Latvian politics (1988–2004) Ždanoka became politically active in the late 1980s during the
perestroika, first as a member of the
Popular Front, then as one of the leaders of the
Interfront, a
united front opposing Latvia's independence from the
Soviet Union. In 1989, she was elected to the
Riga City Council, and in 1990, to the
Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR. From 1971 to 1991 Ždanoka was also a member of the
Communist Party of Latvia, She has also been one of the leaders of the political party
Equal Rights since it foundation in 1993 and of the
political alliance For Human Rights in United Latvia. In 1999, Ždanoka was banned from running for the Latvian parliament
Saeima and deprived of her seat on
Riga City Council, because she had participated in two seats of the Communist Party's Audit Committee after the party leadership called for a
coup d'état against the elected government of the
Latvian SSR in January 1991. Latvia appealed the decision to the
Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that Latvia's emergence from
totalitarian rule brought about by the
occupation of Latvia had not been sufficiently taken into account, and on March 16, 2006, the court ruled 13-4 that Ždanoka's rights had not been violated. in 2012 In 2004, she ran successfully for
MEP as a candidate of the largest Russian political bloc in Latvia In 2005, Ždanoka became one of the founders of the EU Russian-Speakers' Alliance. She also won a MEP seat in 2009. On 11 March 2014, Ždanoka and her party organized a rally at the European Commission Representation in Riga in support of the
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, with about 200 participants. In May, Ždanoka proposed
European Council to classify
Ukrainian political bloc
Right Sector as a terrorist organization. In response, Ukrainian Congress of Latvia petitioned
Ministry of Justice of Latvia to declare the political activities of Ždanoka and her party as anti-constitutional. Ždanoka's participation in the controversial
2014 Crimean referendum as an international observer in a trip paid by the
European Union and her remarks in support of it were criticised by the president of the European Parliament
Martin Schulz as "completely contradictory to the position of the European Parliament and the EU." Ždanoka responded by stressing that Schulz is an MEP "just like she is", and that only her voters can tell her what to do. Co-chairwoman of the
Greens/European Free Alliance Rebecca Harms called Ždanoka's actions and statements as "totally unacceptable" and "in complete and direct opposition with the very clear position the Greens/EFA group has taken since the outset on this issue", calling the European Free Alliance to expel Ždanoka from its ranks. Ždanoka's actions were also condemned by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs, with Ministry's press secretary Kārlis Eihenbaums claiming that Ždanoka did not to represent Latvia nor the EU, as she did not have any official authorization from either. A submission was made by another Latvian MEP,
Kārlis Šadurskis, to the Latvian state prosecutor to investigate Ždanoka for undermining the Latvian state in her support for Russia. In his submission, Šadurskis pointed to her participation at events organised by "
Essence of Time" that advocates the restoration of the
USSR. The application of Šadurskis was rejected by Security Police who did not find a crime in Ždanoka's actions. In 2016, Ždanoka voted against the European Parliament resolution of 23 November that condemned the use of disinformation and
propaganda by
Russia and Islamist terrorist organisations and called for strengthening EU's "strategic communication" task force, as well as investing more in awareness raising, education, online and local media,
investigative journalism and
information literacy. Prior to the vote she distributed a letter to other MEPs, saying that the resolution crosses "all red lines" and that Russia's state-sponsored news and information channels are no different to Western media that exhibit "double standards", recommending them to watch
Russia Today and form their own opinion of the channel.
Return to Latvian politics (2018–2019) In January 2018, Ždanoka left European Parliament and returned to Latvian politics with the intention of running in the
2018 Latvian parliamentary election in October. She was named
Latvian Russian Union's number 1 candidate for
Vidzeme Region, but was removed from the list of candidates by Latvia's Central Election Commission on the same basis that barred her from running in 1999. Ždanoka contested it in the Administrative District Court, but the court upheld the decision made by the Central Election Commission.
European Court of Human Rights also later ruled unanimously "that restricting from standing for election individuals who had endangered and continued to endanger the independence of the Latvian State and the principles of a democratic State governed by the rule of law was legitimate and proportionate." and that "[t]he authorities had therefore acted within their discretion ("
margin of appreciation") in doing so in Ms Ždanoka’s case."
Member of the European parliament (2019–2024) In the
2019 European Parliament election her party received 6.24% of the votes, which gave it one seat at the European Parliament that, again, was filled by Ždanoka who personally received 18,098 plusses and was crossed out 739 times. She started serving as vice-chairperson in the Petitions Committee and replacement member in the Employment and Public Affairs Committee and named youth and pre-pension employment, adoption of benefits for young families and equalization of social rights in the European Union as her priorities. On March 5, 2019, State Security Service (SSS) launched a criminal procedure over incitement to ethnic hatred or discord for Ždanoka's remarks at a discussion organized by her at the European Parliament, where she likened the situation of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Latvia to Jews prior the
World War II. The case was terminated by the SSS in 2020, for absence of any crime in Ždanoka's remarks. In 2020, Ždanoka, alongside her party members
Miroslavs Mitrofanovs and
Andrejs Mamikins, was included in the European Platform for Democratic Elections database of "biased observers" for backing disputed elections in
Russia and
Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. On 2 March 2022, she was one of 13 MEPs who voted against condemning the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. For this she was eventually forced to leave the
European Greens–European Free Alliance group. On 13 May, Ždanoka and six other people were detained in the at an unauthorized protest against the demolition of the
Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders. On 15 September 2022, she was one of 16 MEPs who voted against condemning
president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega for
human rights violations, in particular the arrest of Bishop
Rolando Álvarez. On 20 April 2024, Ždanoka was barred from representing the European Parliament at
conferences, foreign visits, and other events until the end of her current parliamentary term, as well as had her daily allowance for five days withheld for a total of EUR 1,750 for violating the European Parliament's code of conduct. She denied it being related to her cooperation with Russia, describing it as a "Parliament's punishment for the
declaration of financial interests being inconsistent". In 2024, a report from an investigative journalism website
The Insider accused Ždanoka of being a spy for Russia's
Federal Security Service (FSB) since at least 2004. On 6 June 2024,
Politico ranked Ždanoka as the "Russia-friendliest MEP" for having voted against 25 out of 26 resolutions critical of Russia between 2020 and 2024, abstaining only on the resolution condemning repression in Russia, in particular the cases of
Vladimir Kara-Murza and
Alexei Navalny. == Views ==