Foreign Minister Pabriks: "There are politicians who would prefer to see Latvia in the past rather than in the future" [07 Mar 2006]

On 7 March 2006, during the History of Latvia. XX Century book launch ceremony at the National Library of Latvia, Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks acknowledged that there are politicians who would prefer to see Latvia in the past rather than in the future. As the Foreign Minister emphasised, "Latvia has been the hostage of its own history, nevertheless, Latvians are people of the future rather than past."

The Foreign Minister noted with pleasure that many foreign ambassadors had expressed interest about the English-language version of the book on the history of Latvia. Mr Pabriks added that the book is a joint production of a number of professional historians.

The book's authors, historians Daina Bleiere, Ilgvars Butulis, Inesis Feldmanis, Aivars Stranga, and Antonijs Zunda, have used a wide variety of sources for their research, thereby providing the reader with an impartial portrayal of Latvia's history in the last century. A particular effort has been made to disperse myths about the history of Latvia, by analysing its most significant historical facts and processes within the context of European history. The Foreign Ministry has co-financed the publishing of the book.

The book History of Latvia. XX Century has already been published in the Latvian, Russian and English languages. The publisher Jumava also plans to release the book in German and French.

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