Are we absolutely certain that Vladimir Putin is 62 years old? I know the fact that he has been running the Russian Federation in his own inimitable style for the last 15 years suggests he might indeed be a man of fairly mature years, but I have come to suspect the truth may be something else: Vladimir Putin is in fact only fifteen years old.
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.
Predictions that this year's March 16 parade in commemoration of the Latvian Legion would spark trouble proved wide of the mark Monday with instead a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere prevailing.
Latvia received a fresh consignment of military hardware Monday courtesy of the US Army, as part of the ongoing Operation Atlantic Resolve designed to bolster the region's defenses against any potential Russian aggression.
Jānis Kārkliņš director of NATO's Riga-based Strategic Communications Center of Excellence (STRATCOMCOE) talks to LSM about the center's role and why quality journalism requires investment.
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.
Alexander Vershbow, the second most senior figure in NATO as its deputy secretary general, took the opportunity of a conference in Riga Thursday to claim that large numbers of Russian soldiers are dying in fighting in Eastern Ukraine.
"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.
Two days of informal talks between European Union defense ministers wound up Thursday with Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Vejonis underlining the need for Europe to deal effectively with the threat of "hybrid" warfare.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Alliance stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Latvia during a visit to Riga on Wednesday, while warning that Russia was continuing to reinforce its presence in Eastern Ukraine with heavy armor.
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.
People from the energy industry, regulators and politicians congregated in Riga Friday to draw up plans for a projected 'European Energy Union' to redraw the way energy is bought, used and paid for within the 28-member bloc.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said in Riga Thursday that supplying weapons to government forces in Ukraine would not help bring peace to the war-torn east of the country.
Frans Timmermans, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's immediate deputy in the Brussels pecking-order, used an address at the Latvian Saeima Monday to give an impassioned speech defending Europe's tradition of tolerance.
European Union Justice Ministers and their deputies meeting in Riga on Friday said they were moving towards a clearer definition of what constitutes a “foreign fighter” in order to help legal systems within the 28-member bloc fight against terrorism.
Interior and Justice Ministers from the members states of the European Union met in Riga Thursday to discuss the continent's response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris and other matters relating to terrorism.
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.
Organizers of Latvia's possible pavilion at the EXPO 2015 event in Milan later this year on Friday launched a blistering attack on the Economics Ministry for calling for the project's eleventh-hour cancellation.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said Friday he had not given up on hopes the Minsk Agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia could still be implemented to bring peace, but warned the European Union could toughen its stance on sanctions if progress is not made soon.
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'.
Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma emerged from a gruelling hour-long ordeal with the cream of Europe's press on Wednesday in credit, having done a fairly good job of coping with some convoluted questions.
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.
The inaugural sitting of Latvia's 12th parliament or Saeima generated more than its fair share of interest Tuesday, with what is normally a purely ceremonial occasion descending into near farce at times.
Speaking in Riga on Friday at the Latvian Central Bank's annual conference, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann praised Latvia's determination to join the Eurozone, arguing it showed that stimulus spending is not a precondition for recovery from economic crisis.
The show Cukurs. Herberts Cukurs may not be the most popular piece of theater Latvia will witness this year but it will probably be the most talked-about. LSM attended the premiere of the controversial musical in Liepaja on October 11.
