Nils Uà ¡akovs (; born 8 June 1976) is a Latvian politician, former mayor of Riga and former journalist. He was the board chairman of the left-wing party alliance Harmony Centre (2005âÂÂ2014) and afterwards board chairman of the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" (2014âÂÂ2019). In 2009 Uà ¡akovs was elected the Mayor of Riga, becoming the first ethnic Russian Riga Mayor since Latvia's restoration of sovereignty in 1991, a position he continuously held until his dismissal in 2019.
Uà ¡akovs was born in Riga into the family of an engineer and an amateur jazz musician ValÃÂrijs Uà ¡akovs and literature and Russian language teacher Ludmila Uà ¡akova. During his childhood, Uà ¡akovs considered a military career, perhaps influenced by his family's history: both of his grandparents were army officers who fought in World War II, and many of his ancestors were involved in the Russian Civil War. Uà ¡akovs graduated from the University of Latvia in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He became a naturalized citizen of Latvia the same year. He then lived and studied in Denmark, where he received a candidatus oeconomices degree with specialization in European integration issues from the University of Southern Denmark in 2002. Aside from his native Russian, Uà ¡akovs is fluent in English and Latvian, with basic knowledge of Swedish, Danish and German.
From 1998 to 2005, Uà ¡akovs had occupied various positions within Russian and Latvian-language media, including NTV (1998âÂÂ1999), Latvijas Televëzija (1999âÂÂ2000), TV5 (2001âÂÂ2004) and the Channel One Baltic (2004âÂÂ2005), where he worked as a news editor. In 2004, Uà ¡akovs, for his contribution to journalism, was conferred the Cicero Award, established by the University of Latvia and the Latvian Association of Journalists.
In 2005, Uà ¡akovs' friend JÃÂnis UrbanoviÃÂs made an invitation to join the National Harmony Party, which Uà ¡akovs accepted. The party soon entered the Harmony Centre alliance, with Uà ¡akovs elected its leader. He became a Saeima member after the 2006 Latvian parliamentary election, his alliance winning 17 seats (the third-best result). The alliance positioned itself as the only political force in the country promoting cooperation between the ethnic Latvians and Russians. Uà ¡akovs has argued that this is the only way to achieve fuller integration of the Russian-speaking population, as opposed to political parties catering to the interests of only one ethnicity.
Uà ¡akovs has held the post of Riga Mayor continuously from 2009 till 2019 and his represented Harmony Centre has received the most votes in the past three municipal elections in Riga (2009, 2013 and 2017).
The Harmony Centre was the winner of the 6 June 2009, local election in Riga, securing 26 out of 60 seats. It entered a coalition with AinÃÂrs à  lesers' LPP/LC party, which won 12 seats. Uà ¡akovs and à  lesers were nominated for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor respectively, a move approved by the new city council on 1 July.
Uà ¡akovs' inauguration was marred by a small controversy: the previous mayor, JÃÂnis Birks of the right-wing, national conservative For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK party, which failed to win any seats, did not participate in the traditional ceremony of passing the chain of office to the new mayor. Birks' press secretary claimed that it was not due to an ideological conflict or a grudge, but because Birks was away from the city on that day.
Uà ¡akovs saw strengthening of ties with Russia, particularly in the realms of freight transit through the Riga free port and tourism, as a solution to Riga's economic troubles, as Latvia was significantly affected by the 2008 financial crisis. During his campaign for the Riga's City Council, Uà ¡akovs also argued for more emphasis on education of Latvia's population and protection of vital local industries. On 23 November 2010 Uà ¡akovs was elected in the Freeport of Riga Board.
On 5 January 2010 members from the Riga City Council opposition initiated an unsuccessful vote of no confidence against Uà ¡akovs, criticizing him of "undemocratic governance, work in the interest of private lobbies, poor management skills and squandering money".
According to data from research centre SKDS, Uà ¡akovs' popularity among Rigans had grown steadily, from 53.1% of Rigans approving of Uà ¡akovs' performance in August 2009 to 73% of the city's residents approving of him in December 2010, the highest recorded approval among Riga Mayors since March 1997, when the sociological studies were launched. In a 2010 survey by newspaper NeatkarëgàUà ¡akovs was voted the best Mayor of Riga by 43% respondents.
In 2011 Uà ¡akovs signed a petition for Russian as a second official language in Latvia, despite the fact that both Harmony and Uà ¡akovs had previously stated that they do not support it. He released a statement saying that he had been angered by National Alliance voting against the allocation of funds for such a referendum and went on to argue that it is not a move against the Latvian language, but in the name of dignity. After that other deputies, local government representatives and public officials from Harmony Centre began to sign it as well, including MP Nikolajs Kabanovs.
After the Zolità «de shopping centre roof collapse in 2013 Uà ¡akovs announced on November that he, unlike Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, will not be resigning as he believed he could best serve the interests of his voters by remaining in office. Uà ¡akovs called the resignation of Dombrovskis "a cynical attempt to kill two birds with one stone" and criticized him of avoiding solving current problems. In December 2013 Uà ¡akovs was asked by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development to provide explanations for "ineffective construction control in the capital".
On 3 December 2013, two demonstrations were organized in the Latvian Riflemen Square near the City Council to both express support and criticism of Uà ¡akovs for not resigning in the Zolità «de shopping centre roof collapse aftermath. They were attended by several hundred people, many of the supporters being Rëgas Satiksme employees who were allowed to take a day off to participate in the demonstration. Asked for comment Uà ¡akovs responded by asking to point a single person brought to the demonstration by force. An investigation was launched by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau on the alleged misappropriation of taxpayersâ money and use of said money to finance the public demonstration in support of Uà ¡akovs.
In August 2014 Uà ¡akovs criticized the sanctions imposed against Russia for its aggression against Ukraine as a "nightmarish idea" and warned that Latvia would suffer the most from Russian counter sanctions, adding that he would "go and plead for them to keep our stands open so that, when this war is over, thereâÂÂs a place to return to". A month later Uà ¡akovs went on an official visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian Prime Minister and former President Dmitry Medvedev, head of the Russian Orthodox church Patriarch Kirill and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin to discuss current developments in economic relations, cultural promotion and other issues.
A few days later Uà ¡akovs went on an official party visit to Washington DC, where he met with State Department officials to discuss political situation of the Russian-speaking minority and its integration, rights of national and ethnic language minorities, NATO financing and the response of U.S. to the Russo-Ukrainian War.
On 20 February 2015, during another visit in Moscow Uà ¡akovs received the International Public Orthodox Peoples Unity Award for "strengthening Christian principles within society" from Patriarch Kirill, as well as 10,000 US dollars that Uà ¡akovs donated towards the renovation of St. Nicholas Orthodox chapel in Spë÷eri, Riga.
In 2015 the Parliamentary investigative commission issued a final report, declaring that Uà ¡akovs was one of the 7 people politically and morally responsible for the Zolità «de shopping centre roof collapse, in Uà ¡akovsâ case the reason being that "Riga City Council's construction supervision system was inefficient and fragmented, while the procedure of certification of construction experts did not contribute to the development of safe construction practices".
In 2017 Uà ¡akovs was elected for the third term as mayor of Riga.
In December 2018 Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau carried out more than 30 searches in the offices of Rëgas Satiksme and the Rëga City Council and detained 8 people in Latvia and Poland in relation to a corruption probe over rigged multi-million tenders from 2013 to 2016, prompting the resignation of Rëgas Satiksme board and Riga City Council deputy mayor Andris Ameriks. The President of Latvia Raimonds VÃÂjonis, Prime Minister MÃÂris KuÃÂinskis, former Minister of Regional Development Kaspars Gerhards and current Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Juris Pà «ce all called for Uà ¡akovs to resign as well.
On 13 December Uà ¡akovs called an extraordinary city council meeting to ask for a mandate of confidence, receiving support from 32 of 60 municipal councilors, while the opposition councilors walked out of the meeting.
On 30 January 2019 the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau searched Uà ¡akovs' office and residence in relation to an ongoing criminal probe. The next day Harmony released a statement fully supporting Uà ¡akovs and called the actions "a politically motivated attempt by a single party to change the outcome of the election".
On 9 February 2019, Harmony organized a demonstration outside the Riga Town Hall attended by around 3,000 people, many of whom expressed support for Uà ¡akovs. Two days before the protest the State Police launched a criminal case for inciting ethnic hatred over posters appearing both on social media and on the streets showing Nazi officers taking away Uà ¡akovs dressed like a concentration camp inmate with a notice saying "Because heâÂÂs Russian" in Latvian (TÃÂpÃÂc, ka krievs). Harmony said the posters have not been circulated by them and called police to investigate the source and goals of the posters.
On 28 February Pà «ce demanded Uà ¡akovs to provide a detailed overview for the state of Rëgas Satiksmes' financial affairs and planned steps to stabilize the situation in the company after the interim chairperson of Rëgas Satiksme Anrijs Matëss announced the same day that the company would need 37 million euros in March to avoid insolvency. On 5 March Matëss resigned, citing lack of support from Uà ¡akovs for changes in the company.
On 5 April 2019, Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia Juris Pà «ce suspended Uà ¡akovs from his position of mayor, citing at least eight legal and regulatory violations. Uà ¡akovs called the action "absolutely illegal" and "heavily politicized" and promised to fight it in court. Upon his removal, Uà ¡akovs signed an order for recently selected vice-mayor Oüegs Burovs to assume the duties of mayor.
On 17 May 2019 Uà ¡akovs' plea against Riga City Council deputy Vilnis öirsis for indirectly referring to Uà ¡akovs and Ameriks as "the face of corruption" was rejected by the Riga City Vidzeme Suburb Court and Uà ¡akovs was ordered to pay 1,000 euros to öirsis to cover litigation costs.
After being elected into the European Parliament, Uà ¡akovs submitted his resignation on 29 May 2019, but vowed to continue fighting against his dismissal in court. On 8 April 2020 his appeal was rejected by the Administrative District Court who concluded that the dismissal was necessary, reasonable and proportional to the uncovered violations.
On 25 February Latvian Television reported of unofficial information that Uà ¡akovs and Ameriks will run in the upcoming European Parliament elections for the first time ever, replacing the previously announced Harmony lead candidate VjaÃÂeslavs Dombrovskis, despite Uà ¡akovs previously stating he has no intention of running for the European Parliament. The next day Uà ¡akovs and Ameriks confirmed their run for the European Parliament and Uà ¡akovs denied speculation that the reason for changing his mind was the ongoing corruption investigation into Rëgas Satiksme. The campaign was successful and Uà ¡akovs and Ameriks were both elected to the European Parliament. He has since been serving on the Committee on Budgets. In addition to his committee assignments, he is part of the Parliament's delegations for relations with the United States and to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.
He is currently one of two Latvian MEPs who, along with Ivars Ijabs, are members of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.
On Sunday 22 May 2011 Uà ¡akovs collapsed after consuming an energy drink while taking part in the Riga Marathon half marathon event. He was immediately placed in intensive care at Pauls Stradià Âà ¡ Clinical University Hospital with signs of severe hyperthermia. Uà ¡akovs was placed in an induced coma state. On 24 May he was transported to Berlin for further treatment at the Charité Hospital. The Latvian medical authorities had previously declared his condition "serious but stable."
On 30 May doctors awoke him from an induced coma state. He fully recovered in the following weeks and resumed his duties on 12 July. More than 213 000 lats were donated for Uà ¡akovs, of which 48 053 lats were used to cover the treatment expenses, while the rest was directed to charity for children treatment abroad.
On 17 November 2011, founder and editor of the Russian-language news website Kompromat Leonëds JÃÂkobsons began publishing e-mail correspondence from 2008 to 2009 between Uà ¡akovs and advisor of the Russian embassy in Riga Alexander Hapilov, an alleged Russian intelligence agent, concerning funding of 2009 Latvian municipal elections. Uà ¡akovs filed a complaint against JÃÂkabsons and on 23 November 2011, a criminal process was launched against JÃÂkabsons for "violation of confidentiality of correspondence and information transmitted over telecommunications networks". In December 2011, the State Police arrested JÃÂkobsons and searched his apartment, confiscating multiple data storage devices and two computers. The arrest was strongly condemned by Reporters Without Borders. On 29 May 2011 JÃÂkabsons was beaten, burned and slashed in the face with a sharp object by two unidentified attackers, who JÃÂkabsons believed were linked to his recent publications about Uà ¡akovs. After the incident, Uà ¡akovs voiced his support for JÃÂkobsons on Twitter, ending with "I have an alibi :)". The phrase was publicly condemned as cynical. In 2016 JÃÂkobsons was cleared of all charges, in regard to publication of Uà ¡akovs' correspondence.
In September 2014 Uà ¡akovs sparked controversy in an interview with the Russian television channel Dozhd, where he said, "For us at the moment, President Vladimir Putin is the best one we could have because, if he wasn't there, then power would not go to Navalny", adding that "The presidents that could be in his place would not bring stability to the neighborhood".
Two weeks before the 2017 Latvian municipal elections on 3 June a documentary titled PÃÂrgÃÂjiens (Walkabout) on Uà ¡akovs' road to becoming the Riga Mayor premiered at the Splendid Palace cinema. Producer and sports organizer Raimonds Elbakjans claimed the film was not a political advertisement but a genuine inspirational "documentary"; however, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau later found that "Harmony" had partially financed it (i.e. the film making, broadcasting and pre-release) and classified it as a "pre-election campaigning", fining "Harmony" for 250 euros.
In March 2018 The Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism ' published an investigation claiming that over a period of three years Uà ¡akovs "has spent more than 8 million euros of taxpayer money on promoting himself" and the "money has been spent buying up airtime, employing people in youth organizations connected to the ruling party, and promoting mayor on social networks." The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau concluded that there are no violations, pointing out that "the published articles didnâÂÂt indicate that Uà ¡akovs was a candidate and there was no evidence that these posts had been paid for by the city". Uà ¡akovs called the research biased and unsuccessfully filed a criminal suit for defamation against Re:Baltica. Uà ¡akovs appealed the decision, but his appeal was also rejected.