LATVIANS .COM

Latvia is one of the three Baltic states, sandwiched between sisters Estonia and Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic Sea. Latvians.com, now in its 28 year, is our independent, bilingual chronicle of Latvia — its culture, its past, its present — built on primary sources, original research, and family memory.

Follow Latvia and the Baltics each week

• our weekly bilingual Latvia news digest
• Latvian public media and ministry news
• Sputnik and RT Kremlin “news”
• 5-day weather for Tallinn, Rīga, and Vilnius
• our blog on Latvia and post-Soviet space

Learn about Latvian history and culture

• explore our timeline of Latvian history and
• reference library of contemporaneous sources spanning cultural materials, historical images, post-WWII DP camps, preserving Latvian culture, and Soviet era

Explore Latvian heritage

• browse our photos, travelogues, and thoughts on our travels to Latvia
• explore the post-WWII exile experience of Latvians, including our families, who fled Soviet reoccupation

Our latest additions

In August 1908, following sensationalized newspaper coverage of three Latvians robbing a local saloon, the Boston Sunday Post featured a public response, "Who Are the Letts?," by community leader John Klawa (Jānis Kļava), highlighting the Latvian community's high literacy rates, peaceful nature, and industrious labor — offering a crucial counter-narrative against inflamed anti-immigrant sentiment. We've transcribed the article, researched the Boston socialist newspaper "Strahdneeks" (Strādnieks, "The Worker"), and pieced together the story of John Klawa. latvians.com/en/CFBH/WhoAre1908/  2026 Nov 12

We made some corrections to our web page on my parents' time in the Melle DP camp in Germany and expanded our insight into spiritual life in the DP camps. latvians.com/en/Exile/DPcamps/level-250-melle.ssi  2026 Aug 30

We noticed missing images in our Vilis Lācis' "Latvia, Our Dream is Coming True." We added the images missing, reprocessed the rest, and streamlined navigation. Lastly—and a bit embarrassing—we were unaware Lācis had signed the order for the March 25, 1949 mass deportation; we added a facsimile, transcription, and translation. #latvia #latvija latvians.com/en/CFBH/LatviaLacis/  2026 Aug 25

Working on a couple of reference digitizing projects. In the meantime we've reprocessed the album of photos from the DP-era YMCA-YWCA children's home at Hahnenklee to improve the viewer experience. latvians.com/en/Exile/DPcamps/level-550-ywca-nursery.ssi  2026 Aug 06