Category: United States

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: Background and U.S.-Baltic Relations (excerpts), 2020

[..] Potential Hybrid Threats In recent years, tensions between Russia and the Baltic states have been exacerbated by [..] and a Russian propaganda offensive directed at Russian speakers in the Baltic states. [..] Disinformation Campaigns and Ethnic Russians in Baltic States The presence of a large ethnic Russian population in the Baltic states is a … Continue reading "Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: Background and U.S.-Baltic Relations (excerpts), 2020"

2018 Report on International Religious Freedom

Executive Summary The constitution provides every person the right to “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,” and specifies the separation of church and state.  By law, eight “traditional” religious groups receive rights and privileges other groups do not.  Three new religious groups registered during the year.  Pursuant to a Supreme Court ruling in April, religious groups registered in … Continue reading "2018 Report on International Religious Freedom"

2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2019

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: [..] E. DENIAL OF FAIR PUBLIC TRIAL [..] PROPERTY RESTITUTION No Jewish communal property or restitution law is in effect, and Jewish communal property restitution dating from the Holocaust era remained incomplete. While the Jewish community estimated that approximately 270 properties still required … Continue reading "2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2019"

Did a ‘Pro-Russian’ Party Win Big in Latvia?, factcheck (excerpts), 2018

After the results from Latvia’s parliamentary elections were announced on October 6, headlines declared a big victory for the “pro-Russian” Social Democratic Party, better known as “Harmony.” [..] “Technically Harmony (a party that is the main political force of Latvian Russians) got the highest number of votes 19.80% [..],” Bergmane wrote. “This victory is however … Continue reading "Did a ‘Pro-Russian’ Party Win Big in Latvia?, factcheck (excerpts), 2018"

‘Russian Dawn’ Leader: Ethnic Russians in Latvia Live Under ‘Apartheid’, factcheck (excerpts), 2017

[..] the head of the pro-Russian organization “Russian Dawn,” Illarion Girss, claimed that ethnic “Russians experience apartheid in Latvia.” The Republic of Latvia, formerly under the control of the Soviet Union as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, has a large number of residents (approximately 11.75% of the population) who live in the country but do … Continue reading "‘Russian Dawn’ Leader: Ethnic Russians in Latvia Live Under ‘Apartheid’, factcheck (excerpts), 2017"