ABSTRACT
The small nation of Latvia (land area: 64,590 square kilometres or 24,930 square miles) is located in northeastern Europe on the Baltic Sea, between Lithuania, Belarus, Russia and Estonia. Its Capital, Riga, was established in 1201 and soon became a key trading centre. Latvia’s Strategie geographic position has been coveted and also controlled by many foreign powers: Germany, Russia, Sweden and Poland. By the eighteenth Century, Latvia’s territory had become part of the Russian Empire.
