Russian Authorities Target Latvian Co-Owners Stake in Bakery Amid Extremism Allegations

Russian prosecutors are aiming to classify the bread manufacturer Rizhsky Khleb as «extremist» and seize a 50% stake in the firm, claiming that its Latvian co-owner funded Ukraine’s military efforts, as reported by the Kommersant newspaper on Tuesday, citing knowledgeable sources.

Rizhsky Khleb, located in the Ivanovo region of central Russia, was established in 2006 by Latvian entrepreneur Normunds Bomis and Russian businessman Sergei Sirenko.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bomis reportedly encouraged Sirenko to cease the company’s activities in Russia. Sirenko countered with a proposal to buy Bomis’ share, but the two could not reach an agreement, according to Kommersant.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia asserts that Bomis breached anti-extremism regulations by contributing to Ziedot.lv, a Latvian charity alleged to have funded the Ukrainian military’s Azov Brigade, which was labeled a terrorist organization by Russia in 2022.

Authorities contend that Bomis transferred approximately $36,800 to the charity from 2023 to 2025, asserting that these funds were allocated for the purchase of weapons and ammunition.

The validity of these assertions could not be immediately confirmed.

Prosecutors contend that Bomis’ 50% interest in Rizhsky Khleb constitutes a “financial foundation” for what they characterize as an “extremist group” and are pursuing the nationalization of his stake, along with a ban on related entities from Latvia and Ukraine.

A court in the Ivanovo region is scheduled to review the case, although a specific hearing date has yet to be announced, according to Kommersant.

Last year, Rizhsky Khleb reported revenues of 1.5 billion rubles (approximately $19.1 million) and a gross profit of 630 million rubles (about $8 million). The company employs around 250 individuals.

Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government has seized an estimated $50 billion in private assets, roughly equivalent to its annual budget deficit or about one-third of its yearly military expenditures.