Latvia

The republic of Latvia is one of the Baltic republics in the northeast of Europe with almost 2 million inhabitants. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language and musical traditions.

The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918. However, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. In 1940, the country was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union, invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, and re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991.

During the Briefmarken-Messe in Essen in May 2017 I left stamped envelopes at almost every foreign postal administration hoping they would send them back when they arrived home. The envelope from Latvia was the first to arrive after the Messe closed. The stamp is a 2014 definitive and the postmark is from Riga. The meaning of 'VSO' in the postmark is unknown to me.

The website of the philately section of Latvijas Pasts: pasts.lv/Philately.

Date sent: 11 May 2017

Date postmark: 15 May 2017

Date received: 17 May 2017

Number of days: 6

Envelope in collection: 66