Riga, Latvia

Overview:

Situated in north-eastern Europe with a coastline along the Baltic Sea, Latvia has borders with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. It has linguistic links with Lithuania to the south, and historical and religious ties with Estonia to the north.  A Latvian republic emerged following World War I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940.  Latvia reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, some 26% of the population remains Russian and propaganda efforts are a cause of concern for the Latvian authorities. Latvia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone in 2014 and the OECD in 2016. A dual citizenship law was adopted in 2013, easing naturalization for non-citizen children.  Like its Baltic neighbors, Latvia has made a rapid transition to the free market since the early 1990s.  

American Embassy Riga:

The inspection took place between October 18-31 and we actually had two weekends in Riga.  The Ambassador, who left Latvia before the team arrived summarized our bilateral relations tied to the role the United States can play for the advancement of the Baltic States' security, their integration into European institutions, and cooperative relations with their neighbors, including Russia.  In the absence of the Ambassador, the Charge d’Affaires, was Tracey Jacobson, an impressive young woman, who went on to become the Ambassador to Tajikistan and Kosovo.  The Management Officer was John Lamson, very experienced.  The senior financial specialist, Edmund Glevicks, was very sharp.  He still works at the embassy and used to email me on occasion asking for advice.  During the inspection the newly designated Inspector General (IG), Clark Kent Ervin visited the team to get an overview of an overseas inspection.  Ervin was a Harvard educated lawyer and was the Assistant Secretary of State of Texas.  He lasted two years and was appointed the first IG for the Department of Homeland Security.    

Findings:

• The physical facilities of the embassy chancery and Ambassador’s residence were unsafe. The OIG raised these issues with the Department in our report citing the risks to the safety of embassy personnel.
• Lacking a dedicated American Human Resource Officer it was recommended that the Frankfurt Regional Support Center to establish a regular schedule of visits to provide human resources support.  At the time of the inspection, there were 34 past-due performance evaluations from supervisors.  
• The Department had implemented the automated Travel Manager software program, but the embassy was still doing manual calculation.
• In terms of funding obligations there needed to be more coordination in monitoring funds for grants between the PAO and financial management.
• There should also be a publicized administrative policy for personal long-distance calls made from official telephones an accounts receivable ledger to track collections.  

With Joe drafting my section of the Inspection Report

Highlights:

We stayed at the nice Radisson hotel which was a short walk past a nice park to the embassy.  The team did get a chance to get out and visit the sites and partake in eating some Latvian dishes mostly soups with different meat, potatoes and vegetables.  Fish was also plentiful.  Joanne was a Vegan so we had to make sure to check out the menu at restaurants for vegetarian and organic dishes when we went out to dinner.  

•   Riga Castle

•   Dome Cathedral

•   Museum of the Occupation

   

Riga lies on both banks of the river Daugava in the form of a circle and can roughly be divided into two   parts, the right and left side of the river. The right   side of the city is where Old Riga, New Riga and other districts are located. The left part of the city is also called “Pārdaugava”, meaning “Across the Daugava," and suburbs and are located on this side.Āgenskalns & Ķīpsala located on the left bank

  

Old Town Square





Old Town



 In the northwest corner of Old Town is Riga   Castle, a large cream coloured building with four   floors. It dates back to 1330 when it first was   constructed as residence for the grand master of   the Livonian Order. In 1487 the castle was   destroyed, but it was rebuilt again in 1515. Since   then it has been added to and renovated many   times.  Today there are two museums in the castle,   the History Museum of Latvia and Museum of   Foreign Art. 

 Museum of the Occupation:  Housed in a former   Soviet built building, there is a large collection of   artifacts from and descriptions of the 50 years of   occupation by the Soviets, then the Germans, then   the Soviets between 1940 and 1990. Over 15,000   Latvians were rounded up and sent to Siberia   just before the Nazis invaded in   1941.

 Sweden ruled over Riga between 1621 – 1710.   During this period the Swedish Gate was built,   more exactly in 1698. The Swedish Gate is the   only remaining of the old city gates. The gate   passes through a house and in the rooms above   the gate lived the city’s executioner. A legend   says a young woman was walled up in the gate.   The young woman had fallen in love with a   Swedish soldier so this was made as a warning to   others.