By Indra Ekmanis On July 7, 40 University of Washington choral students stood 5,000 miles from home surrounded by a 15,000 member choir singing patriotic songs in an obscure Baltic language. The UW delegation was one of only two non-Latvian choirs to participate in the Latvian cultural event of the decade, the XXV National Song

by Indra Ekmanis In a ghoulish mash-up of American Halloween and Baltic St. Martin’s Eve (or Martinmas) traditions, supporters of the UW Baltic Studies program flock to the Latvian Community Center in vibrant costumes each October. Celebrating the end of the traditional harvest season and the enduring success of the Baltic Studies Program, community members

By Scott Radnitz Welcome to the launch of the new Ellison Center blog for the REECAS community. We hope this new addition to our online presence will contribute to increased engagement, discussion and awareness of our rich community. Our return to campus this fall comes after a summer in which our region dominated the headlines,

By Laura A. Dean Čaka iela, a main street running through the Latvian capital of Riga, was named for the famous Latvian writer Aleksanders Čaks, but in the post-communist period it has become synonymous with something more sinister. I first crossed this street in 1999, while studying abroad at the University of Latvia through my