But that’s easier said than done. On April 2, an estimated 10,000 teachers, scientists and other public employees took to the streets of picturesque Riga to demand better working conditions and protest against cuts in education spending. As of press time, some 113,000 people — 10.4 percent of Latvia’s workforce — were unemployed, compared to less than 5 percent only five years ago. About 16 percent of those currently without jobs are 20 to 24 years old, many of whom were laid off after Latvia’s construction industry slowed down. Of the total number of unemployed Latvians, only 50,000 are getting any unemployment benefits. “In our case, we had a combination of two crises — one internal, the other external. The previous coalition had a very narrow majority in Parliament, with only 53 out of 100 seats. They had difficulty navigating policy, and of course the external crisis overlapped,” Pildegovics explained. “Unlike some regional crises of the past, which affected one or two countries, this time it’s on a much bigger scale. All of our major trading partners — Russia, Britain, Scandinavia — are facing contractions.” As a result, in the last quarter, Latvia’s $20 billion economy has shrunk by more than 6 percent. Meanwhile, the country’s currency, the lats, is worth $1.87 and falling; although it’s pegged to the euro, many people are calling for full adoption of the euro well before the current target date of 2012. In fact, an IMF report issued April 5 said crisis-plagued countries in Central and Eastern Europe should consider scrapping their currencies in favor of the euro even without formally joining the eurozone — a move opposed by many larger and wealthier EU member states like France and Germany. Various economists from Central and Eastern Europe also agree, saying it would only alleviate the immediate pressure without addressing the needed long-term structural changes. In the meantime, the EU has focused largely on providing funds for IMF loans and boosting financial regulation, stopping short of offering direct bailouts. In mid-April though, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced that it would make 200 million euro available for Latvian businesses. Yet Dombrovskis is warning of serious times ahead, refusing to rule out the possibility that Latvia might need an additional 1 billion euro to stave off financial disaster. “My mission is to keep the U.S. informed of what steps our government is taking,” said Pildegovics. “Washington is not just the seat of the U.S. government, but also headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. And we are in very intense negotiations with the IMF.” Pildegovics says Latvia’s embassy in Washington is one of its most important overseas missions. And he made it clear that Latvians can earn the trust and support of the United States by helping their American friends out half a world away — in Afghanistan. Latvia pulled its troops out of Iraq late last year, but it does have 160 soldiers in Afghanistan — mainly in Kabul and the northeast — where they’re integrated with U.S. forces. “For the Obama administration, Afghanistan is a top priority, and Latvia is a partner in the supply chain for U.S. troops,” Pildegovics said — a fact that is especially important since Kyrgyzstan decided to close a key U.S. base. “We’re exploring a new northern route which will bring supplies through Riga, and cargo to Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. We think this could be a win-win situation for all parties involved, and it’s also a good test case for Russia’s willingness to be a part of the Afghanistan endeavor.” Despite the massive problems facing Latvia, Pildegovics insists virtually nobody wants a return to the bad old days of communism. “There is no such movement or sentiment of that nature,” he asserted. “We have not seen in Latvia any significant rise of extremism, either on the right or the left.” Yet Pildegovics admitted that the long half-century of Soviet occupation “has left a lot of bitterness” in the hearts of the Latvian people — not too surprising given that up to one-third of Latvia’s pre-war population (approximately 630,000 residents) was lost between 1940 and 1954 due to the Holocaust and the Soviet and Nazi occupations, along with mass deportations of Latvians directed by Joseph Stalin. The last of Moscow’s 40,000 troops left Latvian soil in August 1998, and only two years ago Latvia and Russia signed a bilateral treaty, ending the two countries’ long-simmering border dispute once and for all. “We have entered a stage where Russian politicians accept that our membership in NATO is a done deal,” the ambassador said. “Maybe they’re not happy about it, but it’s a fact of life. And we absolutely reject Russia’s interpretation of Latvia’s inclusion in the former U.S.S.R.” — as did the United States, which never formally recognized the Baltics’ forcible annexation by the Soviet Union, continuing to accredit ambassadors from all three countries in Washington during those 50 years. Pildegovics said that not being honest and open about Latvia’s past with Russia sends the wrong signal to a younger generation of Latvians. “We are concerned when Russian leaders say the dissolution of the Soviet Union was the biggest tragedy of the 20th century. We are concerned when neighboring states change borders by military means,” the ambassador said, referring to the conflict in Georgia last summer. “We are concerned when politicians don’t want to discuss issues of the past, or present them in a distorted way. We don’t comprehend why it is so difficult to condemn Stalin’s crimes. The Russian people suffered horribly from this regime, and we don’t see any reason why this regime has to be glorified.” Criminal or not, Stalin isn’t much on the minds of average Latvians these days as they struggle to make ends meet. Even so, Pildegovics doesn’t seem overly concerned. Or if he is, the amiable diplomat is keeping his worries to himself. “If we could survive conquest by foreign powers in the Middle Ages, Nazi occupation and Stalin,” he quipped, “I’m sure we’ll find a way out of this current crisis.” Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

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