- Latvia declared Alex Ovechkin persona non grata and barred him from entering the country indefinitely
- The decision follows his appearance in a United Russia campaign ad alongside foreign minister Sergei Lavrov
- Read below for the official announcement, Ovechkin’s response at Capitals camp and his history in Riga
Alex Ovechkin is not welcome in Latvia.
Latvian foreign minister Baiba Braze declared the Capitals captain persona non grata on Thursday and prohibited his entry into the country for an indefinite period. The ministry’s release cited Section 104, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 of Latvia’s Immigration Law. Russian boxing executive Umar Kremlev landed on the same list.
Here is the announcement from the ministry’s account:
Ovechkin’s appearance in a campaign ad for United Russia, Vladimir Putin’s party, is what put him there. He stood behind Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in the spot, and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov took part in the same campaign.
He opened his media availability at Capitals camp Thursday by addressing the ad, before a single question about his 41st birthday or his 22nd season.
“The thing about the video, I’m Russian,” Ovechkin said. “I’m for peace and love, and I hope everything is going to be okay.”
Catch his full session from Arlington:
Riga carries plenty of Ovechkin history, which makes this one land a little differently. He played the 2006 World Championship there, opening with a hat trick against Kazakhstan and finishing on the tournament all-star team with six goals and three assists.
Four years later he came back as a tourist, spending five days in Riga and Jurmala. He also picked up an assist in the city in 2012 while skating for Dynamo Moscow during the NHL lockout.
The Baltic country has leaned on its persona non grata list since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, adding hundreds of Russian public figures. Conductor Valery Gergiev, filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov, singer SHAMAN and ballet dancer Sergei Polunin are all on it.
Ukraine put its own sanctions on Ovechkin in October 2022, and those run through October 2027.
Washington opens the season with its captain sitting on 929 career goals, 11 back of Wayne Gretzky’s combined regular-season and playoff record.
