Petras Cvirka – the Lithuanian Writer Lionised by the Soviets
Born into a poor farming family in 1909, Cvirka's tangled legacy forms a metaphor for all the paradoxes and complexities of the Soviet era in Eastern Europe.Continue Reading →
"Kas ir Hipsteri?" – Changing Times in a Small Latvian City
Cēsis has changed rather a lot in the last few years, probably more than any other single town in Latvia, and the best place to get the measure of these…Continue Reading →
Latvia's Oil City Ventspils: A Strange "Success Story"
Frequently, in discussions with people about the depopulation and decline of their town, they will point to Ventspils as an example of what could be done.Continue Reading →
"To Gain Knowledge, Go to Wilne": A Walk Through Jewish Vilnius
In the 18th century the city was known as a religious centre and even called the “Jerusalem of the North”, despite anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish attacks.Continue Reading →
"Aukstās Dienas…" Singing in Latvian – Without Ever Having Been to Latvia
"First, we had to compose a song about Latvia, a country we had never visited, based entirely on our own imagination..."Continue Reading →