Research · 28 September 2026
Belarus–Latvia Relations: From Cooperation to Confrontation
The Institute for Political Studies “Political Sphere” presents a new study, “Belarus–Latvia Relations: A General Overview, 1991–2026,” prepared by Maksim Karaliou. The study continues the Institute’s research into Belarus’s relations with neighboring countries and offers a comprehensive overview of the development of Belarusian–Latvian relations from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the present day.
The study examines political and economic relations, cross-border and visa cooperation, trade and transit, contacts in the fields of culture, education, science, and sport, as well as the situation of the Belarusian community in Latvia. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of bilateral relations after 2020 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the previous model of pragmatic cooperation gradually gave way to relations increasingly dominated by security concerns, sanctions, and confrontation.