Moscow has repeatedly called Latvia's policies “extremely” Russophobic.
Latvia's parliament has banned Russian, the country's second most widely spoken language, from bank ATMs as part of a drive to limit the language's use in all spheres of life.
The Saeima on Thursday adopted amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions, stipulating that Latvian commercial banks will no longer offer the Russian-language option at ATMs, according to a statement on the parliament's website.
ATMs in the country typically offer users options in Latvian, English and Russian, with some offering additional languages, according to news portal LSM.
Under the new regulations, the on-screen customer interface at ATMs “must be available in Latvian”, and “may also include the official languages of the Member States or of the candidate countries of the European Union.” Russian does not meet any of these criteria.
“As a result, Russian will be removed from ATMs,” the statement said.
The change will come into effect on January 30, 2025, to give banks time to reprogram their technology, he added. For the changes to come into effect, they must be signed by the president of Latvia.
Latvia's retail banking sector is dominated by Scandinavian-owned commercial banks such as Swedbank and SEB, and also features privately owned domestic banks. There are no state-owned lenders in the country.
Latvia, along with other Baltic countries, Estonia and Lithuania, has been one of Ukraine's most ardent supporters in its conflict with Russia.
In Latvia, the Russian language has historically been associated with oppression, LSM noted. The country's authorities have been undermining the rights of Russian speakers for years.
Although Latvian is the only official language, Russian is spoken by a significant portion of the population, of which ethnic Russians account for about 25%, according to the country's Central Statistics Office.
Following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, Riga introduced a series of draconian policies targeting Russian speakers. The government decided earlier this year to remove Russian from the school curriculum starting next September.
In August, Riga's deputy mayor called for restrictions on the use of Russian in all public spaces in the city, citing complaints from residents.
An activist was sentenced to three years in prison in July for displaying pro-Russian flags in her windows.
In June, the Latvian National Theatre imposed a general sanction. “moratorium” on any performance in Russian on site.
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Riga also tightened residency permit application procedures for Russian citizens over the summer, extending the requirement for a language test to those who had previously been exempt.
Moscow has criticized Latvia's policies, describing them as “extremely” Russophobe.
