Suchergebnisse

Der Aufsatz schildert den (u.a.) durch die Angst vor der demographischen Minorisierung im eigenen Land ausgelösten und durch den Perestrojka- und Glasnost -Kurs Gorbacevs geförderten Prozeß der "nationalen Wiedergeburt" in Lettland, der ein breites Spektrum an kulturellen, politischen und ökologischen Gruppierungen geschaffen und - in den Jahren 1988/89 - mit der "Lettischen Volksfront" eine neue politische Kraft hervorgebracht hat, die die Legitimation der sowjetischen Macht in Frage stellt. (BIOst-Hml)

Independent societies, movements, and groups that have been united in the Latvian People's Front.

For most North Americans demography is an esoteric subject more often tied to marketing than to social and political changes. In Latvia, as in most of Eastern Europe and the USSR, demography has long been placed on the forefront of public attention. This wave of attention in the case of Latvia is not a fad of short duration which will be readily displaced by other popular topics. On the contrary, demography has had, is having and will have a tremendous impact on a very broad range of policies and on the long term survival of the Latvian nation. Thus, in order to understand the social and ethnic tensions, the labour squeeze, and the welfare burden of Latvia, it is necessary to understand the multifaceted demographic processes: the real matrix of the political and social environment. This paper reviews the pivotal demographic role of the First and Second World Wars and analyzes population size, sex balance, age structure, urban-rural residence, nuptiality, birth and death rates, migration patterns and ethnic balance.

A review of current demographic trends in Latvia, based on varied published statistical sources. Nazi & Soviet forces significantly reduced the Latvian population during WWII, & significantly altered the age & sex distributions, with effects still continuing. A large share of the population is concentrated in Riga, which contains over 50% of the total Ur population; Ru areas have been significantly depopulated. Births declined sharply during the first half of the 1960s, & the low birth rate has become a controversial social issue. Death rates are, at the same time, abnormally high, giving Latvia a very low rate of natural increase. A steady influx of migrants has occurred, & ethnic Latvians are rapidly becoming a minority group. Under the circumstances, it is surprising how little policy attention has been directed to concrete programs aimed at changing these trends. 14 Tables. W. H. Stoddard.