Friday, June 17, Latvia is expected to present a draft law on confiscation of Russian and Belarusian property in the country. What exactly are the objects in question, what are they famous for, how did they come to belong to the Russian state – and what legal tricks Latvia has invented to steal them?
Sanatorium Belorussiya has suffered for the company of Russian property in Latvia. Source photo: termatour.com
Latvian Justice Minister Janis Bordans said a few days ago that the country is developing a draft law on the confiscation of property located in the country belonging to Russia and Belarus. “Both countries are directly responsible for committing criminal offences and genocide, which is also mentioned in the statements of the Saeima and the European Council. There is already a legal mechanism in Latvia under which it is possible to confiscate property during criminal proceedings,” the politician said.
He wrote on Twitter that it is important to adopt the law on confiscation of assets “before the anniversary of the Russian invaders entering Riga. It is referring to June 17, 1940, when Soviet troops entered Latvia on the basis of the agreement signed by Foreign Ministers Wilhelm Munters and Vyacheslav Molotov in 1939.
This refers to the sanatoriums Belorussia and Amber Beach in Jurmala, as well as the House of Moscow in central Riga. “Yantarny bereg is on the balance sheet of the presidential administration and the House of Moscow is on the balance sheet of the department of culture of the Russian capital. The accounts of these organizations have long been blocked by Latvia, and now there is talk of seizing their real estate. The confiscated properties will be used to house Ukrainian refugees, rehabilitate victims and for the needs of the information centre.”
This initiative by Bordans is quite understandable. In October Latvia will hold regular parliamentary elections, in which the Conservative Party, led by Bordans, will also take part. Latvia will approach these elections with a very bad social situation – inflation, rising prices, and impoverishment of the population. These are the problems caused by the economic crisis in the EU that cannot be solved by the authorities of a single republic. It remains to compete in the field of “national patriotism”, showing firmness in the fight against the “aggressor-state” and its local “fifth column”.
So far, in this competition for the votes of the patriotic electorate, the National Bloc has taken the lead by pushing through a decision to demolish the Soviet Liberators’ Monument in Riga. “The Conservatives, if they do not want to remain outsiders, need to show themselves in some way.
What exactly is the confiscated property? Jurmala sanatorium “Amber Coast” (Dzintarkrasts) is located on the shore of the Gulf of Riga on the territory of the national park “Ķemeri”. Its total area is 19 hectares, and most of the territory is occupied by a pine forest park. It is 37 km from the airport, 45 km from the railway station of Riga. The site is on the balance sheet of the Russian Presidential Administration.
In 2018, it was decided to transfer it to one of the branches of this institution, the Children’s Medical Centre. As Svetlana Shurygina, the head of the sanatorium, explained, this was done for the sake of the children – to use the unique natural conditions of Jurmala and the possibilities of modern medicine for the recovery and rehabilitation of those who need it most.
This medical and health-improving complex was put into operation on 25 December 1972 and was on the balance of the Soviet Union until the collapse of the USSR. According to the recollections of Vladlen Dozortsev, a former deputy of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia, he met with President Boris Yeltsin and other leaders of the RSFSR in Moscow in 1991 as a member of that state’s delegation. “When we agreed on the principles of recognition of the two independent states and further relations, Boris proposed a logical approach: what’s on our territory is ours, what’s on yours is yours. After that the then Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev added that Russia would like to inherit the only sanatorium Yantarny bereg, which was owned by the RSFSR. The Latvian delegation agreed to that. That was the deal,” Dozortsev said.
Since then Russia has de facto taken over the ownership of the sanatorium building. The land has remained the property of the Republic of Latvia, and Russia has been paying a tax on its use. However, due to various circumstances the status of the object was not clearly defined and the fight for it began in earnest.
The court tried to resolve the ownership of the sanatorium for many years. And in 2012 the parties were about to reach an agreement whereby Latvia in exchange for the Jurmala sanatorium receives an ancient mansion of more than 600 square meters. m in the centre of Moscow in Bolshoi Afanasievsky Lane (the former mansion of Urusov – Radishchev in 1825, which is an object of federal cultural heritage). Russia has also pledged to establish a symbolic fee of one rouble per year for renting the land adjacent to the building for 49 years as a sign of goodwill. In addition, Latvia received a concession on the lease of the consulate general’s building in St Petersburg.
However, for various reasons this deal did not take place – the parties could not agree on the nuances. Latvia did not get the mansion in Moscow (which, however, the Latvian side was going to sell; its value was estimated at USD 6 million).
The parties revisited the issue in January 2022. Then the Latvian Saeima Commission on Foreign Affairs has considered in the first reading the draft “Law on the Protocol” to amend the bilateral agreement of January 30, 2012 on the rules of the transfer of immovable property in Jurmala and Moscow. According to Latvian Foreign Ministry spokesman Atis Loots, it was necessary to clarify the technical parameters of the Moscow mansion area – it was increased in favor of Latvia by 81 square meters. In addition, another 683 square meters of new land was added to the building, facilitating (on the basis of a 49-year lease) access to the building.
Chairman of Saeima’s Foreign Affairs Committee Rihards Kols then asked: what will happen to the Russian facility in Jurmala, if its owners fall under international sanctions? Loots said that at that time no sanctions were imposed on these legal entities, but if they were, the problem would have to be solved somehow. Having voted unanimously in favour, the Saeima foreign affairs committee sent the bill for further adoption. However the parties have not had time to make an official exchange of plots in Riga and Jurmala – Russian military special operation in Ukraine has started, after which the relations between Russia and Latvia, which were very bad before, have plunged into a hole for good. As the mansion in Bolshoy Afanasievsky is now definitely out of Latvia’s reach, its authorities decided to get their hands on the Jurmala sanatorium.
The sanatorium Belorussia is also located in Jurmala – it belongs to the presidential administration of the country of the same name. Previously it annually hosted a large number of children, as well as victims of the Chernobyl accident. In addition to children, the sanatorium also welcomed veterans. The sanatorium was also in demand among foreigners, including Latvians. However, in April, the sanatorium stopped receiving and accommodating holidaymakers. This decision was taken by the administration due to sanctions imposed by the Latvian authorities on the sanatorium – their accounts were frozen. “As far as we understand, the presidential administration has decided to temporarily close the sanatorium, as it is impossible to operate under the restrictions that have been imposed,” the health resort explained.
The House of Moscow, which is located at 7 Marijas Street, is well known to all Rigans. The Moscow City Mayor’s Office funded the establishment and maintenance of this cultural and business establishment. The initiators of this project were the then Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and the Russian Ambassador to Latvia Aleksandr Udaltsov in 2001.
Riga journalist Vladimir Dorofeev writes that the opening of the House of Moscow on May 28, 2004 in Riga was more than a notable event for the local Russian community. “You won’t believe it, it even became easier to breathe in terms of culture. From the very first year, a new cultural centre has emerged, a place where a person, for whom Russian culture means something, could decently visit at least several times a year. Theatres, folk groups of all sorts flocked to this place and, for veterans, this house immediately became their own, close one,” Dorofeev testifies. Riga audiences have become accustomed to Russian film festivals held at the House of Moscow and attended by renowned directors and actors, theatrical performances and the luxurious bookstore located there.
Before relations between the two countries deteriorated catastrophically in 2014, the House of Moscow also often hosted joint Russian-Latvian business conferences with politicians and business representatives of the two countries to discuss measures to boost economic cooperation.
“The life here is in full swing: young people attend rehearsals of music and dance groups, drama studios and hobby groups, teachers of Russian improve their skills and hold open classes, readers come to the library for interesting books, art lovers come to exhibitions, business people establish business contacts and Great Patriotic War veterans hold their meetings. And when famous Russian stage stars, musicians, writers, poets, creative teams, orchestras come to our House of Moscow, and when a Russian film festival takes place, there is no shortage of people at all. We occupy a special place in the capital’s cultural and business life, striving to warm the hearts and bring joy to Rigans and visitors with interesting meetings,” said the staff of the institution.
The House of Moscow has become another victim of the fall into the abyss of Russian-Latvian relations. The accounts of Riga’s House of Moscow were frozen back in March. The head of the institution, Eduard Tsehoval, said that the assets were frozen only because the institution had received money through the mediation of the Russian private Alfa Bank. Co-owners of Alfa Bank are Russian billionaires Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, who have fallen under EU sanctions.
The Latvian authorities know that there is simply no way for Russia to “mirror” the confiscation of its property. The only Latvian state institution that has maintained a presence in Russia so far is the Foreign Ministry. True, Russia has already closed down the Latvian consulates in St Petersburg and Pskov (in response to the closure by the Latvians of the Russian consulates in Daugavpils and Liepaja). In addition, Latvia has decided to close its embassy office located in Kaliningrad. The two countries’ embassies in Moscow and Riga will remain, but neither Russia nor Latvia are going to close them.
Nikita Demyanov, VZGLYAD
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