LATVIA, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of a crimson field (background) divided horizontally by a narrow white stripe. The flag's width-to-length ratio is 1 to 2. The basic design of the flag was used by a Latvian militia unit in 1279, as is attested in a 14th-century manuscript known as the Livlndische Reimchronik (Livland Rhyme-Chronicle). Historian Janis Grinbergs discovered this reference in the 19th century and popularized the banner red in colour, cut through with a white stripe. Long under Russian rule, ethnic Latvians sought such cultural distinctions around which they could rally to preserve their national identity. Students at the University of Tartu, for example, raised a crimson-and-white flag in 1870. During World War I and the Russian Revolution, the flag of Latvia was increasingly displayed. It flew on November 18, 1918, when the Republic of Latvia proclaimed its independence, and it was formally adopted on January 20, 1923. When the Soviet Union absorbed the country in 1940, the flag disappeared, but it was never forgotten, particularly by Latvians in exile. The 194053 flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic resembled the U.S.S.R. flag, with the replacement of the star by the initials of the republic's name. From 1953 to 1990 the Latvian S.S.R. flag was a version of the U.S.S.R. banner incorporating four wavy alternating white and blue stripes along the bottom edge. Usage of the flag was revived within Latvia in 1988, and, on September 29 of that year, display of the flag was legalized. Soviet Latvian symbols were replaced on February 27, 1990, and the 191840 flag was again the sole national flag at the time of independence on August 21, 1991. Whitney Smith History The Latvians constitute a prominent division of the ancient group of peoples known as the Balts. The first historically documented connection between the Balts and the civilization of the Mediterranean world was based on the ancient amber trade: according to the Roman historian Tacitus (1st century AD), the Aestii (predecessors of the Old Prussians) developed an important trade with the Roman Empire. During the 10th and 11th centuries Latvian lands were subject to a double pressure: from the east there was Slavic penetration; from the west came the Swedish push toward the shores of Courland. German rule During the crusading period, Germanor, more precisely, Saxonoverseas expansion reached the eastern shores of the Baltic. Because the people occupying the coast of Latvia were the Livs, the German invaders called the country Livland, a name rendered in Latin as Livonia. In the mid-12th century, German merchants from Lbeck and Bremen were visiting the estuary of the Western Dvina; these visits were followed by the arrival of German missionaries. Meinhard, a monk from Holstein, landed there in 1180 and was named bishop of xkll (Ikkile) in 1186. The third bishop, Albert of Buxhoevden, with Pope Innocent III's permission, founded the Order of the Brothers of the Sword in 1202. Before they merged in 1237 with the Knights of the Teutonic Order, they had conquered all the Latvian tribal kingdoms. After the conquest, the Germans formed a so-called Livonian confederation, which lasted for more than three centuries. This feudalistic organization was not a happy one, its three componentsthe Teutonic Order, the archbishopric of Riga, and the free city of Rigabeing in constant dispute with one another. Moreover, the vulnerability of land frontiers involved the confederation in frequent foreign wars. The Latvians, however, benefited from Riga's joining the Hanseatic League in 1282, as the league's trade brought prosperity. In general, however, the situation of the Latvians under German rule was that of any subject nation. The indigenous nobility was extinguished, apart from a few of its members who changed their allegiance; and the rural population was forced to pay tithes and taxes to their German conquerors and to provide corve, or statute labour. Poland-Lithuania, Sweden, and the encroachment of Russia. In 1561 the Latvian territory was partitioned: Courland, south of the Western Dvina, became an autonomous duchy under the suzerainty of the Lithuanian sovereign; and Livonia north of the river was incorporated into Lithuania. Riga was likewise incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1581 but was taken by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf in 1621; Vidzemethat is to say, the greater part of Livonia north of the Western Dvinawas ceded to Sweden by the Truce of Altmark (1629), though Latgale, the southeastern area, remained under Lithuanian rule. The rulers of Muscovy had so far failed to reach the Baltic shores of the Latvian country, though Ivan III and Ivan IV had tried to do so. The Russian tsar Alexis renewed the attempt without success in his wars against Sweden and Poland (165367). Finally, however, Peter I the Great managed to break the window to the Baltic Sea: in the course of the Great Northern War he took Riga from the Swedes in 1710; and at the end of the war he secured Vidzeme from Sweden under the Peace of Nystad (1721). Latgale was annexed by the Russians at the first partition of Poland (1772), and Courland at the third (1795). By the end of the 18th century, therefore, the whole Latvian nation was subject to Russia. The economy Industrialization in Latvia began in the latter part of the 19th century, and by the late 20th century it was the most heavily industrialized of the Baltic states. Resources The principal mineral resources are sand, dolomite, limestone, gypsum, clay, and peat. Oil has been discovered in the Kurzeme Peninsula, and exploration of reserves is being undertaken. The land Relief, drainage, and soils Latvia is essentially an undulating plain, with fairly flat lowlands alternating with hills. The eastern part of the country is more elevated, the most prominent feature being the Central Vidzeme Upland, which reaches a maximum height of 1,020 feet (311 metres). In the southeast the highest point is 948 feet. The Kurzeme (Courland) Upland in the west is divided by the Venta River into western and eastern parts. Between the Central Vidzeme and Latgale uplands lies the East Latvian Lowland, partly crossed by moraine ridges that impede drainage; there are numerous peat bogs in this area. The Amata River in Gauja National Park in the Middle Latvian Lowland. Latvia contains a multitude of rivers belonging to the Baltic drainage area. The largest are the Western Dvina, locally called the Daugava (with a total length of 222 miles in Latvia), the Gauja (Russian: Gauya), the Venta, and the Lielupe. Amid the hills, many of which are forested, are numerous lakes, ranging from a few acres up to 12 square miles in area. Latvia's soils are predominantly podzolic, though calcareous soils characterize the Zemgale Plain. Swampy soils are found in some areas, particularly the East Latvian Lowland. Erosion is a problem in the more intensely cultivated hilly areas. Climate The climate is influenced by the prevailing air masses coming from the Atlantic. Humidity is high, and the skies are usually cloudy; there are only 30 to 40 days of sunshine per year and 150 to 180 completely overcast days. Average precipitation is 22 to 24 inches (about 550 to 600 millimetres) on lowlands and 28 to 31 inches on uplands. Southwesterly and southerly winds prevail. The frost-free season lasts 125 to 155 days. Summers are often cool and rainy. The mean air temperature in June is 63 F (17 C) with occasional jumps to about 93 F (34 C). Winter sets in slowly and lasts from the middle of December to the middle of March. The mean January temperature ranges from 28 F (-2 C) on the coast to 19 F (-7 C) in the east. There are occasional extreme drops to -40 F (-40 C). The people In the early 1990s Latvians made up little more than half of the total population, down from three-quarters before the Soviet occupation in 1940. During the Soviet period, immigration was far more significant than natural increase in accounting for population growth. Immigrants to Latvia were principally Russians and other Slavs. Irrespective of ethnic background, birth rates were low; indeed, they were insufficient to ensure population replacement. With independence and the emergence of administrative controls over immigration from Russia and other parts of the former U.S.S.R., a major challenge was to offset the aging of the whole population, a serious problem even before independence. Data from the 1980s indicate that Latvians were choosing to have larger families than in the past and larger families than the Slavic segment of the population. It was hoped that this tendency, combined with restrictions on immigration, would arrest the decline in the Latvian share of the population.