Latvian language
Latvian ("Latviešu valoda" ) is a Baltic language spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. It is sometimes known in English as Lettish, and cognates of the word remain the most commonly used name for the Latvian language in Germanic languages other than English. There are about 1.3 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and 100,000 abroad. Altogether, 2 million, or 80% of the population of Latvia, speak Latvian. Of those, 1.16 million or 56% use it as their primary language at home. The use of the Latvian language in various areas of social life in Latvia is increasing.
Russian language in Latvia
The most prominent Russian-language newspaper in Latvia from 1918 to 1940 was Segodnya (‘Today’) and it was known far beyond Latvia. During the Latvian SSR Sovetskaya Molodyozh (‘Soviet Youth’) first published in 1945 became a popular newspaper successfully competing with other Russian-language newspapers from the rest of the USSR. After the restoration of independence in 1991 the traditions of Sovetskaya Molodyozh were continued by newspapers such as Vesti segodnya (‘Today’s News’), Chas (‘The Hour’), Biznes&Baltia (‘Business & The Baltics’), Telegraph and others. Nowadays, 4 daily Russian-language national newspapers, 11 weekly newspapers, as well as a dozen regional papers and over 30 magazines on various topics are published in Latvia.