Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states; and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, 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 belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population.
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.
Latvia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform, between Estonia and Lithuania. About 98% of the country lies under 200 m (656 ft) elevation. With the exception of the coastal plains, the ice age divided Latvia into three main regions: the morainic Western and Eastern uplands and the Middle lowlands. Latvia holds over 12,000 rivers, only 17 of which are longer than 100 km (60 mi), and over 3,000 small lakes, most of which are eutrophic. The major rivers include the Daugava, the Lielupe, the Gauja, the Venta and the Salaca. Woodlands cover around 52% of the country. Other than peat, dolomite, and limestone, natural resources are scarce. Latvia has 504 km (313 mi) of sandy coastline, and the ports of Liepāja and Ventspils provide important warm-water harbors for the Baltic coast.
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 671,000 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. It is also the largest city in the three Baltic states and is home to one tenth of the three Baltic states' combined population. 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 (3.3–32.8 ft) above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain.
airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in Tallinn, Vilnius and Tampere.
The United Baltic Duchy, or alternatively the "Grand Duchy of Livonia", was the name proposed during World War I by leaders of the local Baltic German nobility for a new monarchical state which, however, never came into existence. The unsuccessful attempt to establish a new German client state on the territory of what is now Latvia and Estonia was made in 1918, during the German occupation of the former Courland, Livonian, and Estonian governorates of the Russian Empire which had ceased to exist after the Bolshevik coup in 1917. The unsuccessful proclamation of a pro-German duchy was first made in April 1918, after the Republic of Estonia had already formally declared full independence from the warring Russian and German Empires.
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Latvia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 5 August 1940 to 6 September 1991.
Riga Castle is a castle on the banks of River Daugava in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The castle was founded in 1330. Its structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Upon the castle's seizure by the Swedes, they constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The fortress was continually augmented and reconstructed between the 17th and 19th centuries. Sometime in the 1930s, some renovation work was done by architect Eižens Laube. The Latvian government declared the castle its residence in 1938. Today it is the official residence of the President of Latvia as well as home to several museums.
Bertolt Martin Flick is a German businessman, the former president and CEO of airBaltic airline.
The Art Academy of Latvia is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to the National Museum of Art.
Valērijs Kargins or Valery Mikhailovich Kargin is a Latvian economist and banker was the president of Parex Banka, from 1998 to 2008. In October of 2000, he and Viktor Krasovitsky had accumulated over 200 million lats together. He created the first travel agency and the first currency exchange corporation in the Soviet Union.
Rail Baltica is an ongoing greenfield railway infrastructure project to link Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with Poland and from there with the European standard gauge rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe, specifically the area in the Southeast of the Baltic sea. Furthermore, it is intended to be a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland). It consists of links via Riga (Latvia), Kaunas and Vilnius (Lithuania) whose total length in the Baltic States is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union. It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).
Olainfarm AS is a Latvian leading manufacturer in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector of the Baltic States.
The Baltic Coal Terminal is a special purpose company operating a specialized coal terminal in the Free port of Ventspils, Latvia.
Nils Ušakovs is a Latvian Russian politician, former mayor of Riga and former journalist. He has been 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 Riga Mayor of Russian descent since Latvia's restoration of sovereignty in 1991, a position he continuously held until his dismissal in 2019.
Ainārs Šlesers is a Latvian oligarch and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia, as well as Deputy Mayor of Riga.
The Island Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Daugava river in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The bridge was built in the period from 1975 to 1977. It was called the Moscow Bridge until 1991. The bridge provides access to Zaķusala and Lucavsala.
Uldis Augulis is a Latvian politician and a member of the Union of Greens and Farmers. He holds a bachelor's degree in financial management from the University of Latvia. He was the former Welfare Minister from 12 March 2009 to 3 November 2010, the Minister of Transport from 3 November 2010 to 25 October 2011 and the acting Minister of Justice from March to April 2010. Augulis was elected to the Saeima on October 2, 2011.
Andris Bērziņš is a Latvian businessman and politician who was President of Latvia from 2011 to 2015. Bērziņš was the President of Unibanka from 1993 to 2004. He was elected as President by the Saeima on 2 June 2011.
The agrarian reform law of 1920 in Latvia sought to transfer most of the land from Baltic German nobles to Latvian farmers. On September 16, 1920 Constitutional Assembly of Latvia passed the law of the Land reform, which would break up large landholdings and redistribute land to those peasants who worked it and to the newly created Latvian State Land Fund. Similar land reforms were carried out in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.
