Through 50 years of Soviet occupation, Latvia was effectively erased from the political map. He explained that he never aspired to become a diplomat, but following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he had the opportunity to try diplomatic work because all of the communists had been barred from political and military offices. Much like in Estonia, only young people were left to run the country. Razāns, 23 years old at the time, imagined he would find some other work after a year, at most. Now he is the Ambassador to the United States.