The Unbuilt Soviet Metro System that Haunts Latvia's Capital: Beginnings
Riga was down for a metro – a formally and conceptually adventurous system that would have been the most expensive ever built in the Soviet UnionContinue Reading →
"It Flew Like a Shooting Star": Sartre and De Beauvoir's Week in Soviet Lithuania
In July 1965, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir arrived in Soviet-occupied Vilnius. Their week-long stay in Lithuania was to leave a deep impressionContinue Reading →
Sixteen Thousand Voices in Perfect Harmony: Latvia's Incredible Song Festival
Latvia's huge Song and Dance Festival has been recognised as a masterpiece of humanity by UNESCO – and its participants are increasingly multinationalContinue Reading →
From Soviet Border Guard Station to Sauna: Off-Road on Vormsi Island
One cabin was used for accommodating border guards while the other housed a projector that was large enough to light up the coastline.Continue Reading →
Welcome to Maskačka: Stig Stasig's Images of Latvia's Troubled '90s
In 1991, Danish photographer Stig Stasig moved to Riga, capital of newly free Latvia. His photos of inner-city life capture a unique moment in its historyContinue Reading →
Siluett: the Estonian Fashion Magazine that Took the USSR by Storm
Launched in 1958 by the Tallinn Fashion House, Siluett was arguably the one truly agenda-setting fashion magazine the Soviet Union produced.Continue Reading →
Fiction: Grigory Kanovich – Shtetl Love Song
"There’s no doubt that Mendel and I, more than anyone else, wanted to get to Russia as soon as possible..."Continue Reading →
"Maq Sinnu Sali": the South Estonian Dialect Spoken in Deepest Latvia
These words, which mean “I love you” were spoken in the Lutsi language by the last person to still have appreciable knowledge of it, Antonīna NikonovaContinue Reading →
Baltigram: Mapping the Baltic Capitals Through Instagram Selfies
As we gathered a sample of publicly shared geolocated Instagram pictures, we started to notice some interesting patterns...Continue Reading →
Experimental and Extraterritorial: Riga's Russian-Language Orbita Group
For almost 15 years, the Orbita group of Riga-based Russian-speaking poets have been redefining Russian-language poetry in Latvia.Continue Reading →
For David Against Goliath: Iceland's Support for Baltic Independence
“Icelanders tend to support David against Goliath in any dispute.”Continue Reading →
Neighbours but Not Relatives: Translating Between Estonian and Latvian
Despite an almost identical history over the last few hundred years, Estonians and Latvians speak very different languagesContinue Reading →