Latvia expels pro-Kremlin head of Latvia-Russia Association

Latvia has expelled Boris Katkov, a Russian citizen and head of the Latvia-Russia Cooperation Association, Estonian news site Delfi reported on Jan. 12.

Katkov was declared persona non grata for his long-term and systematic activities on behalf of Russia.

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The call to blacklist Katkov in Latvia came straight from Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis, after intelligence surfaced implicating Katkov in working on behalf of the Russian government.

According to Delft’s sources, Katkov came to Latvia in 1966, initially serving in the military commissar's office in Cēsis and later in Daugavpils. His military career peaked at colonel before he retired in 1991.

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Katkov received a Latvian non-citizen passport* in 1998, only to trade it in for Russian citizenship in 2000. He has been the head of the Latvia-Russia Cooperation Association since 1999, and has previously claimed that the idea for the organization came straight from the Russian parliament.

Katkov reportedly met with Latvian President Andris Berzins and the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the 2000s.

The association inked a deal with the United Russia party in 2004, and Katkov claimed in 2012 that "thanks to our votes (in the presidential elections — ed.), Putin won an absolute majority."

*Non-citizens in Latvia, under the law "Regarding the status of citizens of the former USSR without Latvian or other citizenship," have specific rights, including a non-citizen passport.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine