Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award 2009 Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), Finland HELCOM works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental co-operation between Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. HELCOM is governing the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area" (the Helsinki Convention) and has shown exemplary commitment to improving the Baltic Sea through the adoption of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. 2008 Prof. Krzysztof Edward Skóra, Hel Marine Station at the University of Gdańsk, Poland Professor Skóra received the award for his research which
Latvia–Russia relations time, often replacing those who were deported. The high influx of Russians and the removal of Latvian as the official language caused further deteriorations in the Latvia-Russian relations between citizens. In 1991, Latvia regained independence from the USSR through the Latvian independence and democracy poll, 1991. On April 2004 Latvia expelled Second Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Rīga Pyotr Uzhumov, who had allegedly trying to gather information on Latvia's defence forces, for activities "incompatible with his diplomatic status" to which Russia responded by expelling first secretary of the Latvian Embassy in Moscow. In 2007, the border treaty between the