The State Security Service has been informed that the most productive player in the history of the Latvian national ice hockey team, Leonid Tambiev, has become the coach of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team SKA Saint Petersburg.
The State Security Service confirmed to the LETA agency that it is aware of the activities of this individual. However, the agency did not comment on the citizenship issues of specific individuals.
The service noted that according to the Law on Citizenship of Latvia, Latvian citizenship can only be revoked from those individuals who do not become stateless as a result of the revocation, meaning those who, in addition to Latvian citizenship, have acquired citizenship of another state. Each case is assessed individually by the service.
The State Security Service pays special attention to Latvian citizens who have connections with the aggressor state — Russia. If a threat to the national security of Latvia is established from a specific individual, the service uses various tools to prevent such a threat.
As previously reported, according to the Law on Citizenship, Latvian citizenship can be revoked if a person has provided significant financial, material, propaganda, technological, or other support to states or individuals whose activities undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of democratic states or their constitutional order, including committing genocide, crimes against peace, humanity, or war crimes, or if the Latvian citizen themselves participated in such actions. Latvian citizenship can be revoked if as a result the person does not become stateless.
Information that a Latvian citizen has committed one of the mentioned actions is provided by the state security authorities.
Tambiev has been working as a coach in Russia for several years. Since 2021, he has been the head coach of the KHL club Admiral Vladivostok.
