''Brīvā Latvija'' (Free Latvia; ) is a weekly newspaper for Latvians living outside

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 ...

, aimed mainly at those residing in western Europe. It was founded in 1986 through the merger of two émigré newspapers: the UK-based ''Londonas Avīze'' (London News; founded 1942) and ''Latvija'' (Latvia; founded 1946 in postwar DP camps), based in West Germany. ''BL'' is co-owned by the Latvian communities of western Europe. The Latvian communities in Britain, Germany, and Sweden each provide members for the newspaper's board. In the mid-1990s, after Latvia regained its independence, the printing of ''BL'' was moved for economic reasons to

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 ...

, where the editorial office also later moved. This newspaper also uses the older

Latvian orthography Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

, with the letters Ch, Ō, and Ŗ. Those letters have since been abandoned from use in the Latvian language.

See also