Over the past two weeks, at least three individuals linked to the so-called “Baltic Anti-Fascists” group have been arrested. Through this group, an informant network was established in Latvia that for a long time has been reporting to Russian special services on the movement of military equipment, Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine in Latvia, and compiling lists of people marked for elimination, reports TV3’s investigative programme Nekā personīga (“Nothing Personal”).
The arrests are based on documents obtained by the organisation Dossier Center founded by Kremlin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which shared the materials with Nekā personīga. These documents show that the “Baltic Anti-Fascists” are not merely a group of Russia sympathisers, but have attempted to infiltrate drone manufacturing facilities in Latvia, collect information on military equipment movements, and gather data on people who donate to Ukraine or display Ukrainian symbols.
For example, a shop security guard, Igor Andreyev, had for a long time been reporting to Russian special services about visitors wearing Ukrainian symbols and their vehicle licence plates. He passed personal data obtained at his workplace to Russia and carried out other activities.
Nekā personīga encountered the man at his workplace in Ziepniekkalns, Riga. After the programme showed interest in him, Andreyev attacked journalists, broke a video camera and fled. He was soon detained by police, and the court ordered his pre-trial detention.
According to the State Security Service (VDD), the group calling itself
the “Baltic Anti-Fascists” began organising and coordinating activities directed against Latvia’s national security
using specially created communication groups on the messaging platform Telegram. VDD opened criminal proceedings against the group in November 2022.
Currently, two members of the group – Tatjana Andrijeca and Aleksandrs Žguns – are on trial in Latvia. Others – Sergejs Vasiļjevs, Viktorija Matule, Romans Samuļs and Staņislavs Bukains – have fled to Russia or Belarus.
Prosecutor Zane Lodziņa told Nekā personīga that the main goal of the criminal group was to gather as many individuals disloyal to Latvia as possible so that, when the right moment came, they could create unrest in the country, destabilise the situation, and act against Latvian democracy, officials, or ordinary residents who oppose Russia.
Vasiļjevs gives interviews to Russian media as the leader of the “Baltic Anti-Fascists”.
In the case involving the anti-fascists who remained in Latvia, he testified in court on 20 August 2025 at the request of the defence.
Asked by the prosecutor whether the organisation’s aim was to unite like-minded individuals, Vasiļjevs answered affirmatively and explained that “the further goal will be the destruction of Nazism and its supporters in the Baltic states”.
“When our entire support system is revealed, you will be very surprised who is helping us in Latvia,” Vasiļjevs boasted.
Nekā personīga has learned what kind of information is received by the channel led by Vasiļjevs. This emerges from a leak held by the Russian opposition project in exile, the Dossier Center.
Vasiļjevs forwards the information obtained through the Baltic Anti-Fascists channel to Sergejs Koļesņikovs,
a man linked to Russian special services. Formally, Koļesņikovs is a former officer of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the head of a private detective agency, but the materials indicate that he continues to cooperate with special services, particularly the FSB.
Koļesņikovs and Vasiļjevs communicate as a handler and his agent: Vasiļjevs passes on information received via the “anti-fascist” channel, while Koļesņikovs transfers money and helps arrange residence documents in Russia, the programme reports.
Several messages forwarded by Vasiļjevs from Latvia came from the aforementioned shop security guard. He sent photos from store surveillance cameras showing people wearing Ukrainian symbols, noting also the licence plates of the cars they arrived in.
The guard also sent a video of an apparently intoxicated man he had detained.
The guard can be heard speaking Russian, to which the intoxicated man responds “Slava Ukraini!” (“Glory to Ukraine!”). The guard sent a photo of the man’s ID card, including all personal data.
He also collected information outside his workplace – about supporters of Ukraine from TV broadcasts and social media, as well as about shops displaying Ukrainian flags. In one photo, the photographer himself is visible in a reflection. Koļesņikovs and Vasiļjevs pointed out that this was unprofessional. The guard tried to justify himself, claiming it was not him but a friend, and sent a photo of himself as “proof”.
In another message, he sent a screenshot from the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) database with information about a vehicle. It is visible that the system user is named Igor. On some photos of shop visitors, he added locations such as “Maxima” in Sarkandaugava and “Lidl” on Valdeķu Street.
Last week,
Nekā personīga went to check these locations and noticed a guard very similar to the person in the photos.
When asked whether he knew about the “Baltic Anti-Fascists” and whether he knew Vasiļjevs, the guard denied it. He also denied that his name was Igor, then became aggressive, grabbed the journalists’ camera and broke it.
After the outburst, the guard fled. Police later revealed that he left a bag with documents at his workplace. His phone was switched off, but law enforcement officers detained him later that same evening. The court ordered his detention.
Andreyev has been repeatedly convicted in the past for drug possession, causing bodily harm, theft and hooliganism. Nekā personīga reports that he had already been planning to move to Russia and had purchased a bus ticket dated 13 January. Before his arrest, he had been looking for a car through acquaintances to take him to Narva, Estonia.
VDD has also detained Vasiļjevs’ wife, Iveta Balode.
According to Koļesņikov’s materials, she also reported on the movement of military equipment and regularly travelled between Latvia and Russia.
On Friday, a court also ordered the detention of Jevgenijs Okss, who works in the financial sector and is a close friend of Vasiļjevs. His name also appears in the leaked documents. Okss regularly travelled to Russia, where he met with Vasiļjevs, who in turn introduced him to his handler Koļesņikovs.
Vasiļjevs receives images from Latvia taken from social networks showing users who support Ukraine or organise the transport of vehicles to the war zone. He is sent lists of donors and reports on comments on social media. Vasiļjevs forwards the information to his handler with the comment that it will be useful for a “catalogue”, Nekā personīga reports.
Prosecutor Lodziņa acknowledges that
the massacre of civilians committed by the Russian army in the Ukrainian city of Bucha is a clear example of how such lists are used.
“In March 2022, when Russia entered, there was brutal retaliation against civilians there. And (…) so-called fascists – those who are against the Russian Federation – were also sought out, and actions were taken against them,” the prosecutor explained.
One individual reported to Vasiļjevs about a medical supply store on Jūrmalas Gatve, near which cars with Ukrainian licence plates were often parked, suggesting that they were probably helping Ukrainians. There are also reports about the charity organisation ziedot.lv. Its head, Rūta Dimanta, told the programme that she regularly notices suspicious individuals at events and near the organisation’s office.
Vasiļjevs’ correspondence also reveals that his associates attempted to infiltrate drone manufacturing facilities in Latvia – trying to become employees, posing as suppliers or foreign partners. On social media platforms, they search for people working at drone factories and collect information about them.
Prosecutor Lodziņa has
no doubt that the activities of the “Baltic Anti-Fascists” group were previously coordinated with the relevant Russian services.
VDD has officially announced that it has launched criminal proceedings for espionage and has detained several people in this case this month.
As previously reported, leading such a criminal organisation or participating in crimes committed by it can result in life imprisonment or a prison sentence of between ten and 20 years.
The Riga Regional Court has upheld the first-instance court ruling sentencing taxi driver Sergejs Sidorovs, accused of spying for Russia, to seven years in prison. He also reported to the “Baltic Anti-Fascists”. The verdict has not yet entered into force and may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
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