Riga Torni - Photo courtesy of www.eunet.lv

Latvia is a country cozily nestled between Estonia and Lithuania on the shores of the Baltic Sea, also known as the "Amber Sea", for the wealth of amber that has washed ashore for millennia. For over 1000 years, Latvia has been occupied at various times by the Germans, Poles, Swedes and Russians, only to claim independence from 1918 to 1940 and again in 1991. Nevertheless, Latvian culture and traditions survived although other cultures have left significant marks on and continue to shape Latvian culture and history.

Riga, Latvia's capital, is often regarded as the most exciting city in the Baltics and is notable for its eclectic architectural styles - from medieval buildings in VecsRiga (Old Riga), to the Art Nouveau and neo-classicist styles of the 1930s. Today, Riga is one of the six leading showcases of Art Nouveau in Europe. Outside of Riga, Latvia can boast of other attractions. Jurmala, the "Baltic Riviera," encompasses a string of small towns and resorts stretching 12 miles along the coast west of Riga. With beaches, dunes and woodlands, museums, galleries, restaurants, pubs and inns, Jurmala has long been a favorite getaway for the Riga elite. Other cities include Daugaupils, in the southeastern part of the country, Ventspils on the western coast and Valmiera in the northeast, all retaining different cultural flavors from their various histories.

Photo courtesy of www.chestyle.ru

Since regaining independence in 1991, Latvia has made steady progress toward reforming its political, economic and education sectors. Since 1992, Fulbrighters have journeyed to Latvia to lecture on topics ranging from journalism to child psychology. Enriching opportunities outside of the classroom also await many grantees to Latvia. Former grantees have had the chance to guest lecture at government agencies, television networks and academic conferences.

The links below have been organized to give applicants more in-depth knowledge about Latvia. CIES encourages interested applicants to make use of the following links to complement their research into the potential opportunities available in Latvia. If you have additional questions about the country or the program, please contact CIES staff.

Embassy of Latvia
www.latvia-usa.org/

U.S. Embassy in Riga
www.usembassy.lv/
General information about the U.S. Mission to Latvia and other U.S. government programs. Excellent links to other sites.

CIA World Factbook Page on Latvia
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lg.html
Geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

Welcome to Latvia
www.tvnet.lv/en
Information on different aspects of life in Latvia, including arts, government, business, finance, communications, computers, education, and travel.

The Baltics Worldwide
www.balticsww.com/
The site has articles, news and business information.

Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies
www.balticstudies-aabs.lanet.lv
www.lanet.lv/members/aabs/
An international educational and scholarly non profit organization. Its purpose is to promote research and education in Baltic Studies. Its activities include sponsorship of meetings and conferences for the exchange of scholarly views, promotion, evaluation, and dissemination of news of current interest in the area of Baltic Studies. The Web site includes a directory of higher education institutions in the Baltic states.

American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/
The AAASS is the preeminent professional association for Slavic Studies in the United States. This site includes Web resources of interest to scholars working on the Baltic states.

University of Washington, Baltic Studies Program
http://depts.washington.edu/baltic
Site contains links to many valuable internet resources on Baltic countries/Baltic studies.

REESWeb
www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb
This site provides a comprehensive index of electronic resources
on Central and East Europe and the NIS sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London.
www.ssees.ac.uk/latvia.htm
An excellent list of internet resources for Latvia, including government, news and media, academic, and tourist sites.

The Baltic Times
www.baltictimes.com/
The Baltic Times is an independent English-language weekly that covers events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It provides comprehensive, timely and in-depth coverage - with a slight analytical bent - about politics, economic development, banking, finance, and culture.

Baltic News Service
www.bns.ee/
The Baltic News Service (BNS) is the largest news agency in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a staff of 160. It distributes daily around 1,000 news items in five languages.

The Baltic Review
www.tbr.ee
The only English-language magazine covering business, law and economics in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Republic of Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
www.mfa.gov.lv/
This Web site contains information about the government and ministries, foreign policy, press releases, consular information and the economy. It has important links to English-language
sites that provide general information on the country and tourism.

The Latvian Institute
www.li.lv/en/
The Latvian Institute is a non-profit organization (a State Corporation with limited liability) founded on 29 September 1998 by order of the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The mission of the Latvian Institute is to provide the international community with information about all aspects of Latvian life.

Braintrack University Index
www.braintrack.com
Links to Higher Education Institutions in 192 countries.

Yahoo University search
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges_
and_Universities/
You can search for international universities by country on Yahoo's search engine.

Central and East European Education Directory
www.ceebd.co.uk/ceeed/educatio.htm
Provides an overview of the structure of Latvian education at all levels and degrees.

Latvian Academic Network
www.lanet.lv/
List of Internet related resources. LANET is the computer network for Education and Science in Latvia. It is used in higher educational establishments by the students, professors, scientists and administration. LANET is under the management and development of the Department of Information Technology of the University of Latvia.

The list below contains links to individual institutions with English-language Web sites that have hosted Fulbright scholars in the past or have expressed an interest in hosting a Fulbright scholar.

Riga Business School
www.rbi.lv/

Riga Graduate School of Law
www.rgsl.edu.lv/
This law school, created in 1997 with the support of the Swedish and Latvian governments that offers a master's in comparative jurisprudence to law graduates from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Fulbright lecturers have taught at the school since its inception.

Riga School of Economics (also known as the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga)
www.sseriga.edu.lv/

Riga Stradins University
www.rsu.lv/en/index.html

Riga Technical University
www.rtu.lv

School of Business Administration Turiba
www.turiba.lv

University of Latvia
www.lu.lv/

North American Studies Center-University of Latvia
www.lu.lv/eng/general/structure/study/nasc/index.html
The center promotes American studies in Latvia. Fulbright lecturers have taught courses on the United States in a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Vidzeme University College
www.va.lv/eng
One of the two new regional universities in northern Latvia.

Cheap Flights
www.cheapflights.com

Travel search results for Latvia
www.rigalatvia.com/

Riga in Your Pocket Guide
www.inyourpocket.com/city/riga.html

City guides for other cities in Latvia may be found at
www.inyourpocket.com/country/latvia.html

Back to Top