Latgalian language
Latgalian is spoken in Latgale, the eastern part of Latvia. It is debated whether it is a separate language or a distinct dialect of Latvian. Nevertheless, its standardized form is recognized and protected as a "historical variety of the Latvian language" "(vēsturisks latviešu valodas paveids)" by Latvian law. The 2011 Latvian census established that 8.8% of Latvia's inhabitants, or 164,500 people, speak Latgalian daily. 97,600 of them live in Latgale, 29,400 in Riga and 14,400 in the Riga region.
Russian language in Latvia
Russian became the language of State business, and administrative positions were largely filled by ethnic Russians. In addition to that, Russian served as the language of inter-ethnic communication among the increasingly urbanized non-Russian ethnic groups, making cities major centers for the use of Russian language and made functional bilingualism in Russian a minimum necessity for the local population.