Editing Republic of Latvia

{{
Infobox country
| name                     = Republic of Latvia
| native_name              = Latvijas Republika<br>Latvejas Republika<br>Leţmō Vabāmō
| image_flag               = Flag of Latvia.svg
| image_coat               = Latvian coat of arms.svg
| capital                  = Riga
| largest_city             = Riga
| image_map                = Latvia map.png
| map_width                = 290
| map_caption              = Latvia (dark green) in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| official_languages       = Latvian
| recognized_languages     = Livonian<br>Latgalian
| area_km2                 = 64,589
| population_estimate      = 1,907,675
| population_estimate_year = 2020
}}

'''Latvia''', officially the '''Republic of Latvia''', is a country in the Baltic region of [[Eastern Europe]]. It is a member of the European Union and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]].

== History ==

=== Early history ===
Like [[Republic of Estonia|Estonia]] but unlike [[Republic of Lithuania|Lithuania]], Latvia did not exist as an independent entity until the [[Russian revolution of 1917|October Revolution]]. Between the 13th and 18th centuries, [[Holy Roman Empire (800–1806)|Germany]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]], and [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] controlled various parts of the region with the [[ruling class]] consisting of German [[Nobility|nobles]]. The [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|Russian Empire]] gradually conquered Latvia between 1721 and 1795.<ref name=":02">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The European Nationalities in the USSR|page=81–83|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd.|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref>

=== Revolution and interwar period ===
The [[Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party]] was founded in 1904 and had 14,000 members by 1905. During the [[Russian revolution of 1905|1905 revolution]], Latvia had a higher percentage of [[Strike action|striking]] workers than any other part of the empire. [[German Empire (1871–1918)|Germany]] invaded Latvia in the spring of 1918 and overthrew the [[Soviet (governmental body)|Soviets]]. The [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] returned to Latvia in 1919 after the German defeat, beginning a civil war between [[Communism|communists]] and [[Nationalism|nationalists]]. Western-funded [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] forces defeated the Red Army in 1920, leading many Latvians to flee to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Soviet Russia]]. A [[Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship inspired by [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]'s [[Kingdom of Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]] took power in Latvia in 1934.<ref name=":02" />

=== Second World War and Soviet era ===
The Red Army entered Latvia in 1939 to defend the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] from the oncoming [[German Reich (1933–1945)|German]] invasion. The Soviets removed the Latvian fascists from power and established a communist government that requested incorporation into the USSR. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, Latvia had less Nazi collaborators than the other Baltic states.<ref name=":02" />

=== Capitalist counterrevolution ===
Latvia seceded from the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] in 1991. As a result of the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] [[counterrevolution]], Latvia's poverty rate increased from 1% in the late 1980s to 22% in 1995.<ref>{{Citation|author=Branko Milanovic|year=1998|title=Income, Inequality, and Poverty during the Transition from Planned to Market Economy|chapter=Poverty|section=By How Much Has Poverty Increased?|page=68|pdf=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314180055/https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Centers/LIS/Milanovic/papers/Income_ineq_poverty_book.pdf|city=Washington, D.C.|publisher=World Bank|isbn=082133994X}}</ref> Latvia joined the European Union in 2004.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|author=Gilbert Doctorow|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=Republic of Latvia, Apartheid State within the EU|date=2018-08-04|url=https://mronline.org/2018/08/04/republic-of-latvia-apartheid-state-within-the-eu/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804194315/https://mronline.org/2018/08/04/republic-of-latvia-apartheid-state-within-the-eu/|archive-date=2021-08-04|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

== Anti-Russian discrimination ==
In 1992, Latvia passed a law revoking citizenship for more than half of its [[Russian Federation|Russian]] population. 300,000 people, or 15% of the total population, are not allowed to own land or work in law or banking. Despite a quarter of Latvia's population being Russians, the Russian language is not allowed in public schools,<ref name=":0" /> and people can be sent to prison for 3 to 25 years for speaking in favor of Russia.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Patricia Gorky|newspaper=[[Liberation News]]|title=East European governments pledge loyalty to U.S. war drive|date=2022-06-19|url=https://www.liberationnews.org/east-european-governments-pledge-loyalty-to-u-s-war-drive/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630072432/https://www.liberationnews.org/east-european-governments-pledge-loyalty-to-u-s-war-drive/|archive-date=2022-06-30|retrieved=2022-08-08}}</ref>

===Destruction of Soviet Monument===

In 25 August 2022, the Latvian government destroyed the [[Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders|Victory Monument]] obelisk.<ref name="Demolition">{{News citation|url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/environment/demolition-of-soviet-victory-monument-in-riga.a470869|title=Demolition of Soviet Victory monument in Rīga |date=2022-08-25|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting of Latvia]]|access-date=2022-08-25}}</ref><ref name="Demolition (3)">{{News citation|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/largest_soviet_monument_in_baltics_dismantled_in_riga/|title=Largest Soviet monument in Baltics dismantled in Riga|date=2022-08-26|newspaper=The Baltic Times|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>
== References ==
[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:Global north]]
[[Category:European countries]]
<references />
[[Category:Apartheid states]]