Over and above his success in teaching practice, Johann Christoph Brotze had two interests he took seriously. One was the history of Riga, Livonia, Courland, Estland and the Polish Inflanty (Latgalia). In order to interpret historical evidence he attempted to collate a broad range of historical facts, of particular interest to him were the details of economic development, the administrative structures and the personalities of political figures. Brotze, being a Czech by birth, felt more at liberty to interpret and appraise these historical events. >>

Loborzh Manor – a shelter for writers and artists in Latgale >>

The Russian Theatre in Riga was founded on 2 October 1883.  >>

At the beginning of the 20th Century Riga finally obtained the appearance of a European industrial city.  >>

Annual ‘Days of Russian Culture’ – a tradition of the Russian minority in Latvia. >>

After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia many Russian artists found refuge in Latvia, including the famous Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky and Sergey Vinogradov. I >>

In the period between the two world wars the Russian minority press took up a distinct position in the market for newspapers and magazines in Latvia, where at the time three intersecting information spaces had developed – the Latvian, Russian and the German.  >>

In the conditions of an independent Latvia in the period between the two world wars Riga became one of the cultural centres for Russians living abroad.  >>

The Riga Theatre for Young Spectators was founded in 1940. Since 1946, the Latvian and Russian troupes  worked in the theatre. The performances of the theatre were popular both with young spectators and among people of mature age. In 1992, despite the public protests, the theatre was closed. >>

The Baltic republics of the USSR were distinguished by a higher level of freedom of speech in comparison with other parts of the Soviet Union. Soviet Youth was the only Soviet newspaper to print interviews with Boris Yeltsin when he was an opposition politician. The paper provided efficient reporting of the bloody events in Baku and Tbilisi in the late 80s. In fact, all of the present day Russian press of Latvia follows the traditions laid down by the editorial staff of Soviet Youth.  >>