Latvia

[ lat-vee-uh, laht- ]

noun

1. 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. 25,395 sq. mi. (63,700 sq. km). : Riga.

Latvia

/ ˈlætvɪə /

noun

1. a republic in NE Europe, on the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea: ruled by Poland, Sweden, and Russia since the 13th century, Latvia was independent from 1919 until 1940 and was a Soviet republic (1940–91), gaining its independence after conflict with Soviet forces; it joined the EU in 2004. Latvia is mostly forested. Official language: Latvian. Religion: nonreligious, Christian. Currency: lats. Capital: Riga. Pop: 2 178 443 (2013 est). Area: 63 700 sq km (25 590 sq miles)

Latvia

1. 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.

Notes

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.

Example Sentences

The song also reached the summit in Ireland and Latvia and made the top 10 everywhere from New Zealand to Belgium.

From BBC

With the co-production between Latvia, France and Belgium, Zilbalodis went from being a jack-of-all-trades to forming his own production company — thereby mirroring the loner cat’s sudden need to work in a team environment.

From Los Angeles Times

Latvia, for example, leads in alcohol consumption and ranks third in total deaths, while France, despite high alcohol consumption, has low cardiovascular mortality but high rates of cirrhosis and liver cancer.

From Science Daily

Estonia and Latvia share land borders with Russia, while Lithuania is adjacent to the Russian enclave Kaliningrad, which also shares a border with Poland, and Moscow's close ally, Belarus.

From BBC

The local community raised thousands of pounds towards the cost of repatriating Ms Poletelova’s remains back to Latvia.

From BBC