Who they are, what ideas they bring and where they are found

Who are the Latvian skinheads, how is it determined that a person has become “right-wing”, and what do the skinheads consider their enemies? “Delfi” sought answers to these questions from the State Security Service (VDD).

Latvian skinheads usually belong to the so-called “national service skinheads” – followers of the National Socialist ideology with extremist tendencies. The plan is banal and simple – find an enemy and fight him. Fortunately, skinheads in Latvia have not yet physically destroyed their opponents, as in other countries. However, judging by the number of attacks recorded by the police and the VDD, incidents inspired by extreme views in the country are becoming more frequent and, therefore, more visible.

Skinheads consider their enemies mainly those who are not of “Aryan descent”, or light-skinned people belonging to the Indo-European language family: Jews, representatives of the Arab world, Asians, blacks and Roma. Skinheads also consider members of the LGBT+ community as enemies. This list is regularly updated and supplemented.

In Latvia, the most frequent attacks directly target food couriers from South Asia. They are an easy target because it takes no time or preparation to find such a victim.

Latvian skinheads choose representatives of the LGBT+ community as their second most common targets for attacks and intimidation. This summer’s Riga Pride parade showed that right-wing radicals are not even trying to hide, but are ready to attack those who, in their opinion, are not worthy of expressing their rights.

In recent years, several skinhead groups have been discovered in Latvia, which allows the VDD to draw a broad picture of the “average skinhead”.

It is located in Riga or