1.
Latvia
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Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a seasonal climate. Latvia is a parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livs are the people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the two surviving Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language, Latvia and Estonia share a long common history. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans, Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population has brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918, however, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule and it ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and it used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes, henry of Latvia coined the Latinisations of the countrys name, Lettigallia and Lethia, both derived from the Latgalians. The terms inspired the variations on the name in Romance languages from Letonia. Around 3000 BC, the ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals, by 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia, Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians, as well as the Livonians speaking a Finnic language
2.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
3.
5 lats coin
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The 5 lats coin was a Latvian lat coin minted in 1929,1931 and 1932. It became a symbol of independence during the Soviet occupation. It was reproduced in several commemorative coins of Latvia and is used on the national sides of the Latvian 1 and 2 euro coins. The reverse design was featured on the 500 lats banknote and in watermarks of all lats banknotes, in February 1929, the Latvian Ministry of Finance decided to issue a 5 lat circulation coin depicting the head of a maiden, which would symbolize the Republic of Latvia and freedom. The coin was designed by Rihards Zariņš, the image of the maiden on the coin is colloquially known as Milda. The model was Zelma Brauere, a proofreader of the State Securities Printing House and she served as a model for other works of the artist, including the 10 lats and 20 lats banknotes and the 50 santīmi coin. In 1939, the Latvian government prepared to mint new 5 lats coins to be issued in 1941, the Latvian maiden was to be replaced by a portrait of the authoritarian leader of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis. Those coins were never minted as the Second World War broke out, after the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, lats continued to circulate alongside the Soviet ruble, although silver coins had largely disappeared from circulation. On 25 March 1941, all denominations of lats were abruptly annulled, as the general society was given no prior warning, an estimated 50 million lats were never exchanged for rubles. The people were left with suddenly-worthless coins and bills, except for sentimental value, the Soviet authorities, however, did have 5 lats coins worth around 3.6 million after the lat was removed from circulation. The 5 lats coin could be sold for 60 kopeks, the image of the maiden featured on the reverse of the coin was used in the design of the modern 500 lats banknote. It is also used as a watermark for all lats banknotes, the Bank of Latvia has issued two collector coins featuring the imagery of the 5 lats coin. The first was struck in 2003 as part of the international series The Smallest Gold Coins of the World, the second was struck in 2012 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the bank. The Bank of Latvia worked with the British Royal Mint, which minted the original coins, to recreate the coin using electrotypes used in minting the original coins. In 2004, after a nationwide idea contest, the design was selected for the side of Latvian Euro coins. The edge of the 2 Euro coin features a similar to the one on the edge of the 5 lats coin. Presentation on making of 2012 commemorative coin
4.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
5.
Soviet ruble
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The Soviet ruble was the currency of the Soviet Union. One ruble was divided into 100 kopeks, many of the ruble designs were created by Ivan Dubasov. In 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Soviet ruble continued to be used in the Post-Soviet states, forming a ruble zone, the word ruble is derived from the Slavic verb рубить, rubit, i. e. to chop. Historically, ruble was a piece of a certain weight chopped off a silver ingot, the word kopek, kopeck, copeck, or kopeyka is a diminutive form of the Russian kopyo — a spear. The Soviet currency had its own name in all Soviet languages, sometimes different from its Russian designation. All banknotes had the name and their nominal printed in the languages of every Soviet Republic. This naming is preserved in modern Russia, for example, Tatar for ruble and kopek are sum, the current names of several currencies of Central Asia are simply the local names of the ruble. Finnish last appeared on 1947 banknotes since the Karelo-Finnish SSR was dissolved in 1956, moldovan has switched to Latin and is once again referred to as Romanian. The first ruble issued for the Socialist government was an issue still based on the previous issue of the ruble prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. They are all in form and started their issue in 1919. At this time other issues were made by the white Russian government and other governing bodies. Denominations are as follows,1,2,3,5,10,15,25,50,60,100,250,500,1,000,5,000,10,000,25,000,50,000,100,000. Short term treasury certificate were also issued to supplement banknote issue in 1 million,5 million,10 million rubles. These issue was printed in various fashions, as inflation crept up the security features were few and some were printed on one side, as was the case for the German inflationary notes. In 1918, state notes were introduced by the R. S. F. S. R. for 1,3,5,10,25,50,100,250,500,1,000,5,000 and 10,000 rubles. These were followed in 1919 by currency notes for 1,2,3,15,20,60,100,250,500,1000,5000 and 10,000 rubles. In 1921, currency note denominations of 5,50,25,000,50,000,100,000,1,000,000,5,000,000 and 10,000,000 rubles were added. In 1922, the first of several redenominations took place, at a rate of 1 new ruble for 10,000 old rubles, the chervonets was also introduced in 1922
6.
Distaff
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As a noun a distaff is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the fibers, keeping them untangled. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in place with a piece of ribbon or string. The word comes from dis in Low German, meaning a bunch of flax, as an adjective the term distaff is used to describe the female side of a family. In Western Europe there were two forms of distaffs, depending on the spinning method. The traditional form is a staff, held under ones arm while using a spindle and it is about 3 feet long, held under the left arm, with the left hand drawing the fibers from it. This version is the older of the two, as spindle spinning predates spinning on a wheel, a distaff can also be mounted as an attachment to a spinning wheel. On a wheel it is placed next to the bobbin, where it is in reach of the spinner. This version is shorter, but otherwise doesnt differ from the spindle version, the spinner sat on the dontse with the vertical piece of the distaff to her left, and drew the fibers out with her left hand. The distaff was often carved and painted, and was an important element of Russian folk art. Recently handspinners have begun using wrist-distaffs to hold their fiber, these are made of material such as braided yarn. They generally consist of a loop with a tail, at the end of which is a tassel, the spinner wraps the roving or tow around the tail and through the loop to keep it out of the way, and to keep it from getting snagged. Dressing a distaff is the act of wrapping the fiber around the distaff, with flax, the wrapping is done by laying the flax fibers down, approximately parallel to each other and the distaff, then carefully rolling the fibers onto the distaff. A ribbon or string is tied at the top. The term distaff is used as an adjective to describe the matrilineal branch of a family. This term developed in the English-speaking communities where a spinning tool was used often to symbolize domestic life. One still recognized use of the term is in horse racing, from 1984 until 2007, at the American Breeders Cup World Championships, the major race for fillies and mares was the Breeders Cup Distaff. It is commonly regarded as the analog to the better-known Breeders Cup Classic
7.
Brooch
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A brooch /ˈbroʊtʃ/ is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to hold them closed. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold, brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gemstones and may be solely for ornament or sometimes serve a practical function as a fastening, perhaps for a cloak. The earliest known brooches are from the Bronze Age, as fashions in brooches changed rather quickly, they are important chronological indicators. Many sorts of European brooches found in archaeology are usually referred to by the Latin term fibula, the fibula is an ornamental clasp used by Romans, Greeks, Germanic peoples and also by Celts and migratory tribes in Europe from the Early Bronze Age. They may have replaced fibulae made of more perishable Neolithic materials, fibulae are useful type-objects, carefully catalogued local typologies, dating and distribution of fibulae can help date finds where neither numismatic nor ceramic materials provide a secure date. Fibulae were shaped somewhat like a safety pin and were used to hold clothing together. They came in varieties and held prominent significance for the identity of the wearer, indicating ethnicity. Elaborately designed fibulae were an important part of Late Antique dress, the same types of fibulae can often be found on either side of the Roman limites, both among Roman and barbarian populations. The cultural interplay of elite objects designed to show status can be quite complex and it is likely that this type originated among Celtic groups and came to be adopted as an exotic fashion by Roman aristocrats, becoming naturalized as an important Roman emblem, and then exported. From the eighteenth century through the Victorian era it was fashionable to incorporate hair, the practice began as an expression of mourning, then expanded to keepsakes of loved ones who were living. Human hair was encased within the brooch or braided and woven into a band to which clasps were affixed and it was not uncommon for miniature brooch portraits to incorporate ground human hair as pigment. Two sided swivel brooches would display a portrait on one side and a lock of hair on the other, hellenic Ministry of Culture, Katie Demakopoulou, Bronze Age Jewellry in Greece Brooch. Metropolitan jewelry, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
8.
Gold standard
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A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. Three types can be distinguished, specie, bullion, and exchange, the gold bullion standard is a system in which gold coins do not circulate, but the authorities agree to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price in exchange for the circulating currency. The gold exchange standard usually does not involve the circulation of gold coins. This creates a de facto standard, where the value of the means of exchange has a fixed external value in terms of gold that is independent of the inherent value of the means of exchange itself. Most nations abandoned the standard as the basis of their monetary systems at some point in the 20th century. An estimated total of 174,100 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history and this is roughly equivalent to 5.6 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 9,261 cubic metres, or a cube 21 metres on a side. There are varying estimates of the volume of gold mined. One reason for the variance is that gold has been mined for thousands of years, another reason is that some nations are not particularly open about how much gold is being mined. In addition, it is difficult to account for the output in illegal mining activities. World production for 2011 was at 2,700 tonnes, since the 1950s, annual gold output growth has approximately kept pace with world population growth of around 2x, although far less than world economic growth of some 8x, or some 4x since 1980. The gold specie standard arose from the acceptance of gold as currency. Various commodities have been used as money, typically, the one that loses the least value over time becomes the accepted form, the use of gold as money began thousands of years ago in Asia Minor. During the early and high Middle Ages, the Byzantine gold solidus, commonly known as the bezant, was used widely throughout Europe, however, as the Byzantine Empires economic influence declined, so too did the use of the bezant. In its place, European territories chose silver as its currency over gold, Silver pennies based on the Roman denarius became the staple coin of Mercia in Great Britain around the time of King Offa, circa CE 757–796. Similar coins, including Italian denari, French deniers, and Spanish dineros circulated in Europe, Spanish explorers discovered silver deposits in Mexico in 1522 and at Potosí in Bolivia in 1545. International trade came to depend on such as the Spanish dollar, the Maria Theresa thaler, and later. In modern times, the British West Indies was one of the first regions to adopt a gold specie standard, following Queen Annes proclamation of 1704, the British West Indies gold standard was a de facto gold standard based on the Spanish gold doubloon. A formal gold specie standard was first established in 1821, when Britain adopted it following the introduction of the sovereign by the new Royal Mint at Tower Hill in 1816
9.
Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940
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In July 1989 the country stepped on the road of the restoration of its independence, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Latvias sovereignty was fully restored in 1991. On August 22,1996, the Latvian parliament adopted a declaration which stated that the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 was a military occupation, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Latvia declared its independence on November 18,1918. After a prolonged War of Independence, Latvia and Soviet Russia signed a treaty on August 11,1920. The independence of Latvia was diplomatically recognised by the Allied Supreme Council on January 26,1921, on September 22,1921 Latvia was admitted to membership in the League of Nations and remained a member until the formal dissolution of the League in 1946. On June 7,1939 German–Latvian Non-Aggression Pact was signed, on September 1,1939, the day World War II began, Latvia declared its neutrality. Article II defines forms of aggression, fourth — a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, signed August 23,1939 contained secret protocols to split up territories between Germany and the Soviet Union. According to these protocols, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia were within the Soviet sphere of interest, Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. France and Britain, which were obligated by treaty to protect Poland, following French-British indecision, Britain acted alone moving forward with a two-hour ultimatum at 9, 00am on September 3, which France was then forced to follow, issuing its own ultimatum. France subsequently requested Britain not bomb Germany, fearing retaliation against the French populace. It was determined to do nothing, so as to not provoke a transfer of German forces to the western front, chamberlain declared on September 12 There is no hurry as time is on our side. The abandonment of Poland was complete, Stalin then suggested a trade to Hitler to solve the Baltic problem. The Soviet Union now occupied just over half of all Polish territory, There were no impediments remaining to Stalin, in concert with Hitler, achieving his aims in the Baltics. On September 24,1939, warships of the Red Navy appeared off Latvias northern neighbour, Estonian ports, Soviet bombers began a patrol over Tallinn. USSR then violated the air space of all three Baltic states, flying massive intelligence gathering operations on September 25, Moscow demanded that Baltic countries allow the USSR to establish military bases and station troops on their soil for the duration of the European war. During talks in Moscow, on October 2,1939, Stalin told Vilhelms Munters, the Latvian foreign minister, I tell you frankly, as far as Germany is concerned we could occupy you. The Baltics took this threat seriously, the government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum signing the corresponding agreement on September 28. 1939, Latvia following on October 5,1939, and Lithuania shortly thereafter, at face value, this pact did not impinge upon Latvian sovereignty
Latvia
