Latvia for the next 45 years. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Communist regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring "de facto" independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic sovereign state, parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Its capital Riga served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. Latvian is the official language. Latvia is a unitary state, divided into
Government of Latvia Government of Latvia The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia (Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: "Latvijas Republikas Ministru kabinets"), which form the executive branch of the Government of Latvia. The Latvian Government primarily consists of ethnic Latvians, representatives of minorities, such as ethnic Russians, Ukrainians or Byelorussians, do not participate in the decision-making at the executive level. Since the early 2000s cabinet meetings in Latvia have been open to the