[lat-vee-uh, laht-] 
| a republic in N Europe, on the Baltic, S of Estonia, an independent state 1918–40; annexed by the Soviet Union 1940; regained independence 1991. 2,437,649; 25,395 sq. mi. (63,700 sq. km). Capital: Riga. |
[laht-vi-yah] .Lat·vi·a (lāt'vē-ə)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of north-central Europe on the Baltic Sea. The original inhabitants, the Letts, were conquered and Christianized in the 13th century by German knights, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, who ruled the area until 1561, when it passed to Poland. Under Russian control from the 18th century, Latvia became independent after World War I but was annexed in 1940 by the USSR and known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic until it declared its independence in 1990. Riga is the capital. Population: 2,260,000. |
Republic on the Baltic Sea, bordered by Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and Lithuania to the south. Its capital and largest city is Riga.
Note: Nationalist sentiments brewing since the mid-nineteenth century erupted at the time of the Russian Revolution; after the collapse of Russia and Germany in World War I, Latvia was able to proclaim its independence. After twenty years of political instability, however, Latvia was forcibly integrated into the Soviet Union in 1940, along with Estonia and Lithuania. The collapse of the Soviet Union enabled Latvians to reassert their national identity, and they declared their country independent in August 1991.
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