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Latvian Russian
In Latvia, Russians have been the largest ethnic minority in the country for the last two centuries. The number of Russians in Latvia more than quadrupled during the Soviet occupation of Latvia when the size of the community grew from 8.8% of the total population in 1935 (206,499) to 34.0% in 1989 (905,515). It started to decrease in size again after Latvia regained independence in 1991 falling to 25.2% at the beginning of 2018. Ancient Latvia The Latvian word ''krievi'' for "Russians" and ''Krievija'' for "Russia" (and ''Krievzeme'' for Ruthenia) is thought to have originated from Krivichs, one of the tribal unions of Early East Slavs. During the 11th–12th centuries, Jersika and Koknese, principalities in Eastern Latvia paid tribute to the Principality of Polatsk. Livonia Koknese was taken by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1208 and Jersika in 1209 and later both incorporated into Terra Mariana (Livonia). Early trade East Slavic presence remained, primarily as mer ...
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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 Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers and lies above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2006 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, 2013 World Women's Curling Championship and the 2021 IIHF World Championship. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named the European Region of Gastrono ...
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Principality Of Polatsk
The Principality of Polotsk ( be, По́лацкае кня́ства, ''Polackaje kniastva''; la, Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs. The origin and date of state establishment is uncertain. Rus' Chronicles mention Polotsk being conquered by Vladimir the Great, and thereafter it became associated with the Rurik dynasty and Kievan Rus'. The principality was supposedly established around the ancient town of Polotsk (modern Polatsk, Belarus) by the tribal union of Krivichs. In the second half of the 10th century, Polotsk was governed by its own dynasty; its first ruler mentioned in the chronicles was the semi-legendary Rogvolod (?–978), better known as the father of Rogneda. The principality was heavily involved in several succession crises of the 11th–12th centuries and a war with the Land of Novgorod. By the 13th century it was integrated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At t ...
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Latgale
Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While most of Latvia is historically Lutheran, Latgale is predominantly Roman Catholic: 65.3% according to a 2011 survey. There is also a strong Eastern Orthodox minority (23.8%), of which 13.8% are Russian Orthodox Christians and 10.0% are Old Believers. As of 2020, the region's population was 255,968. The region has a large population of ethnic Russians, especially in Daugavpils, the largest city in the region and the location of the region's only public university, the University of Daugavpils. Many of the Russians who lived in Latgale before Soviet rule are Old Believers. Rēzekne, often called the heart of Latgale, Krāslava, and Ludza are other large towns in the region, which also has a Belarusian minority. There is also a signif ...
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Ivan The Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan was the son of Vasili III, the Rurikid ruler of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. He was appointed grand prince after his father's death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers known as the "Chosen Council" united around the young Ivan, declaring him tsar (emperor) of all Rus' in 1547 at the age of 16 and establishing the Tsardom of Russia with Moscow as the predominant state. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to an empire under the tsar but at an immense cost to its people and its broader, long-term economy. During his youth, he conquered the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. After he had consolidated his power, Ivan rid himself of the advisers from the "Chosen Council" and triggered t ...
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Livonian War
The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia (Muscovy) faced a varying coalition of the Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Union (later Commonwealth) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. From 1558 to 1578, Russia controlled the greater part of the region with early military successes at Dorpat (Tartu) and Narwa (Narva). The dissolution of the Livonian Confederation brought Poland–Lithuania into the conflict, and Sweden and Denmark intervened between 1559 and 1561. Swedish Estonia was established despite continuing attacks from Russia, and Frederick II of Denmark bought the old Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, which he placed under the control of his brother Magnus of Holstein. Magnus attem ...
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Dünaburg Castle
Dinaburga Castle (German: Dünaburg), also known as ''Vecdaugavpils'' or ''Vecpils'', is a castle located in Naujene Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia, east of Daugavpils. It is strategically situated on a high bank of the Daugava River. It was built between 1273 and 1277 by the Livonian Order, and destroyed by Russian troops before 1577. Nowadays, fragments of the foundation are exposed. History In 1273 the order built Dinaburga Castle on lands nominally controlled by Grand Duke of Lithuania Traidenis. The castle was of great strategic importance: it was used as a base for Order raids into central Lithuania in hopes that a weakened Traidenis would discontinue his support of Semigallians who rebelled against the Order. In 1277 castle was surrounded by Traidenis. Within a month, the castle was stormed with 4 movable siege towers. The Russians fought among the attackers, but this did not bring any success, and the Lithuanians were forced to ...
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Ivan III Of Russia
Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II from the mid-1450s before he officially ascended the throne in 1462. He multiplied the territory of his state through war and through the seizure of lands from his dynastic relatives, ended the dominance of the Tatars over Russia, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, introduced a new legal codex and laid the foundations of the Russian state. His 1480 victory over the Great Horde is cited as the restoration of Russian independence, 240 years after the fall of Kiev in the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'. Ivan was the first Russian ruler to style himself "tsar", albeit not as an official title. Through marriage to Sofia Paleologue, he made the double-headed eagle Russia's coat of arms and adopted the idea of Moscow as Third ...
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Nyborg Agreement
Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of Svendborg and 21 km south of Kerteminde. It also connects to Korsør through the Great Belt Bridge. Nyborg is the seat of Nyborg Municipality, and until 1793 it was also the seat of Nyborg County. The city was founded in the 1200s, built up around Nyborg Castle. The castle holds a central place in Nyborg geographically, historically and culturally. Etymology Nyborg was first mentioned in 1193 as 'Nyburg', which translates to 'new castle' in Danish. History Before Nyborg was founded, a fortification existed in the area under the name of Gammelborg. It was established in the 500s, and used throughout the Viking age until Nyborg was founded and took over its role. Nyborg was first mentioned in 1193 in the history of Denmark as N ...
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Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Лифляндия, Liflyandiya) is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extended to most of present-day Estonia and Latvia, which had been conquered during the Livonian Crusade (1193–1290) by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. Medieval Livonia, or Terra Mariana, reached its greatest extent after Saint George's Night Uprising that in 1346 forced Denmark to sell the Duchy of Estonia (northern Estonia conquered by Denmark in the 13th century) to the State of the Teutonic Order. Livonia, as understood after the retreat of Denmark in 1346, bordered on the Gulf of Finland in the north, Lake P ...
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Riga Merchant Guild
The Riga Merchant Guild, also known as the Large Guild of Riga or St. Mary's Guild (German: Die Große Gilde zu Riga, St. Marien-Gilde) was a German Merchant guild in Riga, the Latvian capital, which existed from 1354 to 1936. A precursor, the Heilig-Kreuz-Gilde (Guild of the Holy Cross) was founded around 1252. Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282, and the German guilds became more prominent in the life of the city. In 1354, the merchants created their own separate guild, independent of the Heilig-Kreuz-Gilde, and called it St. Marien-Gilde. The counterpart of the Merchant Guild was the Small Guild of Riga, also known as The Guild of St. John (Die Kleine Gilde zu Riga, Sankt-Johannis-Gilde), a fraternity of master craftsmen which had separated from the other guilds in 1352. References History of Riga Medieval Latvia Guilds in Livonia {{Europe-org-stub ...
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Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the League ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across seven modern-day countries; at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries, it stretched from the Netherlands in the west to Russia in the east, and from Estonia in the north to Kraków, Poland in the south. The League originated from various loose associations of German traders and towns formed to advance mutual commercial interests, such as protection against piracy and banditry. These arrangements gradually coalesced into the Hanseatic League, whose traders enjoyed duty-free treatment, protection, and diplomatic privileges in affiliated communities and their trade routes. Hanseatic Cities gradually developed a common legal system governing ...
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Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of modern Russia. The Republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League and its Slavic, Baltic and Finnic people were much influenced by the culture of the Viking-Varangians and Byzantine people. Name The state was called "Novgorod" and "Novgorod the Great" (''Veliky Novgorod'', russian: Великий Новгород) with the form "Sovereign Lord Novgorod the Great" (''Gosudar Gospodin Veliky Novgorod'', russian: Государь Господин Великий Новгород) becoming common in the 15th century. ''Novgorod Land'' and ''Novgorod volost usually referred to the land belonging to Novgorod. ''Novgorod Republic'' itself is a much later term, although the polity was described as a republic as early as ...
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