Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in North Eastern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia and Lithuania, bordering both of them by being in the middle. It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga.
After centuries of occupation and rule by Polish, Swedish, German, and Russian forces, it gained independence in 1918; however, it had to be freed from Soviet rule thereafter. Like most countries of Eastern Europe, Latvia was invaded by the Nazis and had a significant amount of its Jewish population massacred. Christianity is the most dominant faith there; however, some people have been converting to paganism.
