FOI-R--3990--SE_reducerad

FOI-R--3990--SE
Centre requested evidence from Vike–Freiberga, the president replied that this
was her personal view based on classified information not available to the public.
Russia’s support could be observed not only in the early years after Harmony
Centre was established, but also later. The “TV-3” programme “Nothing
Personal” on 4 September 2011 broadcast material indicating that United Russia
consultants led training for Harmony Centre propagandists at one of the culture
centres in Daugavpils City. The Corruption Prevention Bureau 230 examined the
engagement of United Russia consultants to undertake training for canvassers in
Daugavpils. Harmony Centre party leaders were unable to provide convincing
answers about who engaged these experts. The problem was that these
consultants were connected with Russia’s ruling party, and it was unclear who
had paid for the advisers. 231
4.3.4 Riga City Council’s Cooperation with Russia after the
Municipal Election of 2009
In principle, and according to legislation in Latvia, the municipality of Riga
should not implement its own foreign policy, especially if it differs from the
country’s foreign policy priorities. Nonetheless, after Harmony Centre won
municipal elections in Riga, Nils Usakovs, the new Mayor, rushed to show his
main priority in external relations – cooperation with Moscow. It is important to
keep in mind that Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow at the time, was an
outspoken supporter and promoter of the Compatriots Policy. In addition, he held
extremely critical views on Latvia’s state policies. The Riga City Council
website reported that the city had 29 “twin cities” in different countries, and
Moscow was among them. Thus, in line with his party’s priorities, Usakovs
focused directly on Moscow.
The city of Riga has the right to encourage relationships that bring potential
economic benefits to the city, and in that sense the city of Moscow is not a bad
choice. However, when Luzhkov visited Riga in 2009 he showed his support for
Russian language activists. Thus, he violated political neutrality and reached
beyond the economic cooperation framework. Latvia’s foreign policy priorities
are related to the EU and NATO countries. Latvia is also vulnerable as a small
country that has a a large neighbour with regional ambitions. Riga is home to
nearly a half of all Latvia’s residents. Thus, Riga municipality’s activities outside
230 The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is the leading specialised anticorruption
authority of Latvia. Its aim is to fight corruption in Latvia in a coordinated and
comprehensive way through prevention, investigation and education. See
http://www.knab.gov.lv/en/knab/.
231 See “Harmony Center leader denied access to state secrets“, BNN, 16 January 2012, http://bnnnews.com/urbanovich-denied-access-state-secrets-46802.
85