Future of aggressor state sanatoriums in Latvia still unclear / Article

Currently, both buildings are quiet, and their territories are starting to get overgrown but there is still no clarity about their futures.

Some residents of Jūrmala, Latvia’s coastal resort where the two sanatoria are located, believe that both should be expropriated for the benefit of the Latvian state. The Ministry of Justice explains that it is currently impossible to do this at the national level, but a solution must be sought at the European level as to what to do with these frozen properties.

At the far end of Jurmala, surrounded by pine trees, are gray sanatoriums built in the Soviet era, in the architectural style of their time. They were once well-known, but now their owners are included in the list of aggressor countries.

The sanatoriums “Belorusija” and “Jantarnij Bereg” or “Dzintarkrasts” (‘Amber coast’) in Jūrmala, owned by the Belarusian and Russian authorities, are subject to sanctions, and economic activity is not taking place in them. It is visible, however, that both facilities are still guarded and minimally maintained.

The security guard of the “Jantarnij Bereg” building says in broken Latvian to Latvian Radio that nothing is happening here. There are several inscriptions on the fence, for example, “Strict sanitary protection zone”, “Entry prohibited”.

The hotel “Belorusija” in Jūrmala is managed by a foundation with the same name. This foundation was registered in August 1991, and its purpose is rehabilitation treatment and recovery. As of September 10th, it had no tax debts. Almost 900,000 euros were paid into the state budget for the year before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As of December 2022, this foundation has three true beneficiaries – two Belarusian citizens and a Latvian citizen.

Already in June of the same year, a ban on the registration, renewal and amendment of commercial pledges (in the Commercial Pledge Register of the Enterprise Register) was imposed on this foundation by a decision of the State Revenue Service, which has been amended several times. The last amendments were made in December of last year.

In turn, the sanatorium “Yantarnij Bereg” or children’s medical center is a branch of the Federal Budgetary State Institution of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation. The last annual report was submitted for 2015. Last year, the owners of this sanatorium paid 87,000 euros in taxes to the state budget in personal income tax and state compulsory insurance contributions, which is 30,000 euros less than the year before.

The Jūrmala City Council refrains from making any comments about the two sanatoriums, only stating that taxes are being paid and there are no debts.

Near the sanatorium “Belarusija” you can see that the paved paths are already starting to be overgrown.

Meanwhile, Jūrmala residents have expressed concerns about the future fate of the buildings in conversations with Latvian Radio. Some people believe that both should be expropriated by the Latvian state and to prevent them falling into decay. Another suggestion is that both sanatoriums should be expropriated and handed over to Ukraine.

Sanatorium managers – on the blacklist

Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, international sanctions were imposed on the “Belorusiya” sanatorium, while work on the “Jantarnij Bereg” sanatorium, which was under reconstruction, was suspended indefinitely. Soon after, both sanatorium managers were included in the so-called blacklist, which prohibits them from entering Latvia.

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