I was recently asked if I would be interested in refuting “lies” about Latvia in the international media. It was an unusual request. As a journalist you are more used to being accused of distortions than correcting them – and that applies whether you are writing about businesses, politics or doing restaurant reviews.
James Sherr is widely regarded as one of the West's leading experts on Russia, with more than 30 years of experience in his field.
"Your swimming pool isn't big enough!" yells Captain Charlie Shin of the US Army's 2nd Cavalry regiment. His voice rings out through the mist to a group of American, Canadian and Latvian soldiers shivering on the edge of the lake.
There is an episode of the 1970s TV drama Colditz in which an inmate of the famous World War II German prison camp comes up with a novel new means of escape: he will pretend he is mad.
Latvia doesn't lack much when it comes to the things that make life worth living, but one thing it does lack is a really good situation comedy or 'sitcom'. For that matter, even a really bad sitcom. It doesn't have a sitcom at all – until now.
Apologies in advance but I am going to use the 'P-word'. No, not 'PresidencyofthecounciloftheEU', 'Priorities' or even 'Public transport', about which we have already heard Plenty. This is the word no-one is supposed to say until the last minute: 'President'.
It's hard to know precisely why everyone is being so coy about what is a very simple question - should President Andris Bērziņš attend May 9 'Victory Day' celebrations in Moscow? The answer is perfectly simple.
When Latvia takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1 for six months, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs will become one of the most influential men in European politics, chairing meetings and seeking consensus from 28 EU member states. Here he tells us what to expect.
Have you ever been to a dinner party where the host is really trying to impress the guests? They cook extravagant Asian food, they mix obscure and complex cocktails and their whole house is rearranged, decorated with candles and artistic knick-knacks as a CD of Balinese chants plays from speakers artfully draped with white muslin.
The main problem with Latvia's Russian community isn't that they are a potential fifth column - it's that they are so remarkably stubborn about being normal citizens of the country.
The Zolitude disaster of November 21, 2013 is not an easy thing to write about. There are numerous reasons, the most obvious and important being that whatever one writes, it will do nothing to bring back the loved ones lost and can never reduce the pain felt by their friends and relations.
I was interviewing the writer Anthony Burgess when the Latvian Foreign Minister told me he was gay. At least, that's how it felt, for in our digitised world our consciousness can be pulled in as many directions simultaneously as we have windows open on our desktop.
With full results of the 12th Saeima elections still to be confirmed but a clearer picture starting to emerge of Latvia's future political landscape, LSM talked to two of the country' leading political scientists.
Much media coverage, particularly among foreign press, has centered on the role of Latvia's Russian minority in parliamentary elections taking place on October 4.
International newspapers and agencies have asked if the eastern Latgale region, which borders Russia, is a breeding ground for pro-Kremlin radicals that could even see the arrival of "little green men" welcomed by locals.
Rather than rely on hearsay and assumption, LSM took to the road to see at least some of Latgale for itself.
The third and final part of our series outlining everything you always wanted to know about Latvia's political parties (but were afraid to ask) takes us through the last three groupings on the October 4 ballot papers.
LSM's look at the parties vying for seats in the forthcoming Saeima elections continues with the next four parties on the election list.
Latvia goes to the polls on October 4 to elect 100 representatives to the parliament or Saeima for a four-year term. There are a total of 1,156 candidates from 13 different parties fighting for seats.
Some are familiar, some new - and some are a bit of both. Here's LSM English's not entirely reverential overview of what to expect from each of them.
Latvia may have a population of just 2 million, but its electoral system is every bit as rigorous and complex as those in other countries with hundreds of polling stations opening across the globe. Here's how the whole thing works.
Thousands of people are expected to flock to the central Latvian town of Cēsis on August 9 for the annual 'Medieval day' at the landmark Livonian Order castle. When the knights in armor have done battle, the visitors will leave, but a different battle will continue - one designed to lure back residents of Cēsis or 'Cesnieki' who have emigrated.
For a man described by the UK's Daily Mail as having "links to high-ranking Russian political figures" Beness Aijo doesn't look particularly well-connected. Short and skinny, dressed in T-shirt and sandals with a floral-patterned bag slung over his shoulder, he looks far younger than his 35 years and could easily pass as a foreign student at Latvian summer school.
