Pro-Kremlin activist from Latvia Stanislavs Bukins has fled Latvia and requested political asylum in Russia, propagandist Vladimir Solovyov reports. According to Latvian channel TV3, he sailed to the Pskov region on a SUP board down the Zilupe River Zilupe together with his daughter.
According to Solovyov, Bukins told the Russian authorities that in Latvia “he was threatened with criminal prosecution for traveling to Russia, and was also suspected of espionage.” According to the pro-Kremlin activist, in his home country he was added to “special lists” of citizens suspected of “recruiting individuals to participate in terrorist activities.”
TV3 journalists report that shortly before his escape, the Riga City Court released Bukins from custody on bail of 40 thousand euros. In Latvia, the man is accused of leading a criminal organization (Part 2 of Article 89.1 of the Latvian Criminal Code). According to the country’s authorities, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the activist recruited people for the war.
According to Latvian media, Bukins is already the seventh pro-Kremlin activist to have fled Latvia for Russia or Belarus after being released from custody. The whereabouts of another woman accused of anti-state activity is unknown.
In mid-July, Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov announced that the regional authorities would prepare “temporary residence centers” for Latvian residents who would be expelled from the country after failing the state exam in Latvian. “Come home, we are waiting for you,” Pskovskaya Guberniya reports the official as saying.