Latvia Complains Minsk Seized Their Radio Frequency — Now Broadcasting Propaganda

Daugavpils. Photo: luxepress.eu

International Radio "Belarus" has been operating since 1962, and in the Braslau region since 2007. For many years, this radio broadcast in Braslau on the frequency 106.6: data can be found indicating that this frequency was relevant just a few years ago.

Now, however, the radio's website indicates a different frequency for Braslau — 107.7. A few tens of kilometers from Braslau, in the area of Latvian Daugavpils (Dvinsk), that frequency was previously occupied by another radio station — Latvian Radio 4 "Domskaya Ploshchad" (Dome Square). This is a Russian-language radio that now broadcasts only in digital format: the LSM holding, to which the radio belongs, now keeps foreign-language content only online.

Thus, as of January 1, 2026, that radio no longer operates, and nothing can be heard on that frequency in Riga. But in the Daugavpils area, near the Belarusian border, one can now hear Radio "Belarus". It was previously possible to pick up radio from the Braslau region there, but then the "Culture" channel of Belarusian Radio broadcast on that frequency. On February 4, Radio "Belarus" with entirely different content was switched to that frequency.

The radio itself broadcasts in several languages: in addition to Belarusian and Russian, there is broadcasting in seven other foreign languages, including Polish and English. But, according to the website of Radio "Belarus", in Braslau it has specifically Russian-language broadcasting.

So what do Daugavpils residents have to listen to? For example, in its online broadcasting for Lithuania and Latvia, the radio talked about the Forum of Good Neighborliness — a scandalous Lithuanian organization liquidated in 2023 for "preparing espionage for the benefit of Russia". And a Latvian journalist who caught that radio in Daugavpils heard Lukashenka's speeches, discussions about pedophilia, and comments about Lithuanians.

In one of the Belarusian propaganda Telegram channels, it was hinted that the frequency change was not accidental: "And what's most interesting, Radio 'Belarus' sounds very good near the Daugavpils city council."

Not everyone, however, agrees that this is precisely about a frequency seizure. The Latvian Electronic Mass Media Council says that previously in Daugavpils, "Domskaya Ploshchad" broadcast on frequency 88.7. Now, with it no longer on any frequencies, the signal of Belarusian radio can simply travel further into Latvian territory and be received closer to Riga.

It seems that many residents of the Latvian border region would not mind a Russian-language media outlet. According to the data from the 2021 population census, only 20.7% of Daugavpils residents identify as Latvians.

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