The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic is also known as Soviet Latvia since 2016.
Latvia -LRB- -LSB- ˈlætviə -RSB- Latvija -LSB- ˈlatvija -RSB- -RRB- , officially the Republic of Latvia -LRB- -LSB- Latvijas Republika , links = no -RSB- -RRB- , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe , one of the three Baltic states .. Baltic region. Baltic region. Northern Europe. Northern Europe. Baltic states. Baltic states. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. It is bordered by Estonia to the north , Lithuania to the south , Russia to the east , and Belarus to the southeast , as well as a maritime border to the west alongside Sweden .. Estonia. Russians in Estonia. Lithuania. Lithuania. Russia. Russia. Belarus. Belarus. maritime border. maritime border. Sweden. Sweden. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64589 km2 .. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. The country has a temperate seasonal climate .. temperate seasonal climate. Temperate climate. Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic established in 1918 .. parliamentary. Parliamentary system. parliamentary republic. parliamentary republic. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. The capital city is Riga , the European Capital of Culture 2014 .. Riga. Riga. European Capital of Culture 2014. European Capital of Culture. Latvian is the official language .. Latvian. Latvian language. Latvia is a unitary state , divided into 119 administrative divisions , of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities .. unitary state. unitary state. administrative divisions. Administrative divisions of Latvia. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Latvians and Livs are the indigenous people of Latvia .. Latvians. Latvians. Livs. Livonian people. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages .. Latvian. Latvian language. Lithuanian. Lithuanian language. Baltic languages. Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries , the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions .. Latvian. Latvian language. Latvia and Estonia share a long common history .. Estonia. Russians in Estonia. common history. Terra Mariana#See also. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. As a consequence of centuries of Russian rule -LRB- 1710-1918 -RRB- and later Soviet occupation , both countries are home to a large number of ethnic Russians -LRB- 26.9 % in Latvia and 25.5 % in Estonia -RRB- , some of whom -LRB- 14.1 % of Latvian residents -RRB- have not gained citizenship , leaving them with no citizenship at all .. Latvian. Latvian language. Russians. Russians. Soviet occupation. Occupation of the Baltic states. Estonia. Russians in Estonia. ethnic Russians. Baltic Russians. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. no citizenship. non-citizens ( Latvia ). Until World War II , Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews .. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Germans. Baltic Germans. Jews. History of the Jews in Latvia. World War II. World War II. Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran , except for the Latgale region in the southeast , which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic .. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Protestant. Protestant. Lutheran. Lutheranism. Latgale. Latgale. Roman Catholic. Roman Catholic Church. The Russian population has also brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians .. Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox Church. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918 .. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. However , its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II .. World War II. World War II. independence. State continuity of the Baltic states. In 1940 , the country was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union , invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941 , and re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years .. Latvian. Latvian language. Soviet Union. Soviet Union. forcibly incorporated. Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940. invaded and occupied. Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany. re-occupied by the Soviets. Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944. Latvian SSR. Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. The peaceful Singing Revolution , starting in 1987 , called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule .. Singing Revolution. Singing Revolution. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990 , and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991 .. Independence. History of Latvia. 21 August 1991. 1991 Soviet coup d'etat attempt. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia. On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia. independence. State continuity of the Baltic states. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union , NATO , the Council of Europe , the United Nations , CBSS , the IMF , NB8 , NIB , OECD , OSCE , and WTO .. European Union. European Union. United Nations. United Nations. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. NATO. NATO. Council of Europe. Council of Europe. CBSS. Council of the Baltic Sea States. IMF. International Monetary Fund. NB8. NB8. NIB. Nordic Investment Bank. OECD. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OSCE. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. WTO. World Trade Organization. For 2014 , Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014 .. Latvia. Russians in Latvia. Human Development Index. Human Development Index. high income country. World Bank high-income economy. It used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014 .. Latvian. Latvian language. Latvian lats. Latvian lats. euro. euro