Posts in Latvia

A pre-Soviet state, Latvia is the central of three Baltic republics.  It has been ruled over the years by Germans, Danes, Poles, Swedes and Russians since the Middle Ages.  Stalin’s conquest in 1940 liquidated a fifth of the population, deported many more and forcibly settled Russians in their place. Latvia has long and deep pagan roots and are among the last European peoples to be Christianized in the 13th century.  They became early supporters of Luther and much of the population converted to Lutheranism.  More recently though, the Nazis harshly persecuted the church. Today, after the fall of Communism, they […]