History of the Jews in Latvia International Refugee Organization (IRO), and other relief organizations for Nazi victims, and some of them immigrated to the U.S. and other countries abroad. Nevertheless, there were also Latvians who risked their lives in order to save Jews. One such, Jānis Lipke, helped to save several dozen Jews of the Riga ghetto by providing them with hideouts. The Jewish population of Latvia declined from 28,300 in 1979 to 22,900 in 1989, when 18,800 of its Jews lived in the capital Riga. Part of this was due to a high rate of emigration to Israel; the Soviet Union allowed limited numbers of
Bank of Latvia On September 7, 1922, the Constitutional Assembly adopted the Law on the Establishment of the Bank of Latvia. The Bank of Latvia was granted emission rights. The Bank's interim statutes were approved on September 19, 1922, with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, and its initial capital was 10 million lats. On April 24, 1923, Saeima approved the Statute of the Bank of Latvia, signed by President Jānis Čakste on the 2nd July. The bank was headed by a council and board. The Council consisted of a chairman, a deputy and 11 members, but the board included a director