The Daugava or Western Dvina is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of the Volga. It is 1,020 km (630 mi) in length, of which 352 km (219 mi) are in Latvia and 325 km (202 mi) in Russia. It is a westward-flowing river, tracing out a great south-bending curve as it passes through northern Belarus.
The Daugava flows through Riga in Latvia
The Swedish army bombarding the fortress of Dünamünde at the Daugava's estuary in Latvia
Daugava sunset in Riga
Port of Riga on the Daugava
Belarusian is an East Slavic language. It is one of the two official languages in Belarus, alongside Russian. Additionally, it is spoken in some parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine by Belarusian minorities in those countries.
The Casimir's Code of 1468, in Ruthenian
The third Lithuanian statute of 1588, all three written in Ruthenian
Ruthenian Bible by Francysk Skaryna, 1517, first ever book printed in Eastern Europe
The cover of the copy of the Dictionary of the Belarusian Local Tongue by Ivan Nasovič preserved at the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum