Russian-speaking Latvians who back Ukraine and value their language are heading into an election without an obvious political home

Key Points:

• Latvia will hold elections for its 15th Saeima on October 3, with new political groups like the Sovereign Power / Young Latvians alliance and Latvia First competing to attract Russian-speaking voters amid declining support for traditional “Russian” parties such as Harmony Center.
• Historically, Russian-speaking political representation in Latvia has been divided between groups seeking integration within the Latvian state and those opposing its independence restoration, leading to fragmented political alliances and fluctuating electoral success since the 1990s.
• Harmony, once the dominant party representing Russian speakers, consistently won elections but was excluded from government coalitions due to ethnic Latvian parties' distrust, and its influence has waned following internal scandals, loss of Riga city power, and divisions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Newer parties like For Stability! and Sovereign Power / Young Latvians have emerged, appealing to Russian speakers with more radical or populist rhetoric, but face challenges including leadership controversies, legal issues, and fragmented voter bases, while Harmony failed to clear electoral thresholds in recent local elections.
• The political landscape leaves pro-European, Russian-speaking Latvians without clear representation, caught between populist groups sympathetic to Russia and ethnic Latvian parties favoring restrictions on the Russian language, underscoring the ongoing difficulty of uniting Russian speakers under a single political platform in Latvia.