Between World War I and World War II (1918–1940), Riga and Latvia shifted their focus from Russia to the countries of Western Europe. The United Kingdom and Germany replaced Russia as Latvia's major trade partners.

Riga served as a gateway to trade with the Baltic tribes and with Russia. In 1282 Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League (German Hanse, English Hansa). The Hansa developed out of an association of merchants into a loose trade and political union of North German and Baltic cities and towns.

Dec 19, 2024 · The city’s Russian community, which accounted for some two-fifths of Riga’s population in the early 21st century, maintains strong ties to Russia, and it was instrumental in electing the city’s first ethnic Russian mayor in 2009.

Mar 1, 2010 · The history of Riga, capital of Latvia, has been intertwined with Russia for centuries. Russian settlers, accompanied by Orthodox priests, established themselves in the Baltics long before this city was founded in the ninth century, and during the 18th and 19th centuries, Riga was an important trading port for the Russian Empire.

Throughout the Soviet occupation, Russian settlers would be sent to live in Riga in the apartments that belonged to the Latvians, Germans or Jews recently killed or expelled. By the 1980s, Riga already had a Russian-majority, with Latvians making just 37% of the population.

In those areas highly populated by Russians (Riga and Latgale) Russian electors increasingly voted for Russian parties during the whole period of the parliamentary state. Specific historical conditions determined the attitude of Russians towards the idea of national-cultural autonomy.

Riga was annexed by Russia and became an industrialized port city of the Russian empire, where it remained until World War I. By 1900, Riga was the third largest city in Russia after Moscow and Saint Petersburg in terms of numbers of industrial workers.

Oct 23, 2023 · While you came to Riga to improve your Russian and are comfortable using it daily in the city, have you ever wondered how Riga became a bilingual city? If yes, continue reading as we dive into the history of the Russian minority in Riga …

The Great Northern War concluded the struggle for influence in the Baltic Sea with the victory of Russia. On Riga’s capitulation in 1710 the whole of Vidzeme was incorporated into the Russian Empire and the city became the administrative centre of the province.

Having defeated Sweden in the long Great Northern War (1700-1721), Russians captured Vidzeme with its all-important Riga city. By 1700, a rapidly modernizing Russia sought to become the prime Eastern European great power, and Latvia was to become its window into the Baltic Sea and oceans beyond.