Museums of Polotsk
More about the Museum-reserve
Polotsk National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve is a unique historical area where its monuments are being preserved, studied, restored and adapted for museum expositions. Some of the architectural monuments house the museums' expositions: the Sophia Cathedral (11 --18th centuries), one of the buildings of the former Jesuit college (18th century), Lutheran church (1888), Brethren School (18th century), house in Voikova Street,1 and Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, 46 (19th -- beginning of the 20th century), Peter's the Great House (1692), the Water Tower (1953). Altogether, Reserve includes 11 museums.
Museum-Reserve itself including zone of preservation, zone with a special regime of construction, existing and future museums is the key to turn historical Polotsk into a museum town.
National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve
More about the Museum-reserve
Polotsk National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve is a unique historical area where its monuments are being preserved, studied, restored and adapted for museum expositions. Some of the architectural monuments house the museums' expositions: the Sophia Cathedral (11 --18th centuries), one of the buildings of the former Jesuit college (18th century), Lutheran church (1888), Brethren School (18th century), house in Voikova Street,1 and Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street, 46 (19th -- beginning of the 20th century), Peter's the Great House (1692), the Water Tower (1953). Altogether, Reserve includes 11 museums.
Museum-Reserve itself including zone of preservation, zone with a special regime of construction, existing and future museums is the key to turn historical Polotsk into a museum town.
Saint Eufrosyne Monastery, Polotsk, Soviet Union, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Belarus
In 1941, during the Great Patriotic War, the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk disappeared without a trace and has not yet been found.
The monastery was founded by the holy princess Euphrosyne of Polotsk in 1125, when she settled near the Transfiguration church in Selce. Over time, the sisters of St. Euphrosyne were tonsured: the native Evdokia (in the world of Gordislav) and the cousin Evpraksia (in the world of Zvenislav) - the only daughter of the Polotsk prince Boris Vseslavich.
In 1161, with the zeal of St. Euphrosyne the Monk the stone Transfiguration Church was erected, the best preserved monument of the ancient Polotsk architecture.
Mother Euphrosynia in 1161 donated a gilt cross to the church. This cross known as the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk had relics of many saints and was carved in wood which is claimed to come from the Life-giving Cross of Christ. The cross was carved by the local master jeweler Lazar Bogsha. In the XIII century the cross was taken from Polotsk, but again returned to the monastery Ivan the Terrible in 1563 after the successful siege of the city.
In 1580, the monastery was given to the Jesuits after the capture of Polotsk by Stephen Bathory. In 1654, it was returned to Orthodoxy but in 1667, was again taken over by the Jesuits, who kept it until 1820, when they were expelled from Polotsk. In 1832 the monastery was transferred to the orthodox church and in 1840 it was restored. In 1841 the Cross of the Euphrosyne of Polotsk was returned to the Transfiguration Cathedral.
In the 1840s, the ancient monastery was ranked first-class. In the walls of the monastery the Saint Euhrosyne women's spiritual school was located . In 1847, with the Abbess of Claudia Schepanovsky, the construction of the Euphrosyne Refectory Church was started. It was opened on 5 June (23 May o.s.), 1858.
In 1897, under the abbess Yevgeniya Govorovich, a monumental five-domed Cross Exaltation Cathedral was erected, designed according to the design of architect V.F. Korshikov in the neo-Byzantine style .
Minsk | Wikipedia audio article
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Minsk
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск, pronounced [mʲinsk]; Russian: Минск, [mʲinsk]) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, situated on the Svislač and the Nyamiha Rivers. As the national capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region (voblasć) and Minsk District (rajon). The population in January 2018 was 1,982,444, making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. Minsk is the administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and seat of the Executive Secretary.
The earliest historical references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067), when it was noted as a provincial city within the Principality of Polotsk. The settlement developed on the rivers. In 1242, Minsk became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It received town privileges in 1499.
From 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodeship, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. Minsk will host the 2019 European Games.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania | Wikipedia audio article
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Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that lasted from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria.
The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.The Grand Duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other Slavic lands, including what is now Belarus and parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion and cultural heritage.
Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the late reign of Gediminas and continued to expand under his son Algirdas. Algirdas's successor Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo in 1386, bringing two major changes in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: conversion to Catholicism and establishment of a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. It also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated. Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family (Radziwiłłs), attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, unsuccessful wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact.
Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army and treasury. The federation was terminated by the passing of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, when there was supposed to be now a single country, the Commonwealth of Poland, under one monarch and one parliament. Shortly afterward, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations.
However, the newly-reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state (principal cities being Kraków, Warsaw and Vilnius) remaining only nominally independent. After the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was completely partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria in 1795.
Minsk | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:00 1 Etymology and historical names
00:02:08 2 History
00:02:17 2.1 Early history
00:04:11 2.2 Late Middle Ages
00:06:42 2.3 Russian rule
00:09:26 2.4 20th century
00:15:51 2.5 Recent developments
00:17:19 3 Geography
00:18:46 3.1 Climate
00:20:31 3.2 Ecological situation
00:21:48 4 Demographics
00:21:57 4.1 Population growth
00:22:09 4.2 Ethnic groups
00:29:35 4.3 Languages
00:31:23 4.4 Religion
00:32:02 4.5 Crime
00:33:42 5 Economy
00:35:30 5.1 Industry
00:39:17 5.2 Unemployment
00:39:58 6 Government and administrative divisions
00:40:24 7 Culture
00:40:52 7.1 Churches
00:42:46 7.2 Cemeteries
00:43:20 7.3 Theatres
00:43:53 7.4 Museums
00:44:34 7.5 Recreation areas
00:44:54 7.6 Cinemas
00:46:16 8 Tourism
00:46:36 9 Sports
00:46:44 9.1 Football
00:47:01 9.2 Ice hockey
00:47:15 9.3 Handball
00:47:26 9.4 Basketball
00:47:37 9.5 International sporting events
00:48:29 10 Transport
00:48:38 10.1 Local transport
00:50:41 10.2 Rapid transit
00:53:38 10.3 Railway and intercity bus
00:55:40 10.4 Airports
00:57:05 11 Education
00:57:30 11.1 Major higher educational institutions
01:02:55 12 Honors
01:03:15 13 Notable residents
01:07:04 14 International relations
01:07:14 14.1 Twin towns and sister cities
01:07:26 15 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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- improves your listening skills
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Speaking Rate: 0.7705188183237154
Voice name: en-AU-Wavenet-C
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Minsk (Belarusian: Мінск, pronounced [mʲinsk]; Russian: Минск) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, situated on the Svislač and the Nyamiha Rivers. As the national capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region (voblasć) and Minsk District (rajon). The population in January 2018 was 1,982,444, (not including suburbs) making Minsk the 11th most populous city in Europe. Minsk is the administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and seat of its Executive Secretary.
The earliest historical references to Minsk date to the 11th century (1067), when it was noted as a provincial city within the Principality of Polotsk. The settlement developed on the rivers. In 1242, Minsk became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It received town privileges in 1499.From 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodeship, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, as a consequence of the Second Partition of Poland. From 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the Soviet Union. In June 2019, Minsk will host the 2019 European Games. Tourists who have accreditation cards or tickets to sporting events can visit the country rom 10 June till 10 July 2019 without a visa.
Latvia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Latvia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
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This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Latvia ( or ( listen); Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija]), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.
The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Stalinist regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.
Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, Latvia is home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia), some of whom (14.1% of Latvian residents) have not gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population are largely Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Latvia is a member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, the country was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014. A full member of the Eurozone, it uses the euro as its currency since 1 January 2014, replacing the Latvian lats.
Latvia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Latvia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
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Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
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This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Latvia ( or ( listen); Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija]), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.
The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Stalinist regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.
Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, Latvia is home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia), some of whom (14.1% of Latvian residents) have not gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population are largely Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Latvia is a member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, the country was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014. A full member of the Eurozone, it uses the euro as its currency since 1 January 2014, replacing the Latvian lats.
Catherine the Great | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:39 1 Early life
00:10:30 2 Reign of Peter III and the icoup d'état/i of July 1762
00:14:34 3 Reign (1762–96)
00:14:45 3.1 Coronation (1762)
00:16:13 3.2 Foreign affairs
00:17:39 3.2.1 Russo-Turkish Wars
00:19:52 3.2.2 Russo-Persian War
00:21:56 3.2.3 Relations with Western Europe
00:23:36 3.2.4 Partitions of Poland
00:25:22 3.2.5 Relations with Japan
00:26:21 3.3 Economics and finance
00:28:16 3.4 Arts and culture
00:35:08 3.5 Education
00:42:35 3.6 Religious affairs
00:43:52 3.6.1 Islam
00:46:09 3.6.2 Judaism
00:48:16 3.6.3 Russian Orthodoxy
00:50:40 3.7 Personal life
00:52:51 3.7.1 Poniatowski
00:55:43 3.7.2 Orlov
00:57:25 3.7.3 Potemkin
00:59:20 3.8 Serfs
00:59:42 3.8.1 Rights and conditions
01:03:46 3.8.2 Attitudes towards Catherine
01:06:27 4 Final months and death
01:10:51 5 Children
01:11:00 6 Romanov dynastic issues
01:11:11 6.1 Pretenders and potential pretenders to the throne
01:13:01 6.1.1 Rise of pretenders
01:17:03 6.1.2 Pretenders and royal marks
01:19:36 6.2 Succession to the throne
01:20:22 7 Titles and styles
01:21:13 8 In popular culture
01:22:22 9 Ancestry
01:22:31 10 List of prominent Catherinians
01:23:29 11 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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Speaking Rate: 0.9799328397112379
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-B
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Catherine II (Russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Yekaterina Alekseyevna; 2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729 – 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796), also known as Catherine the Great (Екатери́на Вели́кая, Yekaterina Velikaya), born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état that she organised—resulting in her husband, Peter III, being overthrown. Under her reign, Russia was revitalised; it grew larger and stronger and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe.
In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev, and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo–Turkish wars, and Russia colonised the territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.
Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities and towns were founded on her orders. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the economy continued to depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and private landowners led to increased levels of reliance on serfs. This was one of the chief reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachev's Rebellion of cossacks and peasants.
Catherine decided to have herself inoculated against smallpox by a Scottish doctor, Thomas Dimsdale. While this was considered a controversial method at the time, she succeeded. Her son Pavel was later inoculated as well. Catherine then sought to have inoculations throughout her empire stating: My objective was, through my example, to save from death the multitude of my subjects who, not knowing the value of this technique, and frightened of it, were left in danger. By 1800, approximately 2 million inoculations were administer ...
Latvia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Latvia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Latvia ( or ( listen); Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija]), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.
The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Stalinist regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.
Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, Latvia is home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia), some of whom (14.1% of Latvian residents) have not gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population are largely Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Latvia is a member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, the country was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014. A full member of the Eurozone, it uses the euro as its currency since 1 January 2014, replacing the Latvian lats.
Latvia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Latvia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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Latvia ( or (listen); Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija]), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.
The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Stalinist regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livonians are the indigenous people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two surviving Baltic languages.
Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions. However, as a consequence of centuries of Russian rule (1710–1918) and later Soviet occupation, Latvia is home to a large number of ethnic Russians (26.9% in Latvia), some of whom (14.1% of Latvian residents) have not gained citizenship, leaving them with no citizenship at all. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans and Jews. Latvia is historically predominantly Lutheran Protestant, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population are largely Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Latvia is a member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, the country was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and as a high income country on 1 July 2014. A full member of the Eurozone, it uses the euro as its currency since 1 January 2014, replacing the Latvian lats.