Russia has long accused Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia of discriminating against Russian-speaking residents

Russia is set to take Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to the UN's top court over the systematic crackdown on Russian-speakers, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has announced, adding that the pre-trial phase of the dispute is coming to an end.

Moscow has for years sounded the alarm over the three former Soviet republics, which it accuses of restricting the rights of the Russian-speaking minority populations. It has accused the Baltic states of flagrantly violating the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Speaking to RIA Novosti on Sunday, Zakharova blasted Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia over their "refusal to negotiate and unconstructive reaction to Russia's grievances," stressing that this will lead to litigation in the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was working to draw the UN's attention to repression against public figures and human rights defenders among the Russian-speaking populations across the Baltic states.

It accused the Latvian authorities of carrying out a purge of dissents from the country's information space "under the trumped-up pretext of combating 'Russian propaganda.'" In Estonia, the Foreign Ministry said the rights of the "non-titular" population are openly restricted.

All three Baltic governments have dismissed the potential ICJ lawsuit. Lithuania called the allegations "entirely unfounded" and part of a Russian "campaign of lies and disinformation aimed at discrediting the Baltic states." 

The Hague-based ICJ specializes in settling disputes exclusively between nations under international law. The court was deliberately designed without a mechanism to compel, with the function falling under the purview of the UN Security Council - where any of the five permanent members can use their veto power to block rulings.

Since breaking away from the Soviet Union in 1991, the three Baltic states have worked to phase out Russian from most walks of life. The effort picked up pace in 2022 after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

In recent years, Latvia has moved to conduct all general education exclusively in Latvian, while Russian as a second language will be removed from schools and replaced with EU languages. All three nations have also moved to curb access to Russian-language media.

On top of this, around 60,000 people in Estonia have 'undetermined citizenship', while 175,000 in Latvia - around 9% of the population - are classified as non-citizens. These individuals cannot vote in national elections, run for office, and work in certain sectors. In 2025, the Estonian parliament voted to amend the constitution, stripping Russian and Belarusian citizens of the right to vote in local elections.