Latvia in the Family of European Nations
Latvia joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. The area of Latvia is around 64,600 square kilometers. Latvia consists of 4 ethnographic regions: Vidzeme, Kurzeme, Zemgale and Latgale. The capital of Latvia is Riga. The state language is Latvian. An independent Latvia was proclaimed on 18 November 1918. >>
The Russian Press of Latvia
Russian press of Latvia today is represented by 4 daily national newspapers, 11 weeklies, a dozen regional papers and over 30 magazines on the most diverse topics. There are women’s and men’s magazines, society columns’ fans, anglers, motoring fans, economists and accountants. >>
Political Challenges for Russian Minority of Latvia
Citizenship, usage of mother tongue and ethnic-based discrimination are the main acute problems for Latvia’s Russian minority. At present, one half of the Russian-speaking community of Latvia are Latvian citizens, while those belonging to the other half do not have citizenship of any country in the world. They form the unique legal category of “Latvian non-citizens”. >>