Latvian, also known as Lettish, is an East Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. It belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family and it is spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 1.5 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and 100,000 abroad. Altogether, 2 million, or 80% of the population of Latvia, spoke Latvian in the 2000s, before the total number of inhabitants of Latvia slipped to 1.8 million in 2022. Of those, around 1.16 million or 62% of Latvia's population used it as their primary language at home, though excluding the Latgale and Riga regions it is spoken as a native language in villages and towns by over 90% of the population.
Sandra Kalniete is a Latvian politician, author, diplomat and independence movement leader. She served as Foreign Minister of Latvia 2002–2004 and as European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries in 2004. Since 2009, she has served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the European People's Party.
Tatjana Ždanoka is a Latvian politician and a Member of the European Parliament. She is co-chairwoman of the Latvian Russian Union and its predecessor parties since 1993. In 2024 she was accused of being a Russian intelligence agent since at least 2004.
Aleksandrs Čaks, was a Latvian poet and writer. Čaks is arguably the first Latvian writer whose works are distinctly urban, compared to the usual depictions of country life or small villages in earlier Latvian literature.
Lithuanian literature concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history.
Vizma Belševica was a Latvian poet, writer, and translator. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Latvian literature began to develop in the 18th century. Latvian secular literature began with Gotthard Friedrich Stender who produced didactic tales or idyllic portrayals of country life.
Andrejs Upīts was a Latvian teacher, poet and short story writer.
Vilis Lācis was a Latvian writer and communist politician.
Lāčplēsis Day is a memorial day for soldiers who fought for the independence of Latvia. It is celebrated on November 11th, marking the decisive victory by the Latvian Army over the joint Russian-German West Russian Volunteer Army led by the warlord Pavel Bermondt-Avalov at the 1919 Battle of Riga during the Latvian War of Independence, thus safeguarding the independence of the nascent nation. It initially was a day of honoring the 743 soldiers that fell in the battles around the Riga area.
Zenta Mauriņa was a Latvian writer, essayist, translator, and researcher in philology. She was married to the Electronic Voice Phenomena researcher Konstantin Raudive. She was nominated for the 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Māra Zālīte is a Latvian writer and cultural worker.
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.
The Social Democratic Party "Harmony", also commonly referred to as Harmony (Saskaņa), is a social-democratic political party in Latvia. It was the largest political party in the Saeima, representing the Russian minority of Latvia, before losing all of its parliamentary seats in the 2022 Latvian parliamentary election. It is currently led by Jānis Urbanovičs.
Jukka Rislakki is a Finnish journalist, non-fiction writer, and political cartoonist who has published a number of books, mostly on recent history of Finland, the Baltic states, and books on intelligence activities.
Kristina Sabaliauskaitė is an art historian, doctor honoris causa of Vilnius Academy of Arts and one of the most prominent contemporary Lithuanian writers. Born in Vilnius, she has been based in London since 2002. She worked as a foreign correspondent in London and columnist for Lithuania's biggest daily newspaper until 2010. She is best known for her opus magnum historical novel Silva Rerum and the international bestseller Peter's Empress.
Andra Neiburga was a Latvian writer and translator who was best known for her short stories.
Doom 94 is a semi-biographical novel by Latvian writer Jānis Joņevs about the generation living in Jelgava, Latvia in the 1990s that searches for their own identity and are fans of alternative culture. This is his debut novel. Since 2016, this book has been translated into 11 languages and a movie was released in September 2019.
Inga Gaile is a Latvian poet, novelist, and playwright.
Raimonds Tiguls is a Latvian ambient and electronic musician, composer, and producer.
