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Latvia: Picking Up the Pieces After An Economic Meltdown - Part 2

June 28, 2009
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The reconstructed medieval Menlgalvju Nams building (left) and the Occupation Museum housed in a Soviet-constructed building in central Riga.

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It is a Russian tradition to present cut flowers to military veterans at the May 9th World War II Victory celebration day.

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Ivans Latishevs, (right) age 91, was a tank driver in World War ll from 1941-1945.

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The Latvian National Armed Forces Staff Orchestra rehearses in the park. The orchestra has 45 members, and has performed in Latvia, Germany, Finland, Italy, and Poland among others.

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Riga, from the top of the Academy of Sciences Building.

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As money gets tighter, some people leave their cats to fend for themselves in the streets, causing a feral cat problem in Riga.

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Doctor Elija Laucina, uses a fetal doppler on Irena Sarma, age 33. As Latvia drastically cuts public spending for social services, paid maternity leave is one of the proposed reductions. It is expected to be limited to about $600 a month, rather than tying it to a person’s salary, as it was calculated before.

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Doctor Peteris Pultraks at Adazi hospital in a small town outside of Riga.

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Doctor Peteris Pultraks points to 47 beds that are now all empty. His hospital was among the first 13 to be closed earlier this year. He can still treat and operate on patients during the day, but no one is allowed to stay overnight.

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Marite Martuzane at her farm in Adazi, with her very rare three-year old Latvian Blue cow (left).

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Marite Martuzane in her kitchen, on her farm in Adazi. She makes cow cheese, smoked ham, smoked sausage, and buttermilk all from free range, pasture fed and hormone free animals. Martuzane is making money in these hard times, thanks largely to hard work, and low debt. She finds that as the economy turns sour, more people are flocking to the farmers markets, where she sells her organic meats and cheeses

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Marite Martuzne with her son-in-law Alvis Kigelis, daughter Liga Martuzane and five dogs.

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Janis Martuzans prepares his tractor for planting potatoes.

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As times get tough, these affordable fish heads, which used to be fed to animals, are becoming more popular for making soup, according to Vallija, the seller at this fish stand, who’s worked here for 34 years.

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Replacing rotting, wooden window frames were among the first things people did after the departure of the Soviets in 1991. Only people who had very little money did not change out the old wooden windows (bottom) for the more energy efficient new windows (top two).

Riga's main daily newspaper Diena ran a front page graphic -- covering the entire page -- on May 12 stating that there has been an 18% drop in Latvia's GDP in the first quarter of 2009.