OREANDA-NEWS  Moscow imposes sanctions against 144 citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, "the most hostile" towards the Russian Federation. This is stated in the message of the Russian Foreign Ministry, published on March 9.

It is noted that the "stop list" included, among others, ministers, deputies, public figures and journalists.

"The 144 citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia included in the list are also involved in the barbaric campaign launched by the authorities of these states to massively demolish monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators, persecute the Russian—speaking population, rewrite history, glorify Nazism and pursue a criminal line to escalate the Ukrainian conflict and pump up the Kiev regime with weapons," the message adds.

It is also indicated that Russia took this step as a response to the active lobbying by the Baltic states of sanctions and other measures against the Russian Federation, as well as "interference in our internal affairs, inciting Russophobic sentiments."

On January 20, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said that Europe, despite the negative consequences for itself, continues the absurd and senseless sanctions policy against the Russian Federation. According to him, Poland and the Baltic states — EU members, "especially suffering from Russophobia," will not deny themselves the pleasure of accepting a new package of sanctions.

On January 16, State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Yevgeny Ivanov said that European states have minimized the issuance of multiple—entry visas for Russians. He noted that some countries have put forward obviously impossible conditions for obtaining entry permits for Russian citizens. At the moment, Russian citizens are prohibited from entering Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic and Estonia for tourist purposes, he recalled.

Moscow has repeatedly talked about the boomerang effect of anti-Russian sanctions. On December 15, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Europe, trying to hit Russia economically, hurt itself first of all, and anti-Russian sanctions caused a jump in inflation in Europe.