The prime ministers of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will mark the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way together in Rīga on August 30th, Latvia's government said August 13.
The once elegant and popular resort of Ķemeri is hoping to return to something approaching its former glory with restoration work commencing on an historic water tower tower in the center of the now run-down spa resort.
The Latvian calendar has never been a mere catalog of days, but also an encyclopedia and a compendium of advice on various matters of living, the specialists of the National Library of Latvia (LNB) told Latvian Radio on July 2. For example, the “Household Calendar of 1937” provides advice on table manners.
As part of an initiative to familiarize Latvian residents with the battlefields that have played an important role in the country's history, this week, from August 5 to August 11, the Ministry of Defense is inviting people to visit the memorial site of the Battle of Piņķi, where an important clash against Bolshevik forces took place on May 22, 1919.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has produced a new radio documentary outlining the life story of former Latvian president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, who served two terms as head of state from 1999-2007.
The Latvian calendar has never been a mere catalog of days, but also an encyclopedia and a compendium of advice on various matters of living, the specialists of the National Library of Latvia (LNB) told Latvian Radio on July 2. For example, the “Household Calendar of 1923” includes some advice on saving firewood.
The Latvian calendar has never been a mere catalog of days, but also an encyclopedia and a compendium of advice on various matters of living, the specialists of the National Library of Latvia (LNB) told Latvian Radio on July 2. For example, the “Household Calendar of 1933” tells of “what our trees reveal about early winter”.
July 10 is the centenary of the official founding of the Latvian Army. To mark the occasion, here is another biography of one of the people who has served under the Latvian flag during the past century.
The story of Kārlis Šnēbergs, who fought among the ranks of the famed Latvian Riflemen during World War I, and won both the Order of Lāčplēsis from Latvia and an Iron Cross from Germany during World War II, is part of a story series on Latvian Radio dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Latvian Army.
One of the darkest periods in Latvia's history was commemorated July 4 at an annual ceremony held at the site of one of pre-war Rīga's synagogues.
The story of Eduards Sebris, who received the Lāčplēsis war award for heroism during the Bermondt affair period, but joined the National Partisans after the occupation of Latvia is part of a story series on Latvian Radio dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Latvian Army.
The calendar was never a mere a list of days, but also an encyclopedia and a compendium of advice on various matters of living, the specialists of the National Library of Latvia (LNB) told Latvian Radio on June 27. For example, the “Household Calendar of 1923” includes a list of medical treatments.
A small piece of Baltic history returned to Latvian shores June 26 when an inscribed piece of amber, originally given by Latvian Prime Minister and later President Kārlis Ulmanis to a British military officer, was handed back by the officer's descendants.
The steamer “Saratov”, on which the Latvian Provisional Government led by Kārlis Ulmanis spent two months floating on the waters near Liepāja, returned to the Liepāja harbor on June 27, 1919. This was the end of a period called the “Republic on Water”. LSM's Russian service joined historian Juris Raķis in taking a stroll around Liepāja to see where some of the significant events in Latvian history took place.
The story of Fricis Audze, who was enlisted in the Russian Army but witnessed the end of World War I in France is part of a story series on Latvian Radio dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Latvian Army.
A short documentary telling the tale of the creation of a special glass window in Rīga's Dome cathedral is now available for the first time with English subtitles.
June 22 saw history buffs performing a re-enactment to mark 100 years since the Battles of Cēsis, important military clashes that helped secure the status of newly-independent Latvia. You can watch a video of the re-enactment above and see a gallery of images below.
June 22 is set to be a memorable day in the city of Cēsis, which is being transformed into a living museum to mark 100 years since the Cēsis Battles which played a crucial role in the survival of the Latvian state.
The story of Voldemārs Miervaldis, who served in the aviation regiment of the Latvian army, is part of a story series on Latvian Radio dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Latvian Army.
On June 14 Latvia commemorates the thousands of citizens deported to Siberia by the Soviet authorities 78 years ago - many of whom never came back.
Mazā nometņu iela, lying on the left bank of the Daugava river that tourists rarely reach, is a small, quaint street with a character and shape filled with contradictions.
Today marks 110 years since the birth of Isaiah Berlin, a Latvian-born British philosopher and historian of ideas who is regarded as one of the foremost minds of the 20th century.
After the joint forces of Baltic Germans, Latvians and the Russian White Army freed Rīga from the communist rule on May 22, 1919, many Bolshevik supporters were shot. It is not clear how many exactly, and different sources give different estimates, starting from the 1924 estimate of 174 by the head of Rīga's Gendarmerie to 4,000–5,000 people as attested to by the social democrats and communists. Mass executions in Rīga only stopped in June 1919 after Allied intervention.
A hundred years ago on May 22 the joint forces of Baltic Germans, Latvians and the Russian White Army freed Rīga from the communist rule under which the Latvian capital had spent four and a half months. It was one of the most successful military operations of the time, resulting in the collapse of Soviet Latvia and halting the spread of communism in the country for twenty years. Most Red Army soldiers deserted during retreat, whereas most of the communist party members hid their tracks. The Soviet commissaries of Pēteris Stučka's government hastily got on a train to Rēzekne to retreat to Russia.
Members of Latvia's large Russian minority gathered in the capital Riga May 9 in large numbers to mark the end of World War II and the role of the Soviet Union in victory over Nazi Germany.
Ceremonies, speeches and thoughts on the nature of freedom were the order of the day across Latvia May 4 with the country marking the restoration of independence 29 years ago.
Altogether, more than 20,000 Latvian residents chose to partake in the national resistance against the Soviet occupation. They were supported by thousands of people who weren't up to taking to arms themselves. One of the chief reasons for a resistance of this scale was the brutal and ill-considered occupation policy on the part of the USSR. Anti-Soviet sentiment merged with belief in patriotic ideals, thereby creating the national resistance movement.
Reconstruction work in the western Latvian port of Ventspils has uncovered structures that may be hundreds of years old which give a glimpse into the port's past, reported LTV on May 1.
On April 16, 1919 a putsch took place in Liepāja, western Latvia, against Kārlis Ulmanis' Provisional Government. Two of the government ministers were arrested, while the rest fled aboard the Saratov steamboat stationed at the port. For two-and-a-half months, the Republic of Latvia would be governed from the ship in an era sometimes referred to as the "The Republic on the Sea". The territory of the fledgling Latvian state had shrunk to the ship and a couple of parishes that the Estonian army had freed at northern Vidzeme, the other end of the country.
April 11 saw the press screening of a new documentary film, Ally (Sabiedrotais), which explores the role of the United Kingdom during Latvia's independence struggles of 1918-19.