Latvia 2024
In August 2024 we had a holiday in the Baltic countries organised by Exodus. A particularly interesting set of countries to visit whose histories (of which I knew very little before the holiday) have a resonance with today’s geopolitical environment in other parts of Europe. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are distinct countries with their own cultures and languages. They have suffered centuries of invasions from the likes of Sweden, Poland, Germany and of course Russia. Germany during WWII and in particular Russia afterwards tried to eradicate their distinct cultures. Luckily they failed and against the odds these small countries are establishing their national identities.
All three countries are very flat – hence they are popular for cyclists but not mountaineers! There was a lot of being driven by coach from one location to another & the scenery after a while was frankly a bit monotonous. The Baltic states were recognised as independent countries after WWI in 1918 and then again in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR.
The Latia 2024 Photos:
After leaving Estonia we visited Cesis with its small ruined castle before moving on to the Gauja National Park. I was mystified though by the description that this ” region is known as the Latvian Switzerland”. There are at most shallow valleys & low hills as far as the eye can see – as the photos show. We then went to the very stylish capital of Riga using it as a base for visiting the seaside at Jurmala & the grand Rundale Palace.
Below is a video that our fantastic guide, Lukas, made for us. Click on the picture to see the uploaded video on YouTube
Some thoughts on Baltic International relations
I was surprised by the strength of the anti-Russian feelings I came across in this holiday. Obviously considering its occupation by the Soviets until 1991, this shouldn’t have come as a shock. What I didn’t know beforehand was the extent that the Soviets went to, in trying to eradicate all traces of nationhood in these countries by wilfully destroying culturally important buildings & monuments. There are many examples of this in these pages on my holiday to the Baltics.
I was not aware of the Baltic Way which must be one of the world’s largest ever single political protest gatherings. Two million people (about a quarter of the combined population of the the Baltic countries) held hands in a line stretching from Tallinn through Riga and ending in Vilnius on 23rd August 1989. The Russians were furious – but by then couldn’t really hold back the demands for independence.
I mentioned to one of our guides that the amount their country was spending on Defence as a proportion of GDP was very high – could they really afford it? The immediate response was “better to be poor & free rather live under those *****“.
It is a very complex problem. As an example, during the Russian occupation between the end of WWII up to 1991 the Soviets encouraged many Russians to live in the Baltic countries to help “Russify” them. Russians now make up a sizeable minority of the population in the Baltic states; for instance a quarter of the Estonian population are ethnic Russians. In addressing this the politicians are sensitive to the risk of giving Russia the same excuses as they used for their invasion of Ukraine.