800 year old Latvia

is a Baltic State which has been under foreign domination for most of it's existence, most recently by Russia. Under Communism many Latvians were exiled to Siberia, Russians ruled, and Russian became the official language. The suffering which Latvians endured provoked much bitterness. When Communism fell a new Latvia struggled to emerge. Russians, many of whom had been born in Latvia, faced the challenge of learning Latvian, which is now compulsory for employment. The church faces the challenge of uniting people who until recently were enemies.

Landscape & Wildlife

About twelve thousand tiny rivers flow through Latvia's flat landscape, feeding three thousand little lakes. Pine and other woodlands cover almost half of the country, peat bogs, swamps, and marshes cover another tenth and there are huge grasslands - home to the most amazing flowers and wildlife. Sandy coastline stretches for more than 300 miles - beaches on which you can find beautiful and valuable amber. This wild shore was a carefully guarded border region under Communism. Almost all houses near the sea were razed or evacuated leaving untouched forests of pine and spruce and ecologically unique sand dunes. Latvia is a botanist's and naturalist's dream! Timber and amber apart, Latvia has few natural resources - and not many people either. The population is just under four million.

Latvia's forests shelter more rare black storks than anywhere else in Europe, and there are significant populations of lesser spotted eagles, otters, beavers, lynx and wolves, plus 86,000 deer (red and roe), 32,000 wild boar, 25,000 elk and 13,000 red foxes - an abundance which some fear may tempt entrepreneurial but cash-strapped Latvians to offer hunting holidays for more wealthy foreigners.

Economy

Latvia joined the European Union since 2004 and the economy improves each year, but the average pay packet is still inadequate. Most people rely on home grown food, especially vegetables. The Maifia is active and is a real temptation to young people longing for more money.

Ethnic groups:

Half the population is Latvian, about 40% are Russian, and Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians make up most of the rest. Graham says:

Culture

Latvia has three regions divided into smaller areas, and each has its own national costume, worn for festivals. Latvians love flowers and music, and 'Song and Dance Festivals' are one of the most important events in Latvian social life. They also love the Eurovison Song Contests, which they won in 2002. Their 2006 entry, Cosmos, is described by the Eurovision website:

Traditionally Latvian wooden houses are set higgledy-piggledy in woodland, but most of the population was herded into ugly utilitarian blocks of flats by the Communists, and there most remain. But Graham says the people always have a warm welcome for visitors!

Social Problems

Sadly alcohol abuse and child abuse are common problems in Latvia.

Religion

The main 'religion' Christianity - predominantly Lutheran (556,000, according to 2003 data), with Roman Catholics (430,405) and Eastern Orthodox (350,000). The Dievturi (The Godkeepers), is a religion with its roots in pre-Christian mythology. A remnant of Soviet Jews survives in Latvia, after near annihilation during World War II, when the pre-war Jewish Community of over 93,000 (around 5% of the total population) was decimated. In 2005 only 9,883 Jews remained.

Under Soviet rule, all religious activities were curbed and Muslims and Christians suffered discrimination. Today, most Latvian Muslims enjoy religious freedom and plans are underway to construct a mosque in central part of the city. According to estimates,there are nearly 5,000 Muslims in Latvia today mostly of Tatar or Turk origin, although only about 10% of them regularly practice their religion.

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This information has been compiled using information from Graham Reed (Crossbow Ministries), and from the Library of Congress Country Studies, the CIA World Factbook (both public domain) and Wikipedia (creative commons).

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