By William Tauro
H.E. Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia is scheduled to visit Harvard University in Cambridge today, late afternoon.
President Zatlers is in town for a public address to discuss the related project: The Future of Diplomacy Project. "Lavia and Europe After Economic crisis: What's Next."
The Seminar is scheduled to take place at the Malkin Penthouse, Littauer 4th Floor 79 JFK Street located in Harvard University from 4:00-6:00pm
Republic of Latvia
COUNTRY OVERVIEW LOCATION AND SIZE.
Located in the Baltic region of Eastern Europe, Latvia is bordered by Estonia (339 kilometers; 211 miles), Russia (217 kilometers; 135 miles), Belarus (141 kilometers; 88 miles), Lithuania (453 kilometers; 281 miles), and the Baltic Sea (531 kilometers; 330 miles). Slightly larger than the state of West Virginia, Latvia has a total area of 64,589 square kilometers (40,136 square miles). Its capital, Riga, is centrally located and lies next to its namesake, the Gulf of Riga. POPULATION. In July of 2000 the population of Latvia was estimated at 2,404,926, a decrease of 10 percent from the 1989 population of 2,666,567. This decrease is the result of 2 factors. The first is the economic hardships that set in following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991—of which Latvia had been a reluctant member— and the decision of families to postpone procreation.
For the first time since the 1945 flight from the advancing Red Army and the 1949 Soviet deportation of dissident Latvians to Siberia, the total number of deaths outnumbered the total number of births. The second, and more important, factor has to do with the out-migration of Slavs, primarily Russians and
Ukrainians. The regained independence of Latvia in 1991 brought a shift in political power from Russian control into Latvian control. New Latvian language requirements for certain employment sectors and the sudden reality of monolingual Russian speakers living in a new "foreign" country spurred a large
emigration movement.
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