History of the Jews in Latvia 1989, there were 22,900 Jews in Latvia, who comprised some 0.9% of the population. That same year Soviet Union allowed unrestricted Jewish immigration, and 1,588 Jews emigrated from Latvia (1,536 of them from Riga). In 1990, 3,388 Latvian Jews immigrated to Israel (2,837 of them from Riga). In 1991, the number of immigrants to Israel from Riga was 1,087. That same year, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Latvia regained its independence. Immigration continued throughout the 1990s, causing a decline in the Jewish population. According to the Jewish Agency, 12,624 Jews and non-Jewish family members of Jews immigrated from Latvia to
Henry of Latvia Henry of Latvia Henry of Latvia (, , , ; before 1188, Magdeburg, Landgraviate of Thuringia – after 1259 in Papendorf, Livonia, currently Rubene, Kocēni parish, Kocēni Municipality, Latvia), also known in the English-speaking world as Henry of Livonia, was a priest, missionary and historian. He wrote the Livonian Chronicle of Henry which describes the evangelization of the regions which are now part of Estonia and Latvia during the Northern Crusades. The chronicles say that Henry was a Catholic priest who witnessed most of events described. Henry is thought to have been born between 1180 and 1188. Henry was probably