Andrei Vypolzov, who writes for Russia's Regnum online news agency, came third in the category of print and online media in a competition last year to celebrate the EU's 50th anniversary, the Russian-language paper said.
He first applied for a visa at the Latvian consulate in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, but had his documents returned to him due to 'mistakes' in his application form. His second application resulted in a refusal.
The European Commission had paid for Vypolzov's return flight to the Latvian capital, and a three-day stay at a hotel, the paper reported.
Another Russian reporter, Dmitry Yermolayev, editor in chief of Rossiiskiye Vesti, was also recently denied a Latvian visa. His visa was annulled by Latvian authorities soon after he had collected it.
The Latvian Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the story.