation and annexation of these territories violate international law, meaning elections held there have no legitimate basis.

Latvia has also condemned the holding of these elections in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as in Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The Foreign Ministry reiterated its strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia within their internationally recognized borders.