The history of Latvia began around 9000 BC with the end of the last glacial period in northern Europe. Ancient Baltic peoples arrived in the area during the second millennium BC,and four distinct tribal realms in Latvia's territory were identifiable towards the end of the first millennium AD. Latvia's principal river Daugava,was at the head of an important trade route from the Baltic region through Russia into southern Europe and the Middle East that was used by the Vikings and later Nordic and German traders.
Riga is the capital,the primate,and the largest city of Latvia. Home to 605,273 inhabitants,the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area,which stretches beyond the city limits,is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990.
Sergey Fyodorovich Akhromeyev was a Soviet military figure,Hero of the Soviet Union (1982) and Marshal of the Soviet Union (1983).
Riga City Council is the government of the city of Riga,the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall at the Town Hall Square (Rātslaukums) in the very heart of Riga.
Semyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin was a Soviet military commander and a Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The Latvian War of Independence,sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles or the Latvian War of Liberation,was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918,after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia,and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.
Augusts Kirhenšteins, formerly spelt Kirchenšteins,was a Latvian and Soviet microbiologist,politician and educator. He was the de facto prime minister of Latvia from 20 June 1940 to 25 August 1940 and Acting de facto President of Latvia from 21 July 1940 to 25 August 1940. It was Kirhenšteins' Soviet puppet government that requested the incorporation of Latvia into the Soviet Union after the occupation of the country in 1940. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1941. He was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940–1952.
Petras Kubiliūnas was a Lithuanian lieutenant general and Chief of the Lithuanian General Staff in 1929–1934.
Kārlis Goppers was a Russian and Latvian military officer,veteran of World War I and the Russian Civil War and the founder and President of Latvijas Skautu un Gaidu CentrālāOrganizācija.
The Barricades were a series of confrontations between the Republic of Latvia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in January 1991 which took place mainly in Riga. The events are named for the popular effort of building and protecting barricades from 13 January until about 27 January. Latvia,which had declared restoration of independence from the Soviet Union a year earlier,anticipated that the Soviet Union might attempt to regain control over the country by force.
The president of Latvia is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia.
Nils Ušakovs is a Latvian politician,former mayor of Riga and former journalist. He was the board chairman of the left-wing party alliance Harmony Centre (2005–2014) and afterwards board chairman of the Social Democratic Party "Harmony" (2014–2019). In 2009 Ušakovs 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.
Kārlis Lobe was a Latvian officer in the Imperial Russian Army,Latvian Army and the Latvian Legion,recipient of the Order of the Three Stars.
The M. V. Frunze Military Academy,or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution,Red Banner,Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze,was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces.
Yuri Petrovich Gaven,born Jānis Daumanis,was a Latvian revolutionary and Soviet politician and Chekist. He was a key figure in the defeat of the Crimean People's Republic and the establishment of the short-lived Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic and an active participant in the Red Terror in Crimea. Executed during the Stalinist purges in 1936,he was rehabilitated in 1958.
Oļegs Burovs is a Latvian politician who was the mayor of Riga from August 2019 to February 2020. He is a member of the Honor to serve Riga party and was a member of the Riga City Council.
The Riga Higher Military Political School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergey Biryuzov was a military academy in the Soviet Union located in the capital of the Latvian SSR,the city of Riga. In the years it existed,it trained military personnel in a number of specializations from its headquarters on Ezermalas Street.
The 2020 Riga City Council election was held from 26 to 29 August 2020 to elect the 60 members of Riga City Council. The election was initially scheduled for 25 April 2020,and then rescheduled three times –once due to a court ruling and twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia,to 2 May,6 June,and 29 August. The council will be elected for nearly five years instead of the standard four,and the next election is scheduled to take place in 2025,at the same time as all other municipal elections in Latvia.
Józef Urbanowicz was a Soviet and Polish general and political figure. Urbanowicz served as the head of the Main Political Directorate of the Polish Army in (1965–1971) and Vice Minister of Defense of the Polish People's Republic (1968–1984).
