Latvia / Latvija / Λετονια / Латвия / Letonia / Lettonie Lettland
|
Latvia / Latvija / Letonia / Lettland
ˈlætviə/ Latvian: Latvija), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika) is a country in the Baltic regionof Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), and to the southeast by Belarus (141 km). Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden. The territory of Latvia covers 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi) and it has a temperate seasonal climate.
The Latvians are Baltic people culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian, but not with the Estonian language (a Finno-Ugric language). Today the Latvian and Lithuanian languages are the only surviving members of the Baltic languages of the Indo-European family. The modern name of Latvia is thought to originate from the ancient Latvian name Latvji, which, like the name of Lithuania, may have originated from the river named Latuva.
Latvia is a unitary parliamentary republic and is divided into 118 municipalities (109 counties and 9 cities). The capital and largest city is Riga. With a population of 2.24 million Latvia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union, and its population has declined since 1991. Latvia has been a member of the United Nations since September 17, 1991; of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and of the NATO since March 29, 2004.
Latvia regained independence in 1991. Following years of economic stagnation in the early 1990s, Latvia posted Europe-leading GDP growth figures during the 1998–2006 time period. In the global financial crisis of 2008–2010 Latvia was the hardest hit of the European Union member states, with a GDP decline of 26.54% in that period. Per Capita its GDP is only 57.3% of the EU average, making it one of the poorest member-states. In 2009, Latvia underwent a tempestuous change of government, and as a result, the country is facing renewed political instability.
The Latvians are Baltic people culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian, but not with the Estonian language (a Finno-Ugric language). Today the Latvian and Lithuanian languages are the only surviving members of the Baltic languages of the Indo-European family. The modern name of Latvia is thought to originate from the ancient Latvian name Latvji, which, like the name of Lithuania, may have originated from the river named Latuva.
Latvia is a unitary parliamentary republic and is divided into 118 municipalities (109 counties and 9 cities). The capital and largest city is Riga. With a population of 2.24 million Latvia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union, and its population has declined since 1991. Latvia has been a member of the United Nations since September 17, 1991; of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and of the NATO since March 29, 2004.
Latvia regained independence in 1991. Following years of economic stagnation in the early 1990s, Latvia posted Europe-leading GDP growth figures during the 1998–2006 time period. In the global financial crisis of 2008–2010 Latvia was the hardest hit of the European Union member states, with a GDP decline of 26.54% in that period. Per Capita its GDP is only 57.3% of the EU average, making it one of the poorest member-states. In 2009, Latvia underwent a tempestuous change of government, and as a result, the country is facing renewed political instability.
History
The territory of Latvia has been populated since 9000 BC, after the Ice age glaciers retreated. Around the beginning of the third millennium BC (3000 BC) the proto-Baltic ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals. By 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia: Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians (in Latvian: kurši, latgaļi, sēļi and zemgaļi), as well as the Livonians(lībieši) speaking a Finno-Ugric language.
The Medieval period Although the local people had had contact with the outside world for centuries, they were more fully integrated into European society in the 12th century. The first missionaries, sent by the Pope, sailed up the Daugava River river in the late 12th century, seeking converts. The local people, however, did not convert to Christianity as readily as hoped. German crusaders were sent into Latvia to convert the pagan population by force of arms.
At the beginning of the 13th century large parts of today's Latvia were conquered by Germans. Together with Southern Estonia these conquered areas formed the country which became known as Terra Mariana or Livonia. In 1282 Riga, and later the cities of Cēsis, Limbaži, Koknese and Valmiera, were included in the Hanseatic League. From this time, Riga became an important point of east-west trading. Riga, the centre of the eastern Baltic region, formed close cultural contacts with Western Europe
Latvia in the Russian Empire
Latvia in the Russian EmpireThe Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 and the Treaty of Nystad, ending the Great Northern War in 1721, gave Vidzeme to Russia (it became part of the Riga Governorate). The Latgale region remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as Inflanty Voivodeship until 1772, when it was incorporated to Russia. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia became an autonomous Russian province (the Courland Governorate) in 1795, bringing all of what is now Latvia into the Russian Empire. All three Baltic provinces preserved local laws, the local official language and their own parliament, the Landtag.
During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the Baltic area was once again the scene of great devastation, with Peter's scorched-earth policy, famine, and plague being responsible for the catastrophic loss of human life: as much as 40% of the population in Latvian lands were killed. In 1710, the plague reached Riga, where it was active until 1711 and claimed the lives of about half the population.
The promises Peter the Great made to the Baltic German nobility at the fall of Riga in 1710, confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad and known as "the Capitulations", largely reversed the Swedish reforms. The 18th century was one of the hardest for the peasantry, who were virtually treated as chattels and had no rights or education. Peasants were obliged to work on feudal lords' lands as many as six days per week, leaving one day to look after their own farms. As a solution to their problems, many of the peasants turned to alcohol, which the local barons willingly provided, hoping to addict and exploit the peasantry for further economic gain. These times were known as "Šķidrās Maizes laiki" or the days of liquid bread.
The emancipation of the serfs took place in Courland in 1817 and in Vidzeme in 1819. In practice however, the emancipation was actually advantageous to the landowners and nobility. This was because it dispossessed the peasants of their land without compensation, forcing them to return to work at the estates "of their own free will".
During the 19th century, the social structure changed dramatically. A class of independent farmers established itself after reforms allowed the peasants to repurchase their land, but many landless peasants persisted. There also developed a growing urban proletariat and an increasingly influential Latvian bourgeoisie. The Young Latvian (Latvian: Jaunlatvieši) movement laid the groundwork for nationalism from the middle of the century, many of its leaders looking to the Slavophiles for support against the prevailing German-dominated social order. The rise in use of Latvian language in literature and society became known as the First National Awakening. Russification began in Latgale after the Polish led the January Uprising in 1863: this spread to the rest of what is now Latvia by the 1880s. The Young Latvians were largely eclipsed by the New Current, a broad leftist social and political movement, in the 1890s. Popular discontent exploded in the 1905 Russian Revolution, which took a nationalist character in the Baltic provinces.
Declaration of Independence
“Poland & The New Baltic States” map from a British
atlas in 1920, showing still-undefined borders in the situation after the treaties of Brest and Versailles and before the Peace of Riga. Kārlis Ulmanis. World War I devastated the territory of would-be Latvia, along with other western parts of the Russian Empire. Demands for self-determination were at first confined to autonomy, but the Russian 1917 Revolution, treaty with Germany at Brest-Litovsk, and allied armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918 created a power vacuum. People's Council of Latvia proclaimed independence of the new country in Riga on November 18, 1918, Kārlis Ulmanis becoming the head of the provisional government. The War of Independence that followed was part of a general chaotic period of civil and new border wars in Eastern Europe. By the spring of 1919, there were actually three governments — Ulmanis' government; the Soviet Latvian government led by Pēteris Stučka, whose forces, supported by the Red Army, occupied almost all of the country; and the Baltic German government of United Baltic Duchy headed by Andrievs Niedra and supported by the Baltische Landeswehr and the German Freikorps unit Iron Division. Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans at the Battle of Wenden in June 1919, and a massive attack by predominantly German force – the West Russian Volunteer Army – under Pavel Bermondt-Avalov was repelled in November. Eastern Latvia was cleared of Red Army forces by Latvian and Polish troops in early 1920.
A freely elected Constituent assembly was convened on May 1, 1920 and adopted a liberal constitution, the Satversme, in February 1922. This was partly suspended by Ulmanis after his coup in 1934, but reaffirmed in 1990. Since then, it has been amended and is the constitution still in use in Latvia today. With most of Latvia's industrial base evacuated to the interior of Russia in 1915, radical land reform was the central political question for the young state. In 1897, 61.2% of the rural population had been landless; by 1936, that percentage had been reduced to 18%. The extent of cultivated land surpassed the pre-war level already in 1923. Innovation and rising productivity led to rapid growth of economy, but it soon suffered the effects of the Great Depression. Latvia showed signs of economic recovery and the electorate had steadily moved toward the centre during the parliamentary period. Ulmanis staged a bloodless coup on May 15, 1934, establishing a nationalist dictatorship that lasted until 1940. After 1934, Ulmanis established government corporations to buy up private firms with the aim of "Latvianising" the economy. By 1940, Latvia's economy under Ulmanis ranked second in Europe.
The Medieval period Although the local people had had contact with the outside world for centuries, they were more fully integrated into European society in the 12th century. The first missionaries, sent by the Pope, sailed up the Daugava River river in the late 12th century, seeking converts. The local people, however, did not convert to Christianity as readily as hoped. German crusaders were sent into Latvia to convert the pagan population by force of arms.
At the beginning of the 13th century large parts of today's Latvia were conquered by Germans. Together with Southern Estonia these conquered areas formed the country which became known as Terra Mariana or Livonia. In 1282 Riga, and later the cities of Cēsis, Limbaži, Koknese and Valmiera, were included in the Hanseatic League. From this time, Riga became an important point of east-west trading. Riga, the centre of the eastern Baltic region, formed close cultural contacts with Western Europe
Latvia in the Russian Empire
Latvia in the Russian EmpireThe Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 and the Treaty of Nystad, ending the Great Northern War in 1721, gave Vidzeme to Russia (it became part of the Riga Governorate). The Latgale region remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as Inflanty Voivodeship until 1772, when it was incorporated to Russia. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia became an autonomous Russian province (the Courland Governorate) in 1795, bringing all of what is now Latvia into the Russian Empire. All three Baltic provinces preserved local laws, the local official language and their own parliament, the Landtag.
During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the Baltic area was once again the scene of great devastation, with Peter's scorched-earth policy, famine, and plague being responsible for the catastrophic loss of human life: as much as 40% of the population in Latvian lands were killed. In 1710, the plague reached Riga, where it was active until 1711 and claimed the lives of about half the population.
The promises Peter the Great made to the Baltic German nobility at the fall of Riga in 1710, confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad and known as "the Capitulations", largely reversed the Swedish reforms. The 18th century was one of the hardest for the peasantry, who were virtually treated as chattels and had no rights or education. Peasants were obliged to work on feudal lords' lands as many as six days per week, leaving one day to look after their own farms. As a solution to their problems, many of the peasants turned to alcohol, which the local barons willingly provided, hoping to addict and exploit the peasantry for further economic gain. These times were known as "Šķidrās Maizes laiki" or the days of liquid bread.
The emancipation of the serfs took place in Courland in 1817 and in Vidzeme in 1819. In practice however, the emancipation was actually advantageous to the landowners and nobility. This was because it dispossessed the peasants of their land without compensation, forcing them to return to work at the estates "of their own free will".
During the 19th century, the social structure changed dramatically. A class of independent farmers established itself after reforms allowed the peasants to repurchase their land, but many landless peasants persisted. There also developed a growing urban proletariat and an increasingly influential Latvian bourgeoisie. The Young Latvian (Latvian: Jaunlatvieši) movement laid the groundwork for nationalism from the middle of the century, many of its leaders looking to the Slavophiles for support against the prevailing German-dominated social order. The rise in use of Latvian language in literature and society became known as the First National Awakening. Russification began in Latgale after the Polish led the January Uprising in 1863: this spread to the rest of what is now Latvia by the 1880s. The Young Latvians were largely eclipsed by the New Current, a broad leftist social and political movement, in the 1890s. Popular discontent exploded in the 1905 Russian Revolution, which took a nationalist character in the Baltic provinces.
Declaration of Independence
“Poland & The New Baltic States” map from a British
atlas in 1920, showing still-undefined borders in the situation after the treaties of Brest and Versailles and before the Peace of Riga. Kārlis Ulmanis. World War I devastated the territory of would-be Latvia, along with other western parts of the Russian Empire. Demands for self-determination were at first confined to autonomy, but the Russian 1917 Revolution, treaty with Germany at Brest-Litovsk, and allied armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918 created a power vacuum. People's Council of Latvia proclaimed independence of the new country in Riga on November 18, 1918, Kārlis Ulmanis becoming the head of the provisional government. The War of Independence that followed was part of a general chaotic period of civil and new border wars in Eastern Europe. By the spring of 1919, there were actually three governments — Ulmanis' government; the Soviet Latvian government led by Pēteris Stučka, whose forces, supported by the Red Army, occupied almost all of the country; and the Baltic German government of United Baltic Duchy headed by Andrievs Niedra and supported by the Baltische Landeswehr and the German Freikorps unit Iron Division. Estonian and Latvian forces defeated the Germans at the Battle of Wenden in June 1919, and a massive attack by predominantly German force – the West Russian Volunteer Army – under Pavel Bermondt-Avalov was repelled in November. Eastern Latvia was cleared of Red Army forces by Latvian and Polish troops in early 1920.
A freely elected Constituent assembly was convened on May 1, 1920 and adopted a liberal constitution, the Satversme, in February 1922. This was partly suspended by Ulmanis after his coup in 1934, but reaffirmed in 1990. Since then, it has been amended and is the constitution still in use in Latvia today. With most of Latvia's industrial base evacuated to the interior of Russia in 1915, radical land reform was the central political question for the young state. In 1897, 61.2% of the rural population had been landless; by 1936, that percentage had been reduced to 18%. The extent of cultivated land surpassed the pre-war level already in 1923. Innovation and rising productivity led to rapid growth of economy, but it soon suffered the effects of the Great Depression. Latvia showed signs of economic recovery and the electorate had steadily moved toward the centre during the parliamentary period. Ulmanis staged a bloodless coup on May 15, 1934, establishing a nationalist dictatorship that lasted until 1940. After 1934, Ulmanis established government corporations to buy up private firms with the aim of "Latvianising" the economy. By 1940, Latvia's economy under Ulmanis ranked second in Europe.