Every month, thousands of Latvian residents cross the border into Belarus – they visit relatives, go to health resorts, and shop despite the fact that for years, the security services and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been urging them not to do so.
LSM.lv spoke with those who travel there, those who organise the trips, and those who have experienced firsthand what it means to end up behind bars in Belarus.
Buses are still running
According to data from the Latvian State Border Guard, 5,592 Latvian citizens entered Belarus through Latvian border checkpoints in December last year. In January 2026, the number was 2,857. And these are only the official statistics for road checkpoints.
At the Daugavpils bus station in February, a familiar scene unfolds – people with suitcases boarding buses bound for Minsk and Vitebsk. LSM asked passengers if they had heard the State Security Service's warnings that travelling to Belarus is dangerous.
“I don't listen. I'm going to see my loved one. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of there, everything is fine, everything is great,” says Valērija.
“Yes, I'm going to see my husband, I have no choice. They simply won't let him in here, they won't give him a visa,” explains Jeļena. When asked about her attitude toward the warnings, she replies: “Well, I respect all of this.”
Other travelers Viktorija and Irina are crossing the border together. “No, we're not afraid. We travel to all countries, and there is peace and friendship. That's the kind of people we are. [...] We have family in all countries, so we are outside of this whole situation, we ignore it and make friends regardless, regardless of citizenship.”
Viktorija, an employee of LatLines, a company that organises bus trips to Belarus, talks about what happens at the border:
“KGB officers come to the border only if they want to talk to someone who seems very suspicious. But everything is fine, they let us through.”
LSM: “So it's not that they take ten people away and bring nine back?”
“Well, it's rare, but it happens. They've been spotted somewhere, said something. I don't know, those who are taken away don't say why they're being taken off the bus.”
From November 1, 2025, Latvia has introduced a ban on commercial tourist bus trips to Russia and Belarus. However, no one has cancelled regular trips yet. Still, the Road Transport Directorate no longer issues or extends permits for regular bus trips to Russia and Belarus. So, when the carriers' current licenses expire, the routes will be closed.
If you Google “trips from Latvia to Belarus”, the first page offers Minsk, Vitebsk, and sanatoriums. The arrival schedule is broken down by day, and the trip itineraries are detailed. All that's left is to call and find out more.
LSM calls the first travel agency.
– Say, I want to surprise my mother with a trip to a sanatorium.
– To a sanatorium, huh? That's a popular destination throughout the whole year, it's natural, I'm not surprised.
– Look, your website says that there are tockets available on March 10.
– Yes, there are for March, but for April, strange as it may seem, there are no more.
– So there's that much demand?
– Well, this is our fourth year.
Next travel agency.
– I'm calling about something I can't figure out on the website. Do you organise trips to Belarus? It seems that you might but it also seems like you might not.
– You'll have to come to the office and see Natālija. She'll explain everything to you.
– So, that means its possible?
– I wouldn't invite you if it weren't. Of course, come to Natālija, she will explain everything to you.
Third agency.
– I found this on your website, but I don't understand whether it's a valid offer or not. An excursion to Minsk.
– No, no, that's an old copy of the website, it's no longer available to Minsk.
– What about traveling to Belarus in general?
– All entry and exit to Belarus is prohibited. The only option is to go by car. Or, if someone still has a license, then by bus.
– I see, so you don't have it anymore.
– No. We would go, but, you understand, it's prohibited for now.
Electronic queue and Telegram chat rooms
There are many chat rooms and channels on Facebook and Telegram where people discuss entering and leaving the country and crossing the Belarusian border.
One of the Telegram chat rooms discusses what can and cannot be brought into the country. People ask about the electronic queue – since October 15 last year, people can't just drive up and cross the border in the live queue, they now have to register electronically.
There are also those who not only travel to Belarus, despite the calls and recommendations of the special services, law enforcement agencies, and ministries not to do so, but also publicise it on social media, making no secret of it and even advertising it to some extent.
One such blogger is Sergejs Krepostnojs, a resident of Daugavpils.
Sergejs explains why he continues to travel there: “My grandmother lives there. I've been travelling there my whole life, since childhood, and it's never been a problem. Only recently has it become a problem. And, in my opinion, it's a controversial problem.”
“Can it be dangerous to go to Belarus?”
“Yes.”
“Dangerous. Who could be in danger?”
“Latvian citizens.”
“Why?”
“Well, because citizens and residents can be recruited. They can be used. There have already been cases where Latvian citizens have been detained. We know that several Latvian citizens were recently released from prison in Belarus.”
“You're not worried about that, am I right?"
“It would be weird to recruit me, and it would be weird to detain me. Well, for example, what information could I have? Even if I did have information, it would only be information that they could find on the internet anyway. That's not a problem.”
“So you don't believe that, for example, hypothetically, the average Latvian citizen, who has not spoken out against Lukashenko or the Belarusian authorities, who has simply gone there, say, to a sanatorium or on an excursion, to visit relatives, that he could be detained and used for their own purposes?”
“But for what reason? Why? What can he tell them? Could he be detained as a bargaining chip. Yes, that's possible during wartime. We are not at war.”
“So you believe that an ordinary Latvian citizen is safe in Belarus?”
“If he's just visiting relatives, no problem. [..] But just in case, everyone needs to check their phones before going there.”
“So there are still some concerns?”
“I'm saying – again – it depends on the person going there.”
Just an ordinary tourist
Agnese Saliņa, Director of the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explains why it is wrong to think that ordinary people are not at risk.
“People often think that if they are not officials, politicians or something else, then they are not at risk. After all, they are just ordinary travellers. People call our department, ask for advice and say, 'Well, I'm just an ordinary tourist' or 'I'm visiting my relatives'. But this is also a misconception, because we must take into account that sometimes our citizens, simply because they are Latvian citizens, can be used for the interests or needs of the Belarusian authorities.
Therefore, in principle, any of our citizens can be subjected to, for example, recruitment. They do not necessarily have to be officials. The stories vary greatly. For example, the citizens released last summer were not officials. They were ordinary people going about their business.”
Saliņa emphasises: “For several years now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been urging people not to travel, because Latvian citizens may be subjected to various provocations by the special services, falsely accused of some offences, and arrested. It should also be noted that the understanding of the rule of law in Belarus is completely different from that in Latvia.
We are talking about crimes that would not be considered crimes in Latvia, but in Belarus they can be very serious crimes, such as criticising the ruling power.”
LSM asked whether they manage to convince people not to go.
“Unfortunately, not really. Because people sometimes call us and say, 'Yes, I know you don't recommend it. But I have an elderly relative there whom I need to visit.' Sometimes people want to visit graves. These people seem to know, maybe they ask for recommendations, but still say they plan to go.
Of course, most frequent travellers are border residents. But unfortunately... Well, I would understand if someone had a sick relative to visit, if the trip was really urgent. But if a person is going shopping, in my opinion, that is not compatible with the current situation. Or I've heard that many people are travelling for medical procedures or services. Then I would say that it's really not worth it at all.”
Dozhdj subscription and Lukashenko caricatures
Among the Latvian citizens released from prison in Belarus this summer is Dmitrijs Mihailovs. Seven months after his release, he discourages those who continue to travel to Belarus.
“The laws here and there are very different. We're not even talking about the fact that politically you can be Lukashenko's opponent, you can also be his ardent fan – that doesn't matter to anyone at all.”
Mihailovs recounts the cases that have been brought to his attention over the past seven months: “I have been contacted several times by relatives of people who simply travelled to Belarus. One person was from Daugavpils, another from Riga. So, they took their phones and found one man's subscription to the TV channel Dozhdj on the Telegram platform. He was detained.
Of course, we don't mention any names or anything. He was detained for 24 hours. He spent the night in a so-called temporary detention cell in the basement. In the morning, he had an administrative court hearing, paid the fine, and returned. The second person – they found photos of the Belarusian president, some kind of caricatures. He was detained. In the end, there was no court; he was detained at the border for several hours. So they intimidated him. And in the end, he didn't enter Belarus; he went back.”
Mihailovs addresses those who are planning to travel to Belarus:
“People need to assess the risks. That because of some nonsense, they may find themselves in a situation where their life and existence, their ability to be human, for example to wash themselves, will be threatened.
Yes, there will be people in the cell who will give you some toilet paper. Maybe someone will give you the underwear. They will share with you. But you have to understand, I've been through this. Yesterday you were a businessman, you had a chain of stores, but today you are happy when someone gives you socks.
If you are ready to take such risks in your life for the sake of these delicious sausages, then go ahead, my dears. Enjoy Belarusian sausages!”
Fun with a surprise
Radzivons Bjahļaks, head of the Latvian Belarusian Association Supolka, compares the current situation to American trips to the Soviet Union.
“I think that the situation is actually very similar to what it was, for example, with American citizens' trips to the Soviet Union in the 1930s-1970s. Of course, some citizens could listen to communist propaganda, fall in love with the Soviet Union and communism, and go there to spend their hard-earned dollars.
And in principle, if they came to the Soviet Union with dollars and shopped at Berjozka stores, where there were no shortages and all the products the Soviet Union had to offer were available, then they could live like kings even in that country.
Just don't forget that this attraction always came with a surprise. The moment the local KGB starts to suspect you of something, even slightly. Or, for example, they simply need a person to exchange for their spy who has been caught.
On the other side of the fence, you could very quickly go from being a king to a prisoner in very “fun” conditions. Therefore, everyone must make their own choice. But it is important to remember that this is not a free attraction.”
Bjahļaks adds: “Don't go to Belarus for cheap food. It is paid for with the salaries that people receive in Belarus because they have no other choice. They cannot leave for various reasons. Some have sick parents, some have no money.
If you search the internet, look at the wages paid by Belarusian collective farms, which produce all the goods. They are slave wages. By buying Belarusian products, you are supporting Belarusian slave labour in Belarus.”
Aggressive and illegal methods
The Latvian State Security Service continues to strongly advise against travelling to Belarus. It points out that known attempts by the Belarusian special services to recruit Latvian citizens have been directed both at those who had access to classified information and those who did not.
This means that anyone can become a target of the Belarusian special services, regardless of their position or access to confidential information.
The State Security Service states: “The Belarusian special services do not hesitate to use aggressive and illegal methods on their territory to force citizens of other countries to cooperate with them: threats, blackmail, and other methods of psychological pressure. They also make unfounded accusations of various violations, stage situations, or threaten disproportionately large fines for relatively minor violations.
The price demanded for mitigating the punishment or exemption from liability is agreement to cooperate and perform actions that are in the interests of Belarus. The Belarusian special services are interested in involving Latvian citizens not only in espionage, but also in propaganda activities aimed at promoting the public image of Belarus and Alexander Lukashenko and discrediting Latvia and other Western countries.”
Russia's full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine continues for the fourth year. Russia is using Belarusian territory for this war. According to information from the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, five Latvian citizens were detained in Belarus in 2025. In 2020, thousands of people were forced to flee Belarus, their own country, to avoid persecution for participating in peaceful rallies and other protests.
Perhaps this is a reason to start reconsidering.
Originally published on February 23, 2026 09:24 GMT+2
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