History
What is the state of one of Latvia's most important symbols, the Freedom Monument? For 21 years, the Freedom Monument has been insured for more than €1 million. What damage have insurers had to cover? Latvian Radio attempted to find out.
This year, Latvia marks 106 years as a free, independent country – despite the fact that for a considerable number of those years it was subject to foreign occupation.
November 11 is Latvia's day to remember those who have fallen in defense of the Latvian nation and its hard-won freedoms.
An historic crypt has been restored in the Riga Great Cemetery, at a cost of around one hundred thousand euros, reports Latvian Radio.
At Mērsrags on Latvia's Baltic coast, a recent storm delivered an impressive-sized wooden shipwreck from beneath the waves.
During November – which in recent years has gained the unofficial moniker of 'patriot month' – members of the public are being invited to attach a traditional red and white ribbon to their clothes and attend various festive events marking Latvia's path to freedom and self-determination.
The first investments of the new owners of ruined Kaucminde Palace in the restoration of the once-grand residence could reach 100,000 euros – though that will be only the start, reports Latvian Television.
Last night, the monument to Russian marshal Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly at the Esplanade park was dismantled, Riga Mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) reports on social media "X" October 31.
"This is pure vandalism and blasphemy of one's ancestors", "it would be better to dismantle or leave" – these are the words used on social media to describe the Riga City Council's decision to halve the monument to writer Andrejs Upīts. Experts, many of whom criticize the decision, have also expressed their views, Latvian Radio reported on October 18.
On Wednesday, October 16, after a heated debate, the Riga City Council approved the dismantling and relocation of the statue of the Russian soldier Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly in Esplanade Park. It was also decided to dismantle the statues of the writers Andrejs Upīts and Sudrabu Edžus.
The future of one of Latvia's largest and most striking historic locations remains unknown, reports Latvian Radio. While plans are slowly drawn up, the 400-year-old Daugavgrīva fortress near Rīga continues to crumble.
The Jānis Fabriciuss Monument has been looking down on the oldest cobbled street in Ventspils and the Old Town for 70 years. Although he fought against Latvia's independence, is associated with bloody massacres and preached communism until the end of his life, his statue still stands and is occasionally caught in the crossfire of opinions, Skrunda Television reported on October 2.
The Latvian Railway History Museum celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It boasts the largest exhibition of broad-gauge railway rolling stock in the Baltics, Latvian Television reported September 17.
Representatives of the Baltic parliaments are attending events in Gotland, Sweden marking the 80th anniversary of the so-called 'great escape' of refugees from the Baltic states.
In order to look back on the events 35 years ago, when two million inhabitants of the Baltic States joined hands in the name of freedom, a conference dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way will be held at the Saeima (Latvia's parliament) on Friday, September 6.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in Ukraine in 2022 reminded us that today the military dimension of security in Europe is more topical than it has been for several decades. War in Ukraine (and now in Russia as well) consolidated our belief that the Baltic people's choice to join NATO has been one hundred percent correct.
An event will be held in the Latvian War Museum this weekend to mark the 30th anniversary of the departure of Russian troops from Latvian territory.
A monument to the Napoleonic-era Russian general Barclay de Tolly does not need to be removed from public display, the Council of Monuments of the Riga City Council decided on Friday, August 23.
Events are taking place across the Baltic states today to commemorate a shining landmark of peaceful protest and human dignity.
As every year on August 23, also today at the Latvian-Estonian border crossing Unguriņi-Lilli, there will be events dedicated to the Baltic Way, including an exhibition that will stay there for five weeks, Latvian Radio reports.
August 23 this year marks 35 years since the world witnessed one of the largest non-violent resistance actions in the history of the 20th century - the Baltic Way.
To mark 35 years since the miracle of the Baltic Way, various commemorative events are taking place in Latvia and abroad, and the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has compiled a list of some of them.
Thirty-three years ago on this day, the Constitutional Law "On the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia" was adopted, thus renewing Latvia's independence de facto.
On the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way, Latvians who remember the event and the resistance against Soviet occupation are invited to share their stories, University of Latvia said August 20.
23 August marks the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, proclaimed by the European Parliament in 2008.
From August 16 to September 13 , the largest exhibition in Southern Estonia, "Beetroot Washing Machine / Peedist Pesumasin", will be displayed in the lobby of the Valmiera Museum Exhibition Hall, inviting visitors to discover the richness of imagination and to remember life in Soviet times.
Rīga is likely to see even fewer monuments, as the vice-mayor of the capital, together with the association "Center of Public Memory", is calling for the dismantling of eight symbols of communism and Russian imperialism in Rīga, Latvian Radio reported on August 9.
How to turn military heritage into an attractive tourism product for the modern traveler? All three Baltic States are developing a common military heritage tourism offer, Latgale Television reported July 31.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a short video marking the 105th anniversary since the start of the diplomatic service. You can watch it below.
The history book “Footprints of the Past: The Jewish Community of Varakļāni” by historian Kaspars Strods is now going to be available in an English translation of the book “Pagātnes nospiedumi: Varakļānu ebreju kopiena”, published in 2021.
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