The ruling coalition party "Progressives" supports the initiative to prevent the broadcast of music by Russian performers subject to sanctions on Latvian radio stations, according to a party press release.
As explained by the chairman of the parliamentary faction "Progressives" Andris Shuvalov, a similar proposal was made several years ago.
In particular, an amendment to the Electronic Media Law was submitted to the Saeima, proposing to establish that musical works created by individuals subject to international or national sanctions in accordance with the sanctions law of the Republic of Latvia should not be used in the programs and broadcasts of electronic media.
It should be noted that Latvia currently does not have a single "blacklist of musicians." When banning musical works, it may refer to a list of undesirable persons (persona non grata), which includes cultural figures (including singers) who are prohibited from entering the country.
Currently, among others, this list includes:
Nikolai Baskov Polina Gagarina; Stas Mikhailov; Nikolai Rastorguev along with the group "Lyube"; Yulia Chicherina; Timur Yunusov (Timati); Denis Matsuev (pianist); Valery Gergiev (conductor).
Additionally, most Russian performers became unwelcome in Latvia after February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
However, there are also "long-timers" – the veteran of the "blacklist" is the performer of the hit "A Glass of Vodka on the Table" Grigory Leps, who became persona non grata back in 2019. At that time, he was joined by the singer Valeria. This is the one who, not being a girl, sang "Call me your girl, then hug me, then deceive me."
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