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3 days ago · Riga’s municipal government is typically formed by a coalition of diverse political parties. The city’s Russian community, which accounted for some two-fifths of Riga’s population in the early 21st century, maintains strong ties to Russia, and it was instrumental in electing the city’s first ethnic Russian mayor in 2009.
- Guntis Smidchens
Riga employed German as its official language of administration until the installation of Russian in 1891 as the official language in the Baltic provinces, as part of the policy of Russification of the non-Russian-speaking territories of the Russian Empire, including Congress Poland, Finland and the Baltics, undertaken by Tsar Alexander III. More and more Latvians started moving to the city during the mid-19th century.
By 1900, Riga was the third largest city in Russia after Moscow and Saint Petersburg in terms of numbers of industrial workers. During these many centuries of war and changes of power in the Baltic, the Baltic Germans in Riga, successors to Albert's merchants and crusaders, clung to their dominant position despite demographic changes.
The city lost a third of its people as many Russian officials went back to Russia while most Lithuanians and Poles moved to develop their own newly-independent homelands. In 1935, Riga had 385 000 inhabitants, 63% of them ethnic Latvians.
Riga was annexed by Russia and became an industrialized port city of the Russian empire, where it remained until World War I. By 1900, Riga was the third largest city in Russia after Moscow and Saint Petersburg in terms of numbers of industrial workers. Napoleon. The army of Napoleon occupied Kurzeme region, creating a threat to Riga.
The Riga inhabitants are named “Rīdzinieki” on Latvian and “рижане”(rizhani) on Russian. Most of the people by ethnic origin are Latvian (45%) and 40% are Russian. Historically the city had large German population .
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Apr 25, 2017 · In 1201 Albert of Riga (c.1165-1229) landed at Riga with his crusades and quickly conquered the city and made it the seat of the Livonian bishopric. From 1201 until 1561 the city was a part of Terra Mariana (1207-1561), which was a condominium of the Archbishops of Riga and Livonian Order. After this is was a Imperial Free City of the Holy ...
