Portal:Latvia

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Latvia (/ˈlætviə/ ^ⓘ LAT-vee-ə, sometimes /ˈlɑːtviə/ LAHT-vee-ə; Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija] ^ⓘ), officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km² (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians, who are the titular nation and comprise 63.0% of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian as their native tongue.

After centuries of Teutonic, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian, and Russian rule, the independent Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 after breaking away from the German Empire in the aftermath of World War I. The country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 established the dictatorship of Kārlis Ulmanis. Latvia's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944, which formed the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years. As a result of extensive immigration during the Soviet occupation, ethnic Russians became the most prominent minority in the country. The peaceful Singing Revolution started in 1987 among the Baltic Soviet republics and ended with the restoration of both de facto and official independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia has since been a democratic unitary parliamentary republic.

Latvia is a developed country with a high-income, advanced economy ranking 39th in the Human Development Index. It is a member of the European Union, Eurozone, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the International Monetary Fund, the Nordic-Baltic Eight, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the World Trade Organization. (Full article...)

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Constitution of Latvia published in the government newspaper Valdības Vēstnesis on 30 June 1922.

The Constitution of Latvia (Latvian: Satversme, Livonian: Pūojpandõks) is the fundamental law of the Republic of Latvia. Satversme is the oldest Eastern or Central European constitution still in force and the sixth oldest still-functioning republican basic law in the world. It was adopted, as it states itself in the text, by the people of Latvia, as represented in the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia, on 15 February 1922 and came into force on 7 November 1922. It was heavily influenced by Germany's Weimar Constitution and the Swiss Federal Constitution. The constitution establishes the main bodies of government (Saeima, State President, Cabinet of Ministers, Courts, State Auditor); it consists of 116 articles arranged in eight chapters.

Although the initial text consisted of two parts, the second part - which regulated citizens' rights, freedoms and obligations - failed to pass by just a few votes; the chapter on fundamental human rights was added only by a constitutional amendment in 1998. (Full article...)

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The Great Ķemeri Moorland

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Belarus	Estonia	Lithuania	Russia	Sweden	Europe	European Union

Latvia Dates

1 December 1937 - Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga the sixth president of Latvia is born
22 December 1881 - Alberts Kviesis the third president of Latvia is born

Holidays and observances in Latvia

3 December - Commemoration Day of Victims of Genocide Against the Latvian People by the Totalitarian Communist Regime
24 - 26 December - Christmas
31 December - New Year’s Eve

General images

The following are images from various Latvia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Local counteroffensives, 1919–1920 (from History of Latvia)
Image 2Swedish Baltic possessions, with Polish Livonia (from History of Latvia)
Image 3British Navy ships in Liepāja port, December 1918 (from History of Latvia)
Image 4Latvian peasant couple working, 18–19th century (from History of Latvia)
Image 5Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in 1740 (from History of Latvia)
Image 6Soviet Latvia's 5 ruble note (from History of Latvia)
Image 7Nicholas gate of Daugavpils fortress (from History of Latvia)
Image 8Winnig's note of November 26, 1918 (from History of Latvia)
Image 9Comb pottery example from Estonia, 4000–2000 BC (from History of Latvia)
Image 10Church of Ikšķile, the first stone building in Latvia built by Saint Meinhard in 1185 (from History of Latvia)
Image 11Barricade in Riga to prevent the Soviet Army from reaching the Latvian Parliament, July 1991. (from History of Latvia)
Image 12Neolithic bone tools (from History of Latvia)
Image 13Divisions of Livonia, 1560–85 (from History of Latvia)
Image 14Flag of the Latvian SSR. (from History of Latvia)
Image 15Estimated territories under Jersika rule (from History of Latvia)
Image 16Soviet offensive, 1918–1919 (from History of Latvia)
Image 17Map of Riga and Reval Lieutenancies, 1783 (from History of Latvia)
Image 18Baltic tribes (purple) in 7–8th centuries (from History of Latvia)
Image 19Krišjānis Barons, 1910 (from History of Latvia)
Image 20All of Livonia was occupied by Sweden during the Second Northern War (from History of Latvia)
Image 21Maximum reach of Muscovite occupation, 1577 (from History of Latvia)
Image 22Hard times for the fatherland, sons, sons, help! A patriotic postcard, 1916. (from History of Latvia)
Image 23George W. Bush, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Arnold Rüütel, and Valdas Adamkus in Riga, May 7, 2005. (from History of Latvia)
Image 24According to the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact "the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy) (from History of Latvia)
Image 25Flag of the Republic of Latvia. (from History of Latvia)
Image 26Iskolat flag (from History of Latvia)
Image 27Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg (from History of Latvia)
Image 28Baltic Tribes, circa 1200 CE. (from History of Latvia)
Image 29Āraiši lake dwelling site dates back to the late Iron Age (from History of Latvia)
Image 30Baltic bronze necklace from the village of Aizkraukle, Latvia dating to 12th century AD now in the British Museum. (from History of Latvia)
Image 31Corded Ware culture area included Latvia (from History of Latvia)
Image 32Valka Town Hall, where December 2, 1917 Declaration of Autonomy was issued. Now Valga in Estonia. (from History of Latvia)
Image 33May 1, 1919 celebrations in Soviet Riga (from History of Latvia)
Image 34Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (from History of Latvia)
Image 35Medieval Livonia in 1260. (from History of Latvia)
Image 36Latvian Song Festival, 2008 (from History of Latvia)

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