Toggle navigation menu.

Latvia

The Republic of Latvia is a 25,499-square-mile area (about the size of West Virginia) situated on the Baltic Sea. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Russia and Belarus to the east, and Lithuania to the south. Latvia's population is approximately 1.9 million, almost a third of whom live in the capital, Riga.

Latvia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1944. Tens of thousands of Latvians were deported to Siberia both during and after the war, and Russians and people from other Soviet republics began migrating to Latvia. In 1987, an independence movement emerged in the country, and independence was finally restored in September 1991.  Latvia joined both the EU and NATO in 2004. Today, Latvians comprise only about 62 percent of the country's population. The Russian population is about 25 percent of the total, with the remainder consisting mostly of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Lithuanians.

In a move reflecting Latvia’s growing anxiety about Russian aggression, the country has joined its two Baltic neighbors in requesting that NATO permanently deploy forces within its borders as a deterrent. Specifically, Latvia is concerned that recent Russian declarations of an “obligation” to protect Russian speakers across the former Soviet States signal an increasing Russian willingness to intervene militarily elsewhere in the region. Latvia’s largest internal challenge is corruption, while issues such as incidents of anti-Semitism, trafficking in persons, and prisoner abuse arise sporadically.

Staff Contact: Alex Tiersky, senior policy advisor

Category
Country
Issue
Date
Filter Topics Open Close
Hearings

European Energy Security Post-Russia

Jun 07, 2022

Russia is weaponizing energy to prolong its unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately, the sanctions that Europe and the United States have put in place have not been enough to curb Russian aggression thus far and the European Union pays Russia almost a billion euros a day for energy resources—mostly gas— that fund the Russian war […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

European Energy Security Focus of Upcoming Helsinki ...

Jun 02, 2022

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following hearing: EUROPEAN ENERGY SECURITY POST-RUSSIA Tuesday, June 7, 2022 2:30 p.m. Watch live: www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission The United States and European allies have largely cut Russia out of the global economy following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, given […]

screen-reader-text
Publications

Helsinki Commission Digital Digest March 2022

Mar 31, 2022

screen-reader-text
Generic BG 368x331
Hearings

“Game-Changer”

Mar 17, 2022

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has destroyed the international framework that has kept the peace in Europe since 1945, at a time when Baltic states Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia already faced complex and evolving security challenges. Beyond Putin’s existential threats, the Baltic states now must deal with a Belarus that has become little […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Recognizes Key Contributions fro...

Mar 08, 2022

WASHINGTON—In light of Russia’s continued criminal war on the peaceful citizens of Ukraine, Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following joint statement: “Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s barbaric war against the Ukrainian people has inspired […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairs of Lithuania, Eston...

Mar 07, 2022

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following hearing: “GAME-CHANGER” The Baltics Under Pressure Thursday, March 17, 2022 10:00 a.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 106 Watch live: www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has destroyed the international framework that has kept the […]

screen-reader-text
Statements

45th Anniversary of the U.S. Helsinki Commission

Jun 21, 2021

I take this time as the Chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission, as we celebrate our 45th anniversary. The Helsinki Commission is the vehicle for U.S. participation in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), representing 57 states that have come together under […]

screen-reader-text
Hearings

Sweden’s Leadership of the OSCE

Jun 11, 2021

In 2021, Sweden chairs the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)—which comprises 57 participating States stretching from North America, across Europe, and to Central Asia and Mongolia. Even as the OSCE begins to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is tackling other critical challenges, including Russia’s ongoing […]

screen-reader-text
Articles

COVID-19 Vaccination Rollouts Expose Underlying Ineq...

Jun 07, 2021

By Michelle Ngirbabul, Max Kampelman Fellow, and Shannon Simrell, Representative of the Helsinki Commission to the U.S. Mission to the OSCE More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, over 169 million cases and nearly four million deaths have been reported worldwide. The development and rollout of mass vaccination campaigns have proved to be the […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde to Appear at Hels...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: SWEDEN’S LEADERSHIP OF THE OSCE Priorities for 2021 Friday, June 11, 2021 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Watch Live: https://www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission In 2021, Sweden chairs the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization for Security and Cooperation […]

screen-reader-text
Logo_tile_368x331
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Commemorates 45 Years of Advanci...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, on June 3, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) and commission leaders Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) and Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statements: “The Helsinki Commission has played a vital role in elevating […]

screen-reader-text
OSCE Credit Curtis Budden 368x331
Press Releases

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Appear at Helsin...

Sep 09, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: ALBANIA’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE OSCE Responding to the Multiple Challenges of 2020 Thursday, September 17, 2020 1:00 p.m. Watch Live: www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission In 2020, Albania holds the chairmanship of the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization […]

screen-reader-text