Latvia and the Latvians Frederic T. Harned, Harvard University (part of a larger M.I.T. study), 1973

General Information

I. Territory

The Latvian SSR is one of the youngest union republics of the USSR. It was incorporated into the Union, together with its neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania, on August 5, 1940. In the struggle for the control of the important trade route, the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea—of which Latvia and its capital Riga occupy the central position—has been attacked and conquered at one time or another by all of the major nations of the Baltic region. Riga itself was founded by the German Teutonic Order in 1201 A.D. [1] For the past 800 years the Latvians have been less participants than prizes of war. Although they have at times fought ably, there have always been too few of them to stem the tide of conquest. Only in 1918, amid the chaos of the Russian Civil War, were the Latvians able to found their own independent state. However, they were only able to maintain it for twenty years.

Located between 55°40' and 58°5' north latitude [2], the territory of the Latvian SSR coincides with that of the independent Republic of Latvia, with the exception of an area of 464 square miles on the northeastern border which was annexed to the RSFSR in 1945, and of cessions to the RSFSR and Estonia, totaling about 308 square miles, made between 1953 and 1957. [3] Its total area of 24,595 square miles, roughly equal to that of West Virginia, makes it the fourth smallest union republic. The 1,171 mile-long border of Latvia touches upon Estonia, the RSFSR, Belorussia, and Lithuania, and includes 307 miles of seacoast along the Baltic and the Gulf of Riga. [4]

Latvia's climate is relatively mild and moist, reflecting the influence of the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its growing season extends roughly between April 15 and October 15, averaging 183 days per year. [5] Annual rainfall averages 21.6 to 31.5 inches in, different parts of the country. [6] The large majority of the land of the republic is a gentle, rolling plain. Uplands, with a maximum elevating of 1,017 feet, are located in the east-central part of the country and in the west. [7] Sixty percent of the territory is used for agriculture, and 27% of it is in forests. [8] Latvia is rich in lakes and rivers. The chief among the latter are the Daugava (222 miles in Latvia; in Belorussia, it is known as the Western Dvina), the Gauja, Lielupe, and the Venta. The republic is, however, poorly supplied with mineral deposits. The primary mining products are sand and sandstone, gypsum, dolomite, limestone and clay. [9]

1. Spekke, 1951: 135.
2. Rutkis, 1967: 14.
3. King, 1965: 10; BSE, 1953: XXIV: 318; BSE Yezhegodnik 1957: 147.
4. Rutkis, 1967: 155.
5. Rutkis, 1967: 109
6. LME, 1969: IIL 280
7. Rutkis, 1967: 109.
8. King, 1965: 11, 13.
9. Rutkis, 1967: 23-24.