What does it mean to be a Latvian?

December saw my sixth visit to Latvia in 2023. I have now been coming here for 30 years.

I was accompanied on the first part of the trip by a friend from church who took part in one of the sessions on identity, on the Christianity, Work and Society course at the Latvian Biblical Centre in Riga.

When friends come with me on trips, I try to give them a tour of the city. On my friend’s final morning in Riga it was snowing, so we decided to visit the Occupation Museum, which has been completely revamped in the past year. The exhibition tells the complex story of the 20th century in Latvia, which began under Russian rule then, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, saw a period of independence up until the Second World War.