History of Latvia only St. Petersburg and Moscow by the number of industrial workers, and at the turn of the century over 90% of Latvians could read. In this regard, Latvia was equally primed for radical leftism and nationalism. In all, spearheaded by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (LSDSP), the governorates making up what is now Latvia were probably the most ungovernable in the whole Russian Empire. Following the shooting of demonstrators in St. Petersburg on January 9, 1905 a wide-scale general strike began in Riga. On January 13 Russian army troops opened fire on demonstrators in Riga killing 73 and injuring
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 As there was a tie for first place in the Super Final between Aisha and Dons, the votes of the televote took precedence, which Aisha won. Therefore Aisha was selected to represent Latvia with the song "What For? (Only Mr God Knows Why)", with Dons coming second and Ivo Grīsniņš-Grīslis coming third. Latvia competed in the first semi-final of the contest, on 25 May. However it was eliminated at the semi final stage, ending up last with 11 points. Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Latvia and Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) has confirmed participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010,