Baltic countries run out of resources in combating the threat of hybrid war and Russian media. Latvia discovered illegal television in 100 thousand. Houses, but it is not possible to prohibit them from using. And Lithuania adopted amendments to reduce non-European programs, but can not apply them. Sergei lives in Riga and watches Russian television, which he receives via a satellite dish. To do this, he bought all the necessary "iron", paying for it a few hundred euros. After that, the question arose: who and how much to pay to get access to the most interesting channels. For Sergei, it is, first and foremost, channels that broadcast in Russian. The maximum number of these channels can provide Russian satellite operators. In addition, their services are much cheaper than those of Latvian competitors: in Russia for 50 euros per year, you can get two hundred channels, and in Latvia for 30 euros a month - slightly more than forty. Sergey asked friends to bring a card "Tricolor" from Moscow. In Latvia, such cards (as well as cards of other operators) operate in the same way as in Russia. You can replenish them through the Internet - regardless of where the client is located. As a result, Sergei is quite happy. But the Latvian authorities - no. There are more than 100,000 people like him in the country, and they all watch television illegally. Sergei himself does not understand what he has violated, and to refuse his "plate" is not going to. "The card was bought legally, it replenishes legally. What did I do? "- he wonders. According to the head of the public organization "For Legal Maintenance" Dace Kotzeva, to punish consumers - such as Sergei - is impossible. However, the distribution of services of Russian satellite operators in Latvia illegally. "Tricolor" (and other Russian satellite companies) is legal on the territory of Russia, they are buying copyrights [for broadcasting] to Russia. The Baltic (they) have no such rights, "she explained to the BBC. Theoretically, local laws are not violated, and complaining in such a situation could be unless the Russian channels, because they do not receive part of the profits. But, according to the deputy of the Seim of Latvia Boris Tsilevich, it is unlikely that the Russians will go for this: since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, on the contrary, they started to share their content for free. "If before with a card a person could watch five open channels, now it's fifty," says Tsilevich. The Latvian police can only catch those who mediate between, for example, the Russian "Tricolor" and end-users in Latvia - if such intermediaries are generally available. "Those who sell are hiding under the signboards of equipment stores. Under the table they give you a card, "says Dace Kotzeva. Here they can be punished. And their customers - no. The other day, the Latvian police reported: in connection with the illegal distribution of television content with regard to intermediaries, seven criminal cases were opened this year. The head of state police of Latvia Интс Кюзис has told to journalists, what is it especially important when in the country the threat of hybrid war. The same hybrid threat is feared by the authorities of Latvia and local special services. And if legal channels can still be monitored and blocked in case of incorrect lighting (this happens regularly), then with illegal television it is impossible. However, the temporary blockage, according to the head of the National Council for Electronic Media Dace Kezber, has its negative sides. "What do we get from this?" Dissatisfied viewers who are looking for ways to receive illegal broadcasting. Because legally they do not know when the operator will shut down and when it will rebroad, "she told the BBC. Neighboring Lithuania tried to solve this problem in its own way. The Lithuanian Parliament recently adopted amendments that in theory should reduce the volume of not only Russian but also Russian-language broadcasting in general. According to TNS, the three most popular Russian channels cover 5% of the audience in Lithuania. However, according to the calculations of the Lithuanian Radio and TV Commission, on some Lithuanian channels, the volume of non-European (usually Russian) programs reaches 38%. According to the amendments, the volume of programs produced outside the European Union in each telepacket (for example, cable) should be reduced to 10%. All the rest must fall into one of three categories: sound in one of the official languages ??of the EU, be provided with subtitles in one of the official languages ??of the EU or be produced in the EU country. If everything went further according to the plans of the politicians, the Lithuanian TV channels would either have to abandon many Russian TV programs or translate them into Lithuanian - in any case, this would be fraught with additional costs. The author of the initiative, MP Laurinas Kashchunas, does not see a problem here: the more the Lithuanian language is on local TV, the more integration will take place in Europe - for this, amendments are needed. "We are integrating in energy and transport, we need to integrate including television," he says.. - I, for example, have [the channel] Discovery - not in the official language of the EU. After the amendments, the channel must be either in English or with subtitles ". However, as Deputy Chairman of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission Mantas Martisus told, in practice, the amendments will not work. "Russian channels that have European jurisdiction (that is, a license issued in the EU) automatically fall into these 90% and will be considered European (that is, produced in the EU). In fact, nothing changes, the amendment states that it was already, "he says..