A delegation from the Latvian Embassy is on an official visit to Krasnoyarsk Krai, according to a press release on the governor's official website. Despite the current demise of trade volume, Krasnoyarsk Krai has every intention of developing ties with the Latvian Republic on a number of levels, Tolokonskiy said during the talks with Kurme.
"I am sure that we have a great potential [for cooperation] in the fields of science, education and culture.
Open contacts between various countries betters the quality of our own development, and that's why we support joint efforts in very different areas. Our task is creating new possibilities for collaboration and actively working on implementing them," Tolokonskiy said.
"There are historical ties between our folk, allowing us to make our future friendly and to overcome all of the political disagreements," Kurme told Tolokonskiy according to the press release. She also thanked the management of the region for the support to local national communities and autonomous bodies in the area of preserving cultural identity, language and tradition.
During the meeting with the mayor of Krasnoyarsk, Edham Akbulatov, the ambassador noted that high tech makes for a particularly opportune way of cooperation.
"The distance between our countries [sic] influences trade relations in a number of ways, but I think it's possible to focus our cooperation on exchanging experience in the area of technology.
We are interested in Krasnoyarsk's research in nuclear science and medicine," Kurme said, according to an announcement by the press service of the city administration.
"I am sure that medical tourism will become another step towards evolving our relations," she said.
During the visit, the delegation plans not only on discussing cooperation possibilities on an official level, but also to take part in celebratory events dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Krasnoyark's Latvian Society Dzintars (Amber).
As an initiative of the society, from 2003 Latvian language is taught in Krasnoyarsk. The delegation of Latvians of Krasnoyarsk is a member of the World's Free Latvian Society. Krasnoyark is also often visited by folk collectives, theater troupes and representatives of culture and art in Latvia.
"We have warm, friendly relations with the Latvian society. It takes an active part in the life of the city," said the mayor of Krasnoyarsk.
Members of the Latvian delegation have already visited the Anthology of Latvian Graphics exhibition, which holds works - taken there from Latvia - by contemporary Latvian artists, along with Latvian artists who live in the region of Krasnoyarsk. On October 24 the ambassador will be meeting members of the Dzintars Latvian society.
The Latvian diaspora in Siberia started forming in early 19th century from people sent into exile. The further history of the diaspora consists of a sequence of violent, and voluntary Latvian relocation. In the late 19th century the region attracted a considerable amount of Latvians who were offered free land.
After the 1905 revolution many exiles, as well as people who were freed from penal servitude went or were sent to Siberia. In the 1920s some Red Latvian Riflemen - later on slain during Stalin's Great Terror - joined the ranks of the settlers.
Finally, Latvians who were deported during the illegal deportations like Operation Priboi were sent here from 1941 to 1949. According to the Russia's 2010 census, there are 2,184 Latvians and 577 Latgalians (separate categories in the Russian counting system) in the Krasnoyarsk region.
