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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia

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Latvia (/ˈlɑːtviə/ or /ˈlætviə/ (About this soundlisten); Latvian: 
Latvija [ˈlatvija], Livonian: Lețmō), officially known as the Republic 
of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika, Livonian: Lețmō Vabāmō), is a 
country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.[13] Since its 
independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. 
It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia 
to the east, and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border 
with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants[14] and a 
territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi).[15] The country has a temperate 
seasonal climate.[16] The Baltic Sea moderates seasons, although it has 
four distinct ones and snowy winters.

After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly 
executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was 
established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared 
independence in the aftermath of World War I.[2] However, by the 1930s 
the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 
establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's 
de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, 
beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, 
followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the 
re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 (Courland Pocket in 1945) to form 
the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years.

The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic 
emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Communist regime's 
illegal takeover.[17] 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.[18] Latvia is a democratic 
sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed 
country according to the United Nations Human Development Index.[19] Its 
capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian 
is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 
administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and nine are 
cities.[20] Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of 
Latvia.[15] Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving 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. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian 
rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, 26.9% of Latvians are 
ethnic Russians,[21] some of whom (14.1% of Latvian residents) have not 
gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Until World 
War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and 
Jews. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except 
for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been 
predominantly Roman Catholic.[22] The Russian population are largely 
Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Latvia is a high-income advanced economy[23][24] and ranks 41st in the 
Human Development Index.[25] It performs favourably in measurements of 
civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, 
living standards and peacefulness. Latvia is a member of the European 
Union, Eurozone, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, 
the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. A full member of the Eurozone, 
it began using the euro as its currency on 1 January 2014, replacing the 
Latvian lats.[26]

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia ainars <ainars@triszvaigznes.lv> - 2019-11-07 12:11 +0200

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