by João Lopes Marques*
Didn’t start yesterday. It’s been like this for centuries. Much before the Kremlin gerontocracy, plagued by the rheumatics, fled for a healthy bath in the Summer resort of Jurmala. This exquisite taste of mini-megalomania is part of the Latvian genetic code. Maybe influenced by the fact Riga is the only Baltic metropolis. Or its decisive gateway between two antagonistic worlds: History has proved this was the chosen geography for systematic clashes between West and the Cyrillic civilization.
For a tiny territory inhabited by no more than 2,4 millions, reports can be admirably impressive: we see happening here world ice hockey championships, NATO summits, even bids to UN Secretary-General (i.e. Vaira Vike-Freiberga). Moreover, Air Baltic and its Riga International Airport — nicely dubbed “RIX” — have assumed themselves as the golden hub for the Commonwealth of Independent States, the decadent corps of former USSR.
In the wake of the financial crisis, after registe…
Didn’t start yesterday. It’s been like this for centuries. Much before the Kremlin gerontocracy, plagued by the rheumatics, fled for a healthy bath in the Summer resort of Jurmala. This exquisite taste of mini-megalomania is part of the Latvian genetic code. Maybe influenced by the fact Riga is the only Baltic metropolis. Or its decisive gateway between two antagonistic worlds: History has proved this was the chosen geography for systematic clashes between West and the Cyrillic civilization.
For a tiny territory inhabited by no more than 2,4 millions, reports can be admirably impressive: we see happening here world ice hockey championships, NATO summits, even bids to UN Secretary-General (i.e. Vaira Vike-Freiberga). Moreover, Air Baltic and its Riga International Airport — nicely dubbed “RIX” — have assumed themselves as the golden hub for the Commonwealth of Independent States, the decadent corps of former USSR.
In the wake of the financial crisis, after registe…