Latvia
After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Since that time the country has moved rapidly towards integration with Europe. In February 1999, Latvia became the first Baltic state to join the World Trade Organization. Latvia was welcomed as an EU member in May 2004. The move came just weeks after it joined Nato. Latvia aims to join the eurozone in 2008. Growth is strong but one of the key challenges lies in reducing inflation.
As a small state with 2.4 million people, Latvia has attempted to bolster its security by working towards greater cooperation with its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania. It has language links with Lithuania to the south and historical and ecumenical ties with Estonia to the north. The three countries are working towards better cooperation in the economic, political, and military spheres, as well as agreeing to coordinate their energy markets and harmonize their national energy programs in a unified bid to meet EU membership requirements.
During the Soviet period Latvia underwent heavy industrialization, and saw a big influx of immigrants from other parts of the USSR, mainly Russia. Relations with Russia still color many of Latvia's activities. In addition to ongoing citizenship questions surrounding Latvia's large ethnic Russian minority, the Latvian economy is tied to Russia's since Latvia is dependent on Russian oil and gas for its domestic consumption. There are also tensions between Latvia and Russia over border issues. The two countries have yet to sign a treaty formally delineating the border.
Aigars Kalvitis, of the center-right People's Party, was asked to form a new government - the twelfth since independence - when the short-lived minority coalition led by his predecessor, Indulis Emsis, collapsed in October 2004. Eighteen months later, Prime Minister Kalvitis lost his parliamentary majority when the New Era faction withdrew from his four-party coalition in a row over corruption allegations. He carries on as the head of a minority government. Kalvitis has promised to strive for political stability. He has identified health issues and inflation as his government's priorities.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2006.
There are currently no known specific threats to visitors or expatriates in Latvia. While crime in Riga is rising, it generally is of a non-violent nature, such as pick-pocketing and burglary. However, there has been an increase in the number of incidents relating to muggings of foreign nationals (see “Crime” below).
Two bombs exploded in a shopping center in downtown Riga late on August 2000, injuring 21 people, three of them seriously. The bombs went off minutes apart at the five-story Centrs shopping center in the heart of Riga's medieval-era old town. Additional bomb attacks occurred in the 1990's, attributed by police to organized crime violence, but no such incidents have been reported since.
