For more information see the Latvia profile.

The Republic of Latvia, is basically a fertile plain with 3,000 lakes, marshes and 293 miles of coastline located on the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea. Ruled by 5 different powers since the Middle Ages, and becoming independent from Russia in 1991, Latvia is now a multi-party democracy.

Communist repression and control of the Churches was more severe than in other Baltic states because of the large military presence and Russian Communist settlers. Latvians need to restore their national pride, culture and language without penalizing ethnic minorities. Although Latvia has had freedom of religion since 1987-88, many towns and villages are devoid of an evangelical witness, and the non-religious Russians are the more spiritually needy sections of the population.