"First to write the word war": how independent outlet Chaika survives in Daugavpils

In Daugavpils, Latvia's second-largest city near the Russian and Belarusian borders, most media outlets have historically been tied to political or business interests. The independent publication Chaika has chosen a different path, asking uncomfortable questions and paying a price for it. Editor-in-chief Inna Plavoka spoke to Rus.Postimees about surviving as an independent voice in a border city.

In Daugavpils, Latvia's predominantly Russian-speaking border city close to Russia and Belarus, independent journalism has never been easy. Most local media channels have historically maintained close ties to politicians or business interests, making truly independent reporting a rarity. The outlet Chaika has built its identity around being the exception.

A newsroom that plays by different rules

Chaika's editor-in-chief Inna Plavoka says the publication made a deliberate choice to operate by different standards from the beginning. The outlet became notable for being among the first local media to use the word "war" to describe Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a decision that was far from automatic in a city where Russian cultural and media influence remains strong.

That editorial courage has come at a cost. Plavoka describes a paradox familiar to independent journalists in politically sensitive communities: readers simultaneously love and resent the outlet. Chaika asks the questions that local power structures would prefer to leave unasked, and not everyone is grateful for it.

Daugavpils is changing

According to Plavoka, the city itself has been transforming over the years. Daugavpils, long seen as culturally distant from the Latvian mainstream, has been gradually shifting, particularly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated conversations about identity, loyalty, and what it means to live in a NATO country while consuming Russian-language media.

The newsroom operates under constant pressure, financial, political, and social. Sustaining independent journalism in a border city where uncomfortable questions are unwelcome requires not only editorial conviction but also a business model that keeps the publication free from the influence of those it covers.

Plavoka's account is a reminder that the information space in Latvia's Russian-speaking communities remains contested ground, and that outlets like Chaika play a role that extends well beyond local news, touching on the broader battle for media independence across the Baltic region.