Latvian lats standard from its introduction till 1940. On 17 June 1940, Latvia was occupied by the USSR. After the dismantling of the Bank of Latvia and its replacement with the Latvia Republican Office of the Gosbank on 10 October, the Soviet ruble was introduced alongside the lats on 25 November 1940 at par, although the real monetary value of the rouble was about three times lower and thus both wages and prices were gradually raised to devalue the lats from June to November 1940. To lessen the effect of the exodus of goods sent by Soviet occupational personnel to the USSR,
Baltic Way (mathematical contest) Baltic Way (mathematical contest) Originally, the three Baltic states participated, but the list of invitees has since grown to include all countries around the Baltic Sea; Germany sends a team representing only its northernmost parts, and Russia a team from St. Petersburg. Iceland is invited on grounds of being the first state to recognize the newfound independence of the Baltic states. Extra "guest" teams are occasionally invited at the discretion of the organizers: Israel was invited in 2001, Belarus in 2004 and 2014, Belgium in 2005, South Africa in 2011 and the Netherlands in 2015. Responsibility for organizing the contest