Ahead of Latvia's October 3 parliamentary elections, Russia's presidential administration closely monitors the campaign and oversees a network of agents in Latvia. Approximately one-third of candidates consider Russian their native language, with some having studied in Russia or frequently visiting it. Pro-Kremlin propagandists spread various false information to influence ordinary Latvian voters. The Insider revealed that Vladimir Balobajev, a 38-year-old from Kaliningrad, serves as the curator for Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania within Putin's administration. Balobajev was previously director of the Baltic Information and Analysis Center, which funded so-called independent journalists in the Baltics, including transfer payments to Andrey Solopenko, banned editor of the EU portal Baltnews. In 2025, Solopenko was sentenced in Riga to 280 hours of community service for violating sanctions on Russia. In 2016, Balobajev became deputy director of the East European Studies Center at Kant University in Kaliningrad and published academic work on Poland's political system transformation. In 2019, he moved from Kaliningrad to Moscow and joined the Presidential Executive Office.

Ahead of Latvia's October 3 parliamentary elections, Russia's presidential administration closely monitors the campaign and oversees a network of agents in Latvia. Approximately one-third of candidates consider Russian their native language, with some having studied in Russia or frequently visiting it. Pro-Kremlin propagandists spread various false information to influence ordinary Latvian voters. The Insider revealed that Vladimir Balobajev, a 38-year-old from Kaliningrad, serves as the curator for Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania within Putin's administration. Balobajev was previously director of the Baltic Information and Analysis Center, which funded so-called independent journalists in the Baltics, including transfer payments to Andrey Solopenko, banned editor of the EU portal Baltnews. In 2025, Solopenko was sentenced in Riga to 280 hours of community service for violating sanctions on Russia. In 2016, Balobajev became deputy director of the East European Studies Center at Kant University in Kaliningrad and published academic work on Poland's political system transformation. In 2019, he moved from Kaliningrad to Moscow and joined the Presidential Executive Office.