After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Latvia lies between its sister Baltic republics of Estonia, to the north, and Lithuania, to the south, its coastline along the Baltic Sea indented by the Gulf of Riga. To the east and southeast respectively it shares borders with the Russian Federation and Belarus. Like Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia has for most of its history been controlled by foreign powers. For more than 1,000 yrs, its inhabitants, the Letts, have been ruled successively by Germans, Poles, Swedes, and finally Russians. In 1991 Latvia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. It is now a multi-party parliamentary democracy with an elected president as its head of state. Since independence, the Communist Party of Latvia has been banned. The country is mostly flat with hillier land in the east. There are large areas of bogs and swamps and about 40% of the land is woodland or forest, in which oak and pine predominate. Small farms account for most agriculture, which is mainly dairy farming and cattle raising. Some grain and vegetable crops are also grown. Forestry and fishing, which were important in earlier times, have enjoyed resurgence in recent years.
Latvia is the most heavily industrialized of the Baltic republics. It has few mineral resources and imports the raw materials needed for its industries – the manufacture of electrical goods, shipbuilding and train and vehicle making. It relies on its former ruler for energy supplies and much of the Russian Federations oil and gas exports pass through the Latvian port of Venspils. Air and water pollution from industrial wastes is a matter of concern. Latvia’s economy was severely affected in 1995 by bank failures and financial scandals and its dependence of Russia limits its development. Latvians have a reasonable standard of living, although discrepancies in wealth are marked. |
