What do you know about .... LATVIA?!?

[NewHampshireDem]

Anyone been there?

I am 1/2 Latvian. My father (who was born in Germany) and his parents (who were both 100% Latvian) came to the US in the 1950's, when my dad was 3 years old. They were displaced persons after the Russian invasion and deportations of the 1940's.

My father finally went back to Latvia last summer, after reconnecting with some of his father's family. (My grandmother was my grandfather's second wife, and 30 years younger than he.) I hope to visit Latvia myself next summer.

My father has also mentioned purchasing property in Latvia to retire and I may just go in with him on it.

So, anyone out there know anything about Latvia?

[izzybeans]

1. I lived with a Latvian in Graduate school.

he was not a citizen because of the very uneasy relationship between russia and latvia since the end of the cold war. They have something akin to the "one drop rule" of old Jim crowe. Since he had family from Russia he can not be Latvian officially.

This is probably why he really didn't speak much about Latvia so much. He said Riga was beautiful and he will take me and my wife there some day.

He was probably the hardest working and resourceful person I've ever known. His stories were about growing up in Soviet Union and the changes since. Since the biggest source of capital back when he was a child was your networking skills (your standing was= to your access to perishable items and other living supplies) he has the interpresonal skills that would make any salesman blush. latvia is also big into oil production-I think, at the very least its an exporter. His father is the chief engineer on an oil tanker that operates between there, the US and South America.

Another thing: if he is any indication of the quality of Latvian education then someone should be going over there and mimicking them. He had his masters degree by 21 and already had a strong grasp of classical philosophy and literature before he did his undergrad.

I have some excellent herbal liquour from Riga. It's great for hangovers and making the cold northeast mornings seem a bit toastier.

That'about all I know.

[NewHampshireDem]

2. Yeah, things are dicey between Russians and Latvians

Most people don't know about the genocide (via forced relocation and simple murder) that the Russians committed on the native Latvians.


Since regaining its independence, Latvia has taken some steps against Latvian Russians, including legislating that instruction in Latvian schools cannot be in Russian. The Latvians are trying to protect what little of their culture is left.

I have a little bottle of that stuff too. It is Melnais Balzams. It is great for a hangover, since if you drank it, you'd never drink again :) I'm sure it is also useful for removing grease stains from the driveway, as an emergency home-made Ipicac, or to ward off vampires. :)

[izzybeans]

5. That part of the story was conveniently left out. I'll have to press him

on it. It'll be interesting to see his response. I understand he wishes to identify as Latvian so he is probably isn't a "denier" in the strict sense. But I will see. He's the child of a "mixed" family. His mother is from Moscow and his father is from Riga. I'm sure he's been caught in the middle his whole life.

[NAO]

3. There was that Seinfeld episode about Lativia and Lativian Orthodox

Where George was going to convert to Latvian Orthodox to get that women who was Latvian.

Kramer had the mysterious power of "the Kavorka".

Everything I know about Latvia I learned from that episode.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Actually, the majority religion in Latvia is Lutheran

as it is in Estonia. Lithuania is Catholic.

My guess would be that most of the Orthodox in Latvia are ethnic Russians.

[WyLoochka]

4. Here's a nice website

a Latvian (came to US as a child) friend of mine put together about the historic Livonia area of Latvia.

http://homepage.mac.com/uldis/livonia/livonia.html

check it out and email him from the site, he'd appreciate it and would likely respond to any questions or comments.

[grannylib]

7. Used to be at summer camp with children from Latvia, Estonia and

Lithuania when I was living in England; about all I remember is the lovely costumes and dancing (I was six) and that I thought they had "funny" names (silly child!)

[AirForceof1]

8. Latvia

Isn't Latvia where Dr. Doom is from?

[NewHampshireDem]

9. I think it's "Latveria"

:shrug:

BTW, Dr. Doom isn't a real person. :)



Latvia, though, is a real place. :)

[StudentOfDarrow]

10. There's a town called OGRE!?!?!?

:rofl:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Probably pronounced "Wogray" though

My grandfather came from Vecpiebalga (Vats-pi-ye-bahl-ga).

[Krist]

12. Rumors about Latvia

An Armenian friend told me that Latvia is becoming extremely right wing and they even have pro-nazi marches in the open very frequently..

[LiberalEsto]

13. My father was born in Latvia

but he was 100% Estonian. His parents were living in a town called Stackeln for a while. His dad was a doctor for a railroad and his mom was a nurse. Their home town, Valga, was on the Estonian-Latvian border.

The Latvian and Estonian languages are completely unrelated to one another. Latvian is in the Indo-European family of languages and Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric family. I spoke Estonian at home (born in NYC) and didn't learn English until kindergarten.

In my 20s I went to a couple of great Latvian parties at a place called Priedaine in Freehold, NJ. I heard their parties were better than the ones at the Estonian House in Lakewood, NJ, and it was true. The Latvians seem to be a much more lighthearted people than Estos, who can be kind of gloomy and quiet.

The Latvians and Lithuanians have their own pagan native religion, called Romuva. They have a sun goddess called Saule.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. "Saule" is the Latvian word for "sun"

Latvia and Lithuania were the last places in Europe to be Christianized, and as far as I know, there were no witch trials, so the old religion survived among the peasants into recent times. (They were Lutheran or Catholic when the authorities were looking, and pagan when the authorities weren't looking.)

There are a lot of folk songs about the sun as a beautiful woman, and there's a spooky winter solstice song about "God riding in the hills in a silver cloak. Let him into the room and light the fires to welcome him."

[tinfoilinfor2005]

15. My parents were both from Latvia and I am going there next week

for the first time ever. I'm taking a tour to St. Petersburg, then the Baltics (with a day in Finland) and when the tour is over I am staying an extra week with my father's sister in Latvia. I'm really excited because I've heard about the country all of my life. My parents and my grandparents (mother's folks) immigrated here after they were forced to leave Latvia, and I remember as a child sitting in my grandparent's bedroom (they lived with us) and listening to them talk about their town (Tukums). Since they had to leave their lives so abruptly, they used to sit and reminisce about their old neighbors, old memories, etc. Recently I looked up a map of Tukums since I will be visiting there, and I actually remembered the names of the streets they used to talk about. So anyway, it will be quite an emotional trip, since my grandparents have passed away without ever having been able to return to their town, their friends, and their son who they never saw again.