Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced the move on social media, saying that the measure against Nikolai Baskov was being taken "for war propaganda and support of the aggression against Ukraine". Baskov has been added to the entry blacklist indefinitely.
Par kara propagandu un agresijas pret Ukrainu atbalstīšanu un saskaņā ar Imigrācijas likuma 61.panta 2.daļu, Krievijas Federācijas pilsonis Nikolajs Baskovs tiek iekļauts Latvijas Republikai nevēlamo personu sarakstā, nosakot liegumu ieceļot Latvijā uz nenoteiktu laiku
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) February 26, 2022
Nikolai Baskov is a TV-friendly tenor in the "crossover" style with a particular talent for combining the worst elements of both opera and pop music and adding some gaudy trappings of his own.
