OREANDA-NEWS. State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov proposed to call Latvia the Latvian SSR and prohibit the import of sprat from there. He shared his opinion with Sport24 after the incident with the Russian flag at the World Hockey Championship.

The parliamentarian said in this regard: "Then we can change the Latvian flag at the embassy in Moscow to the flag of the Latvian SSR, since they behave this way. If they show off, it will be necessary to break off relations with them."

Deputy Milonov urged to show everyone that Russophobia will not pass, and "big brothers", in particular Poland, will not help. "Otherwise, we will not import a single sprat," he concluded, calling on the country to be called the Latvian SSR until "the flag is removed."

On the eve of the Riga authorities removed the Russian tricolor, hung on the square in the city center, along with the flags of other countries participating in the World Ice Hockey Championship, and replaced it with the symbols of the Russian Olympic Committee. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the manipulation of the flag an attempt by Latvia to gain a foothold among the states unfriendly to Russia. According to her, references to the decision of international sports structures that banned Russian athletes from competing under the national flag are frankly pitiful: these restrictions apply only to places where sports events are held.