Baltic States – CIS, Forum, Latvia, Legislation, Tourism

Shortly before the beginning of this year's festival, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (Unity) announced that three popular Russian artists – Joseph Kobzon, Oleg Gazmanov, and Valeria – were being put on Latvia's "blacklist"

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"Rinkevics' announcement about the "personae non grata" came right before the opening ceremony of the festival when nothing could be done about, just to generate more publicity and hurt us as bad as he could," Krutoy said.

He is concerned that similar moves could follow again. Krutoy implied that the Latvian Foreign Ministry should have apologized for adding the said persons on its "blacklist", yet he received no apologies.

Krutoy also believed it necessary to mention that Rinkevics later on "got into the new government by officially announcing that he was gay."

"Because this story could repeat itself also next year, we are currently discussing the opportunities of moving the festival somewhere else," Krutoy said.

"New Wave 2015" could possibly take place in Crimea, Kaliningrad, Sochi, Baku, or Kazan, he said.

"We are considering all options, and I have to make a decision before the end of the year so we would have enough time for organization of the festival," Krutoy said.

Kobzon, on the other hand, was rather negative about the decision to move the festival to a new location.

"This is nonsense. Nonsense, because Igor [Krutoy] cannot do this. He is being forced to do it. It is a brand he created 14 years ago, it has become popular in many countries around the world, and a lot of artists are striving to be present at this forum. But he is trying now to... break this festival. This must not happen, not by a long shot," Kobzon told RIA Novosti.

In commenting on Latvia's decision to ban him from entering the country, Kobzon said: "So what [..]? The young artists were still allowed to enter. This is not a festival for Kobzon or Gazmanov exclusively, it is meant for young artists. Why should they be denied the opportunity?" the singer asked.

Rinkevics currently has no comment on the issue, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman Karlis Eihenbaums told LETA. Rinkevics has recently returned from Georgia, and it is currently unknown whether he will voice an opinion on this matter. "New Wave" is more or less a private event, and the Foreign Ministry is neither a censor, nor an authority to assess culture events, Eihenbaums said.