Latvia, 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.
This article provides an overview of the transport infrastructure of Latvia.
The Reichskommissariat Ostland was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initially referred to an equivalent Reichskommissariat Baltenland. The political organization for this territory – after an initial period of military administration before its establishment – involved a German civilian administration, nominally under the authority of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories led by Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg, but actually controlled by the Nazi official Hinrich Lohse, its appointed Reichskommissar.
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union between 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990.
RIX Riga Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 107 destinations as of September 2024. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines and RAF-Avia, and as one of the base airports for Ryanair. The Latvian national carrier airBaltic is the largest carrier that serves the airport, followed by Ryanair. The airport is located in the Mārupe Municipality west of Riga, approximately 10 km from its city centre.
Prāta Vētra, known internationally as Brainstorm, is a Latvian pop/rock band. The band became popular internationally in 2000 when they finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Star".
Vitālijs Astafjevs is a Latvian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an assistant manager of Cypriot club Aris Limassol having previously held the role for the Latvia national team.
Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires, often known simply as the Legionnaire Day or 16 March in Latvia, is a day when soldiers of the Latvian Legion, part of the Waffen-SS, are commemorated. From 1998 until 2000, it was officially recognized as a "Remembrance Day for Latvian soldiers" by the Saeima.
The rail transport system in Estonia consists of about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) of railway lines, of which 900 kilometres (560 mi) are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is mostly owned by the state and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority.
AS Pasažieru vilciens, operating as Vivi, is the sole passenger railway operator in Latvia, operating both electric and diesel trains on various lines throughout the country. Officially AS "Pasažieru vilciens" the company was founded in November 2001. It is fully owned by the Latvian state, with the Ministry of Transport acting as shareholder.
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in August 1939.
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.
Sarmīte Ēlerte is a Latvian politician who is a member of the Unity party. She was Minister of Culture of Latvia from 3 November 2010 until 25 October 2011.
This is a list of 2013 events that occurred in Europe.
The following lists events from the year 2013 in Russia.
On 21 November 2013 the roof of a Maxima shopping centre in the Zolitūde neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia, collapsed at 17:44 local time resulting in the deaths of 54 people, including three rescue workers, and injuries to another 41 people. An unknown number of people were able to leave the store on their own after the initial collapse. It was the worst disaster in Latvia since 1950, when the steamer Mayakovsky sank in Riga, killing 147 people. The disaster is often called Zolitūdes traģēdija by Latvian media outlets.
The Baltic Women's Basketball League (BWBL) is a top-level regional basketball league in Northern Europe. The league features women's teams from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Teams from Finland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Sweden have competed in the past seasons.
Lux Express, headquartered in Tallinn, operates intercity bus service in the Baltic states, Poland, Finland, and Russia.
Events in the year 2024 in Latvia.
