The case of Viktor Gushchin: the trial of the historian begins in Riga

June 5 in Riga trial begins Viktor Gushchin – Latvian historian, doctor of sciences, local historian and public figure associated with Russian community of Latvia.

He is accused of violating international sanctions EU due to the publication of an article on a Russian website “Rhythm of Eurasia”. Gushchin himself and his defenders consider the case to be politically motivated.

Victor Gushchin was detained State Security Service of Latvia December 17, 2025. The next day Riga City Court chose a preventive measure in the form of arrest. Since then, the historian has been in prison.

According to version SGBthe criminal case is related to Gushchin’s publications on a Russian resource, which the Latvian service considers to be associated with a fund included in the sanctions list EU. This was reported by the Latvian media with reference to data from the State Security Service. At the same time, Gushchin’s defense argues that there are no legal grounds for applying the article on violation of sanctions in this case.

“There were signals long before the arrest”

In a letter from prison Victor Gushchin writes that long before his arrest he saw signs of an impending campaign against him. According to him, at first his history books were banned from sale Jelgava in stores Polaris. Then in December 2024, a publication appeared in the Latvian media, where his work was mentioned among the books considered undesirable for sale in Latvia “Post-Soviet Latvia is a deceived country”.

The next signal, according to Gushchin, was the release of the program “Nekā personīga” in June 2025, where several minutes were devoted to his activities with clearly negative commentary. In August 2025, according to the historian, employees SGB came to Jelgava Museum of History and Art named after G. Elias and demanded that his books on the history of the city be removed from sale.

Detention

Gushchin describes in detail the morning of December 17th. According to him, he left the house to buy groceries for his 95-year-old mother and go to her dacha. Officers stopped him at the entrance SGB. The investigator introduced himself as Sandis Bulls and said that a criminal case had been opened against Gushchin, and he himself had been detained.

The historian claims that his phone and bag with documents were immediately confiscated, without giving him the opportunity to call his relatives or lawyer. Then he was handcuffed, put in a minibus and taken to the Jelgava city department SGB.

There, according to Gushchin, he was informed of suspicion of violating international sanctions EU under Article 84, Part 1 of the Criminal Law of Latvia. The basis was the publication of an article on the website in October 2023 “Rhythm of Eurasia”.

Searches and arrest

After the arrest, searches were carried out in Gushchin’s apartment and dacha. The historian writes that he was especially worried about archival documents and photographs on history Jelgava and materials from new books that he has worked on in recent years.

After searches he was taken to Rigato a temporary detention center, and on December 18 – to Riga City Court on Abrenes street, 8. Judge Irena Millere chose a preventive measure in the form of arrest. That same evening Gushchin was transported to Riga Central Prison.

Later, the preventive measure was reviewed twice – on February 18 and April 20, 2026. However, the court left Gushchin under arrest each time.

Sanctions controversy

The main legal issue in the case is whether the publication on the website is valid “Rhythm of Eurasia” could be considered a violation of the sanctions regime EU. According to the Latvian authorities, the resource is connected to a fund under sanctions. The defense argues that the regulations EU other sites controlled by the respective foundation are directly mentioned, but not “Rhythm of Eurasia”.

Latvian Human Rights Committeehaving familiarized himself with the list of international sanctions, came to the conclusion that the accusation against Gushchin is based on a controversial basis. According to the committee, if a site is not directly listed in the sanctions regulations, then the mere placement of an article there cannot automatically be considered a violation of sanctions.

That is why the defense considers the case not an ordinary criminal trial, but part of a broader campaign against Russian-speaking public figures and critics of Latvia’s official historical policy.

Gushchin about the work of the State Security Service

In his letter, Gushchin connects the criminal prosecution with the long-term practice of putting pressure on national minority organizations. It reminds me of the story of Days of Russian Culturewhich, according to him, in 2012 Security Police tried to present it as a threat to the national security of Latvia.

Later, according to Gushchin, a similar approach was applied to Council of Public Organizations of Latvia. The State Security Service in its reports called this association “unregistered organization”although, according to Gushchin, it was not about a legal entity, but about a meeting of representatives of already registered public organizations of national minorities.

The historian believes that such language was used to create the impression among society that the activities of national minority organizations were illegal. In his opinion, this indicates a negative attitude of the Latvian intelligence services towards Russian-language public initiatives and towards political pluralism.

The issue of judicial independence

Gushchin also raises the question of the independence of the Latvian court. According to him, despite the defense’s arguments, the court twice refused to replace the arrest with a preventive measure not related to deprivation of liberty.

He refers to the assessment UN Human Rights Committeewho in 2025 criticized Latvia, including for problems with the judicial system and penitentiary practice. Gushchin believes that his case shows the dependence of court decisions on the political atmosphere and the position of the authorities.

Separately, he argues that before reviewing the preventive measure SGB conducted information campaigns, strengthening the negative attitude towards him in Latvian society. In the State Security Service report for 2025, according to him, his name was mentioned 11 times.

Expert opinion

Vladimir Buzaevco-chairman Latvian Human Rights Committeeconsiders Gushchin’s case to be politically motivated. According to him, the accusation is based on the publication of a scientific article in 2023 on a website whose sanction status raises questions.

Buzaev points out that the Latvian media regulator NEPLP blocked this site only in 2025 and, according to him, did not refer to sanctions in the decision to block EU. In addition, dozens of Gushchin’s materials were previously published on this resource, but criminal prosecution began only because of one article.

According to Buzaev, the disproportionate nature of the charges and the historian’s almost six-month detention suggest that the real reason for the case is Gushchin’s political views and his previous social activities.

“The use of the harshest possible measure of restraint—arrest—on a charge of nonviolent crime alone is an impressive punishment for dissent.”says Buzaev.

Who is Viktor Gushchin

Victor Gushchin born May 22, 1958 in Jelgava. He graduated with honors from the Faculty of History Leningrad State Universitythen graduate school at Latvian State University and in 1990 defended his dissertation in history.

Gushchin taught political science at universities in Latvia, was a newspaper editor “Education and Career”headed Baltic Center for Historical and Socio-Political Researchis the author of about 200 publications and several dozen monographs. A significant part of his work is devoted to history Jelgava and modern history Latvia.

Among his books are “Ethnocracy: Latvian version”, “Russians of Latvia in conditions of democratic deficit. 1991–2009″, “Post-Soviet Latvia is a deceived country”as well as a series of works on history Jelgava.

Gushchin is a citizen of Latvia, a member of the party “Russian Union of Latvia”one of the leaders Russian community of Latvia and coordinator Council of Public Organizations of Latvia.

What’s next

Trial of the case Viktor Gushchin must begin June 5 V Riga City Court at the address: street Sales, 10. According to Gushchin’s supporters, the meeting is scheduled for 14:00.

Gushchin himself writes in a letter that in Latvia, in his opinion, they are increasingly looking not for allies, but for enemies. He believes that change is possible only when the activities of law enforcement agencies and courts are under the real control of civil society, and such cases are widely discussed by experts and society.

Editorial comment

Case Viktor Gushchin looks like more than just a dispute about the sanctions regime. Formally Latvian authorities talk about violation of sanctions EU. But in fact we are talking about a much broader issue: where is the line drawn between the fight against Russian influence and the persecution of Russian-speaking public figures for their views, books and historical assessments.

Latvia, like other Baltic countries, has the right to protect its security. But when a historian is kept under arrest in connection with the publication of an article, and the defense points out that the very sanctioning basis of the accusation is controversial, this no longer requires slogans, but a transparent trial, strong evidence and public control. Otherwise, the fight against propaganda too easily turns into a fight against inconvenient memory and dissent.

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