Latvia bans bus services to Russia. But Latvian Ecolines will take a different route

The permit was issued by the Ministry of Regional Development and Agriculture of Estonia. Ecolines buses depart daily from Tallinn to Moscow, and the carrier also services the route to Saint Petersburg. Andres Ruubas, head of the public transport department of the ministry, explained that the procedure is completely ordinary. The company submits an application, the Estonian agency sends it to the Russian side through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, receives confirmation, and issues a permit for the route. At the same time, the bus does not necessarily have to cross the Russian border. According to Ruubas, due to thorough inspections, waiting at the checkpoint can take about four hours. Therefore, carriers often take passengers to the Luhamaa border point, where people cross the border on foot, and on the Russian side, they are met by a bus from a local partner. ## ## Why does Estonia allow what Latvia plans to ban? "The European Union has not imposed any sanctions against Russia that restrict the free movement of people. Therefore, we have no grounds to refuse to issue permits for servicing routes," explained Andres Ruubas. Unlike Finland, Estonia has not closed its border with Russia. Regular bus services are not subject to the EU sanctions ban. Restrictions apply to organized tourist trips to Russia but not to regular bus services. In Latvia, however, the Ministry of Transport has prepared amendments that provide for a complete ban on regular and irregular bus services to Russia and Belarus, including transit through Latvian territory, starting from January 10, 2027. The amendments are being submitted for consideration by the Saeima. Currently, there is one regular bus route between Riga and Moscow. It is serviced by the company Norma-A under the Ecolines brand. The permit is valid until January 9, 2027, and the Latvian authorities do not intend to extend it. Interestingly, Ecolines is not a foreign carrier seeking to take advantage of disagreements between neighbors. The company Norma-A has been registered in Latvia since 1993. However, the controlling stake of its capital—82.17%—belongs to the Estonian Ecolines Estonia. The ultimate beneficiaries of the company are Andris Podgorny and Egor Ribzamen. In April of this year, Ecolines already abandoned domestic commercial routes in Latvia, including routes from Riga to Rezekne, Ventspils, and Balvi. The company explained this by rising costs and the inability to compete with state-subsidized carriers. However, it has retained international transport. By the way, the possibility of a workaround has always been acknowledged by the Latvian Ministry of Transport, which noted that the ban on direct flights would not prevent passengers from reaching Russia through Estonia or Lithuania. Therefore, the ministry intends to seek a coordinated decision at the level of the Baltic States and the European Union.