Dievturība is a contemporary continuation of the ethnic religion of the Latvians from what it was before Christianization in the 13th century. Some scholars call it a neopagan movement, despite being systematized before 1940, and hence rendering the term "neopaganism" irrelevant. Adherents call themselves Dievturi, literally "Dievs' keepers", "people who live in harmony with Dievs". Dievturība is mainly rooted in Latvian folklore, folk songs and Latvian mythology.
Guntis Ulmanis is a Latvian politician and the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999.
The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the pro–German Baltische Landeswehr. The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic state of Estonia for independence in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in a victory for Estonia and was concluded in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (guberniya) and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estonian archipelago, including Hiiumaa and Vormsi. Previously, the Reval Governorate existed during Peter I's reign and was confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad, which ceded territory from Sweden to the newly established Russian Empire. The Estonia Governorate was established in 1796 when Paul I's reforms abolished the Reval Viceroyalty. The port city of Reval was the administrative centre where the governor had his seat.
The Estonian resistance movement was an underground movement to resist the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany, 1941–1944 during World War II. Due to the unusually benign measures implemented in Estonia by the German occupation authorities, especially in contrast to the preceding harsh Soviet occupation of Estonia (1940–1941), the movement was slower to develop effective tactics on a wide scale than in other occupied countries.
Birutė was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a cult worshiping her developed among Lithuanians, especially in Samogitia.
Vilnija is a Lithuanian cultural and political organization, created to promote and preserve Lithuanian culture in Vilnius region, the Lithuanian name after which the organization is named. The organization has been described as nationalist, extremist, and anti-Polish.
Jaan Puhvel is an Estonian comparative linguist and comparative mythologist who specializes in Indo-European studies.
The Estonian National Museum founded 1909 in Tartu is a museum devoted to folklorist Jakob Hurt's heritage, to Estonian ethnography and folk art. The first items for the museum were originally collected in the latter part of the 19th century.
Diena is a Latvian language national daily newspaper in Latvia, published since 23 November 1990. It is one of Latvia's largest daily periodicals and used to be considered as a paper of record.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,335 square kilometres (17,504 sq mi). Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas. The Estonian language is the official language and the first language of the majority of the population of 1.4 million.
The "double genocide theory" claims that two genocides of equal severity occurred during World War II: it alleges that the Soviet Union committed atrocities against Eastern Europeans that were equivalent in scale and nature to the Holocaust, in which approximately six million Jews were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany. The theory first gained popularity in Lithuania after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, particularly with regard to discussions about the Holocaust in Lithuania. A more extreme version of the theory is antisemitic and vindicates the actions of Nazi collaborators as retaliatory by accusing Jews of complicity in Soviet repression, especially in Lithuania, eastern Poland, and northern Romania. Scholars have criticized the double genocide theory as a form of Holocaust trivialization.
Terra Mariana was the formal name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See.
Ināra Mūrniece is a Latvian journalist, politician and a member of Saeima. She was Speaker of the Saeima from 2014 to 2022. In 2022, she was succeeded in that role by Edvards Smiltēns.
Ülo Nugis was an Estonian politician and economist. As Speaker of the Supreme Council of Estonia on 20 August 1991, he presided over the Supreme Council's historic session when it voted for the restoration of Estonia's national independence from the Soviet Union.
Andrejs Plakans was a Latvian-American historian. He was emeritus professor of history at Iowa State University.
Courland is one of the five multi-member constituencies of the Saeima, the national legislature of Latvia. The constituency was established in 1922 when the Saeima was established following Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union. It consists of the cities of Liepāja and Ventspils and municipalities of Kuldīga, Saldus, South Kurzeme, Talsi and Ventspils in the region of Courland. The constituency currently elects 12 of the 100 members of the Saeima using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2022 parliamentary election it had 180,070 registered electors.
Riga is one of the five multi-member constituencies of the Saeima, the national legislature of Latvia. The constituency was established in 1922 when the Saeima was established following Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union. It consists of the city of Riga and overseas voters. The constituency currently elects 36 of the 100 members of the Saeima using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2022 parliamentary election it had 565,297 registered electors.
Latvia and Sweden have bilateral relations dating back to at least 1776, when a Swedish consulate was established in Riga. Parts of Livonia fell under the Swedish Empire from 1621 to 1709, including the dominion of Swedish Livonia. The two resumed diplomatic relations on 28 August 1991, following Latvia's restoration of independence amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Latvia has an embassy in Stockholm while Sweden has an embassy in Riga. Both countries border the Baltic Sea and are members of the European Union, the Nordic-Baltic Eight, the Council of Europe and NATO, among other organisations.
The Estonian Mathematical Society is a mathematical society founded in Estonia in February 1926. The EMS is based in Tartu, and is a founding member of the European Mathematical Society. It is recognised by the International Mathematical Union.
