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Latvia

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a welcoming ceremony in Presidential Courtyard, Vilnius, Lithuania, Jan. 10, 2024.

Zelenskiy visits Baltic states to rally support for Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy just wrapped up a two-day tour of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. His trip is part of a wider diplomatic effort to shore up support for his country.

In eastern Latvia, the closer you get to the Russian border, the more monuments to fallen Soviet soldiers you’ll find.

As war rages on in Ukraine, some ethnic Russians in Latvia say they feel marginalized

Ukraine
Cars line up to cross from Latvia into Russia

Desperate Ukrainians crossing into Latvia while Russians are blocked

Borders
Traditional firewood and pressed sawdust bricks used to be a cheap way to heat your home in Latvia. But with inflation and soaring demand, wood heat has tripled in cost so far this year — and winter hasn't yet begun.

Latvians brace for harsh winter under new austerity measures to lessen dependency on Russian energy

Energy
Russian state-owned television station RT logo is seen through a window with caution tape in front of a building

Baltic ban on Kremlin-tied RT step toward dismantling ‘machinery of disinformation,’ says media expert

Media
A row of multi-colored woolen skirts

For these Latvian Americans, summer is for learning about their roots

Community

A new academic year is kicking off around the world, but for some American teens, the end of summer brings a close to a different school experience — learning their immigration history and family language in heritage summer schools. 

Kalman Aron began sketching when he was 3 years old. He's now 93, and says if he didn't still paint and draw every day he would "die of boredom."

For over 90 years, this Holocaust survivor’s art has kept him alive

Arts

At 93, Kalman Aron still paints everyday in his apartment in Beverly Hills. If he didn’t paint, he says he would “die of boredom.”

Lithuanian soldiers during military exercises in Rapina, Estonia.

Unease in the Baltics as US allies watch Trump praise Putin

Conflict

Three US senators traveled to the Baltics to try to calm the jangled nerves of leaders worried that the US will abandon NATO.

Vladimir Linderman is the former publisher of a Soviet Era pornographic and satire magazine that pushed for LBGT rights. He's now in Latvia trying to curb them.

Six reasons to read BuzzFeed’s story about the man who says he led a sexual revolution in the USSR

Global Politics

Vladimir Linderman once published a Playboy-like magazine that pushed for LGBT rights and put porn on Soviet newstands. Now he’s trying to ban “gay propaganda” in the former Soviet republic of Latvia. So why did he switch sides?

A Call for English Only at the European Union

The World in Words

With 23 official languages– rising to 24 in July– the European Union is knee-deep in translated documents. Must every document be translated into Latvian and Irish? Or should the EU simplify matters by making English its working language? Also, the Webby Awards are known for 5-word acceptance speeches. Many are clever, few are boring, but […]