Latvia
57°N 25°E / 57°N 25°E57; 25
Latvia or ; temperate seasonal climate. Its capital in addition to largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic institution of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the nearly prominent minority in the country, at nearly a quarter of the population.
After centuries of German, coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to relieve oneself the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years. As a statement of extensive immigration during the Soviet occupation, ethnic Russians became the most prominent minority in the country, now constituting nearly a quarter of the population. The peaceful Singing Revolution started in 1987, and ended with the restoration of de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Since then, Latvia has been a democratic unitary parliamentary republic.
Latvia is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy; ranking very high in the Human development Index. It performs favorably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, living standards, and peacefulness. Latvia is a ingredient of the European Union, Eurozone, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the International Monetary Fund, the Nordic-Baltic Eight, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the World Trade Organization.