Latvia (German Heritage)

Duchy of Latvia Latvijas hercogiste (Latvian) Herzogtum Lettland (German)
Anthem: Dievs, svētī Latviju!
Location of Latvia Location of Latvia in Green.
Location of Latvia States of Latvia.      Courland      Semigalla      Riga      Livonia      Latgale
Capital		Riga
Official languages		Latvian, German
Recognised regional languages		Lithuanian, Russian
Demonym		Latvian
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Karl of Lippe
-	Prime Minister	Krišjānis Kariņš
-	Speaker of the Parliament	Ināra Mūrniece
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper House	House of Lords
-	Lower House	House of Representatives
Formation
Area
-		64,589 km2  24,938 sq mi
Population
-	2017 estimate	2.4 million
Currency		Latvian Lats (LVL)
Time zone		UTC (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right

Latvia, officially the Duchy of Latvia (Latvian:Latvijas hercogiste;German: Herzogtum Lettland), is a constitutional monarchy in North-Eastern Europe. It shares borders with Estonia, Lithuania and Russia.

After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian direct rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the United Baltic Duchy was established in 1919, creating the first modern Latvian state, though under the heavy influence of the German Empire. Latvia was on the forefront of the Eastern Front of World War II, and was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1941, before being recaptured in 1944 by the Imperial German Army. Estonia, Osel and North Livonia gained independence in 1981, was led to the Baltic Duchy being disbanded. The monarchy in Latvia was preserved through the revolutions of the late 1980s-early 1990s, partly due to the good image of Woizlawa Feodora, Duchess of Latvia.

As a result of German (1918-1991) influence, Latvia consists of a notable number of Germans. In the past, prior to World War II, Latvia also consisted of a minority of Russians. However, many Russians moved back to Russia or Belarus due to the large anti-Russian sentiment found after the various war crimes committed by the retreating Soviet Army in 1943-44.

Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary monarchy and a very highly developed country according to the League of United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian and German are the official languages. Latvia is a federal state, divided into 5 cantons. Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.

Latvia is a member of the European Community, the Council of Europe, the League of United Nations, the German Association, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, the country was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014.

History

Latvia was occupied by the German Army in 1915, which was confirmed in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918). In the Treaty, the Soviet Union dropped any claims to the Baltic States and relinquished those claims to the German Empire. The Ruling Baltic German nobility desired the Courland-Livonia area to be in a Personal Union with Prussia, and to be absorbed into Germany. The plan was approved by both the Kaiser Wilhelm and the German Government.

Duke Adolf Friedrich & Viktoria Feodora, pictured in 1917

“Latvian Rebellion” took place on the 4th of March, 1919, against the occupying German Army, who had not fully pulled out of Livonia and Courland. The Latvian Nationalists were led by Pēteris Stučka, while the VI Reserve Corps of the German Army and Baltische Landeswehr were led by Rüdiger von der Goltz. The Rebellion was short-lived, however it caused significant damage to the plan to absorb modern-day Latvia into the German Empire as constitute state. As a result, the Germans compromised and created a client state with Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg as its head of state.

The Latvian Region was divided into 4 cantons under the new regime: Courland, Riga, South Livonia and Latgale. Each Canton had its own assembly and minister-president in an arrangement which was quite progressive for that time. The two largest parties, the LSDSP and Latvian Farmers' Union fought for the dominance of the parliament, and were kept from more-extreme policies by the Baltic Nobility, who dominated political life in Latvia. The Baltische Landeswehr formed the base of the new Baltic Army and was militarily advised by Von der Goltz and Max Hoffmann. The Leader of the LZU, Kārlis Ulmanis, pushed for further power to the non-German elected politicians.

A coup d'état on the 7th of January, 1949, led by Ulmanis and other party leaders, established a true parliamentary monarchy, with a directly elected prime minister and parliament. Ulmanis was voted into office in July 1949, after the first free elections. Ulmamis attempted to bring land reform to the Duchy, which included giving more rights and land to the workers, rather than the Baltic Nobility.

During the Colour Revolutions,

Languages of Latvia

There are two official languages of Latvia: Latvian and German. The Latvian Language is spoken most in modern-day Latvia. However, most of the population (with a higher concentration in urban and more educated areas) also speaks German as either a first or second language. German is associated with academic, financial and official contexts, though some (mainly the Baltic German) communities use it as a day-to-day language. From the establishment of the United Baltic Duchy in 1918, German classes became mandatory in all forms in education. In the late 1970s however, a growing Latvian nationalistic movement meant that the pressure to learn German was decreased, in favour of Latvian classes.

Other minorities include Lithuanian, Hebrew, Polish, Russian and Estonian.