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Russian trade through Latvia began to flourish and an active Russian merchant class began to settle in Latvia. The first Russian school in Riga was founded in 1789. [2] Latgale was incorporated into the Russian Empire after the first Partition of Poland in 1772, Kurzeme and Zemgale were (Duchy of Courland and Semigallia) in 1795.
In the 1925 census, Russians were reported as the largest ethnic minority (10.6%) and Russian was spoken as the family language by 14% of inhabitants. A small percentage of Russian speakers were not ethnic Russians and conversely, a small percentage of ethnic Russians used another language in the family, which was attributed to interethnic marriages, living in an area with another majority ...
These ethnic groups are all descended from peoples who settled in Latvia during the centuries of Russian and Soviet rule. Latvia's ethnic diversity is a result of a number of factors, including a long history of foreign rule, its location on the Baltic Sea trade route, and its proximity to other Slavic countries.
After the February Revolution in the Russian Empire, a majority of Latvians did not expect more for their country than a federated status in a Russian state. "Free Latvia in Free Russia" was the slogan of the day. During March 12–13, 1917 in Valmiera the Vidzeme Land Congress took place, which set up the Provisional Land Council of Vidzeme.
The group of countries that are members of the inter-governmental Baltic Assembly and Baltic Council of Ministers, [4] and generally referred to by the shorthand, Baltic states: [5] [6] [7] Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, exclaved from the remainder of Russia. [8]
The Pale of Settlement [a] was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (de facto until 1915) in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed and beyond which Jewish residency, permanent or temporary, [1] was mostly forbidden.
Latvian (endonym: latviešu valoda, pronounced [ˈlatviɛʃu ˈvaluɔda]), [3] also known as Lettish, [4] is an East Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family and it is spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European ...
Because of the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne) of 11 November 1918, Germany had to renounce that treaty, as did Russia, leaving Latvia and the other Baltic States in a position to claim independence. After more than 700 years of German, Swedish and Russian rule, Latvia, with Riga as its capital city, declared its independence on 18 November ...