Country Information on Latvia 

Terrain

Latvia's undulating landscape is dominated by morainic hills and meltwater deposits dating back to the latest glacial epoch. There are numerous lakes, swamps, rivers, with Latvia's biggest river being the Daugava. The country's unindented coastline extends about 550 km, with quite a few sandy beaches. The Vidzeme Upland in eastern Latvia boasts the country's highest elevation, Gaizinakalns, which rises to 311 m.

Climate

Climatic conditions in the west are dominated by the ocean, with relatively mild winters and warm summers. The country's eastern part shows an increase in continental climatic conditions, with significant fluctuation in annual temperature sets. From early November until the April thaw, temperatures rarely rise above 4°C, with only a few hours of sunshine a day. June to August daytime highs normally range between 14-22°C. July and August are the warmest months but are prone to persistent showers.

Fauna/Flora

About 40% of Latvia is forested (predominantly pine, spruce, birch, aspen), and elks, deer, wild boars, blue hares, capercaillie, wolves, lynx and brown bears are prominent forest inhabitants and there is a variety of bird species, including numerous birds of passage. Beavers and otters live in the inland waterways and seals along the coast. Latvia is also home to 6500 pairs of white stork (six times as many as in the whole of Western Europe). Latvia's sole national park "Kemeri", situated in the Gauja river valley east of Riga, has a great scenery, walking trails, castles and a wildlife centre. There are a number of nature reserves, three of which are situated in the Kurzeme region in Western Latvia.

History/Politics

First, the various Latvian tribes were self-governing, then Latvia was subjected to continuous foreign rule from the 13th to the 20th century. Protestant Sweden and Catholic Poland-Lithuania settled down in 1592 to fight each other in the Baltic lands. Most of eastern Latvia, including Riga, ended up in Swedish hands. The period of Swedish rule is looked back on fondly as a relatively enlightened episode in the country's long history of foreign domination. The 17th century Swedish kings raised Latvian peasants from serfdom and introduced universal education. The liberation of serfs triggered a Latvian national revival by allowing native people to move into trades, professions, commerce and intellectual circles. Slowly, Latvia emerged as a political entity in its own right, despite the unpopular and dominant process of Russification towards the end of the 19th century.

Latvia was subject to German occupation during World War I, but on 18 November 1918, just 7 days after Germany surrendered to the Allies, peasant, middle class and socialist groups declared independence and Karlis Ulmanis, head of the Farmers' Party, formed a government. However, fighting continued between nationalists, Bolsheviks and Baltic Germans until 1920, when Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with the parliamentary republic of Latvia.

By the early 1930s, Latvia had lapsed into authoritarianism, and on 23 August 1939 (when Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact), Latvia was placed in the Soviet sphere of influence. By 5th August 1940, the nation had been placed under Soviet military occupation, communists had won elections and Latvia had been accepted as a republic of the USSR. Germany occupied Latvia in 1941, the USSR re-occupied Latvia in 1944.

The first signs that Soviet rule of Latvia was relaxing came in the late 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev started to encourage glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). In 1988, Latvian government members joined public meetings and rallies, while a popular front pressing for democratic reform won a huge following. In spring 1990, nationalists won a large majority in the Latvian parliament, reinstated the pre-World War II constitution, but declared a transition period for full independence.

In early 1991, a referendum resulted in a large majority favouring secession from the USSR, and on 21 August, Latvia declared full independence. This was recognised by the West and, finally by the USSR on 6 September 1991. Latvia joined the United Nations less than 2 weeks later. In June 1993, first parliamentary elections in newly-independent Latvia were held. On 31 August 1994, the remaining Soviet troops left the country. On 29 June 1999, Vaira Vike-Freiberga was elected president. Latvia's future goals include the continuation of economic reform (e.g. rapid implementation of privatization programmes), a swift EU-accession process, and NATO membership.

Economy

From 1991 on, Latvia has been experiencing a transition period, from state-controlled economy to market economy, with considerable difficulties during the first phase. After a serious drop in productivity, the economic situation has stabilized for the time being. However, privatization of former public sector businesses is still making little headway. Latvia's annual gross domestic product growth amounted to 6.6% in 2000, manufacturing output had grown by 10%. Unemployment decreased to 7.8% in 2000, consumer price index was 3.9%. Major industries are food, wood processing, textiles, agriculture. In 1999, transit trade and related services (one of the most important features in Latvia's growing services sector) contributed a share of about 14.4% to the country's gross domestic product.

Culture

The country's literature was kick-started in the 19th century with the writing of a national epic poem called Lacplesis (The Bear Slayer) by Andrejs Pumpurs, which was based on traditional folk tales. The giant of Latvian literature is Janis Rainis, who Latvians claim might have enjoyed the acclaim of Shakespeare or Goethe had he written in a less obscure language. Latvian verses known as dainas are often short and poetic and have been compared to the Japanese haiku. In the 19th century, great collections of folk lyrics and tunes were made by Krisjanis Barons. In fact, over 1.4 million folk lyrics and 30,000 tunes have been written down in Latvia.

The first major Latvian painter was Janis Rozentals, who painted scenes of peasant life and portraits in the early 20th century. Vilhelms Purvitis and Janis Valters were the outstanding landscape artists of the time. Karlis Rudevics, a leading figure in Latvia's Gypsy community, is known for his translations of Gypsy poetry and his striking paintings inspired by Gypsy legends.