The 2009 Riga riot was an outbreak of civil unrest in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, on January 13, 2009, lasting for three hours following the economic downturn of the 2008 Latvian financial crisis as well as political discontent with the Latvian government's continued pursuance of

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

policies. Around 10,000 people gathered for anti-government protests which eventually became violent. The riot was the worst outbreak of violence in Latvia since 1991 when Latvia declared independence from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Background

Before the riot, the All for Latvia party organized a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

demanding that the

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it w ...

dissolve the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

as well as call early elections. Protesters were concerned mainly with the competence of their political administration, corruption and the economic downturn caused by the 2008 Latvian financial crisis. The financial crisis resulted in a recession and an unemployment crisis after Latvia had been the fastest growing economy in Europe for several consecutive years.

Riot

After the crowd had become violent, some attempted to storm the Saeima but were repulsed by riot police with Mace, truncheons and

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

. After the failed attempt at storming the parliament, ice, rocks and other debris were thrown at government buildings as well as police. After the rioters had been dispersed by police they regrouped at

Vecrīga Vecrīga ("Old Riga") is the historical center and a neighbourhood (as Vecpilsēta) of Riga, Latvia, located in the Central District on the east side of Daugava River. Vecrīga is famous for its old churches and cathedrals, such as Riga Cathedra ...

where the smashing of windows as well as the looting of shops began.

Aftermath

Following the riot, 126 people were arrested and at least 25 injured, although these numbers are disputed. On February 20, the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of prime minister

Ivars Godmanis Ivars Godmanis (born 27 November 1951) is a Latvian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Latvia from 1990 to 1993 and again from 2007 to 2009. He was the first Prime Minister of Latvia after the country restored its independence from t ...

was dissolved and he resigned his position as head of the government. Similar protests took place in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, three days after the protest in Riga, these protests also ending in similar riots. The

Social Democratic Party "Harmony" The Social Democratic Party "Harmony" ( lv, Sociāldemokrātiskā partija "Saskaņa"; russian: Социал-демократическая партия «Согласие», Sotsial-demokraticheskaya partiya «Soglasiye», S),The party officially ...

gained considerable popularity after the riots.

References

Riga riot Riga riot Political riots Political history of Latvia {{Latvia-poli-stub

Background

Riot

Aftermath

See also

References