Deep Baltic
@deepbaltic.bsky.social
Inside the lands between - travel, culture, interviews, long reads, photography from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
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Our Languages and Us – Latvian, Russian, Gagauz, English...
"At least back then, there was no room for nuance in Riga. There were Latvians and Russians, and each of them had to choose a side."
deepbaltic.com
Vilis Kasims remembers "growing up bilingual", with two mother tongues – Latvian and Russian – and an even more complicated heritage, rooted partially in the autonomous Moldovan region of Gagauzia, where multiple languages are spoken
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Lithuania looking Lowry-esque (photo: Andrius Aleksandravičius)
#Lithuania #kaunas #Baltic #baltics #lowry #Art #drone #dronephotography #Photography
#Lithuania #kaunas #Baltic #baltics #lowry #Art #drone #dronephotography #Photography
January 20, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Lithuania looking Lowry-esque (photo: Andrius Aleksandravičius)
#Lithuania #kaunas #Baltic #baltics #lowry #Art #drone #dronephotography #Photography
#Lithuania #kaunas #Baltic #baltics #lowry #Art #drone #dronephotography #Photography
Vilis Kasims remembers "growing up bilingual", with two mother tongues – Latvian and Russian – and an even more complicated heritage, rooted partially in the autonomous Moldovan region of Gagauzia, where multiple languages are spoken
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
Our Languages and Us – Latvian, Russian, Gagauz, English...
"At least back then, there was no room for nuance in Riga. There were Latvians and Russians, and each of them had to choose a side."
deepbaltic.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:31 AM
Vilis Kasims remembers "growing up bilingual", with two mother tongues – Latvian and Russian – and an even more complicated heritage, rooted partially in the autonomous Moldovan region of Gagauzia, where multiple languages are spoken
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
deepbaltic.com/2026/02/03/o...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Turkoslavia is a brilliant US-based translation project, and I'm delighted to see my good friend Vilis Kasims in the new issue with a typically fractured take on '90s Latvia - along with a note from me explaining why he's such an interesting writer
exchanges.uiowa.edu/turkoslavia-...
exchanges.uiowa.edu/turkoslavia-...
Turkoslavia Journal — Issue 5 — Exchanges
A translation journal celebrating Turkic and Slavic languages, loosely defined.
exchanges.uiowa.edu
January 31, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Turkoslavia is a brilliant US-based translation project, and I'm delighted to see my good friend Vilis Kasims in the new issue with a typically fractured take on '90s Latvia - along with a note from me explaining why he's such an interesting writer
exchanges.uiowa.edu/turkoslavia-...
exchanges.uiowa.edu/turkoslavia-...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
4 days ago Baltic States + UK wrote a letter interpreted as "Baltic Sea closing for shadow fleet".
No sanctioned tanker has arrived since (unusual*) but coming 24-36h the claim will get its first test with 5 sanctioned tankers inbound.
No sanctioned tanker has arrived since (unusual*) but coming 24-36h the claim will get its first test with 5 sanctioned tankers inbound.
January 30, 2026 at 10:41 PM
4 days ago Baltic States + UK wrote a letter interpreted as "Baltic Sea closing for shadow fleet".
No sanctioned tanker has arrived since (unusual*) but coming 24-36h the claim will get its first test with 5 sanctioned tankers inbound.
No sanctioned tanker has arrived since (unusual*) but coming 24-36h the claim will get its first test with 5 sanctioned tankers inbound.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
4/ Livonian shares no common origins with Latvian. Once spoken throughout much of the country, Soviet occupation displaced the last pocket of native speakers, who lived in a string of tiny fishing villages in western Latvia. The last surviving native speaker died in 2013, but a revival is underway.
December 11, 2024 at 6:34 PM
4/ Livonian shares no common origins with Latvian. Once spoken throughout much of the country, Soviet occupation displaced the last pocket of native speakers, who lived in a string of tiny fishing villages in western Latvia. The last surviving native speaker died in 2013, but a revival is underway.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Feed: "Deep Baltic"
By: deepbaltic on Tuesday, October 7, 2025
By: deepbaltic on Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Saying What You Mean: Trends in Recent Latvian Poetry
"The younger generation avoids assuming the role of speaking for the nation, a function that writers were expected to fulfil, and often did during the Soviet occupation"
deepbaltic.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Feed: "Deep Baltic"
By: deepbaltic on Tuesday, October 7, 2025
By: deepbaltic on Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Reposted by Deep Baltic
From the Lost Canals of Vilnius, a counterfactual history #aiart #counterfactualhistory
January 16, 2026 at 4:37 PM
From the Lost Canals of Vilnius, a counterfactual history #aiart #counterfactualhistory
Reposted by Deep Baltic
FIE moved the 2026 European Fencing Championships to France due to Estonia's refusal to allow Russians and Belarusians to obtain visas.
Ahead of the decision to relocate the event, FIE asked Estonia to sign an agreement guaranteeing entry for all participants, regardless of nationality.
Ahead of the decision to relocate the event, FIE asked Estonia to sign an agreement guaranteeing entry for all participants, regardless of nationality.
January 23, 2026 at 6:30 PM
FIE moved the 2026 European Fencing Championships to France due to Estonia's refusal to allow Russians and Belarusians to obtain visas.
Ahead of the decision to relocate the event, FIE asked Estonia to sign an agreement guaranteeing entry for all participants, regardless of nationality.
Ahead of the decision to relocate the event, FIE asked Estonia to sign an agreement guaranteeing entry for all participants, regardless of nationality.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
What a view
Tallinn 🇪🇪
-15C ❄️
Tallinn 🇪🇪
-15C ❄️
January 25, 2026 at 8:43 AM
What a view
Tallinn 🇪🇪
-15C ❄️
Tallinn 🇪🇪
-15C ❄️
Reposted by Deep Baltic
The Associated Press decided in June 2023 to stop referring to the 14 countries that emerged independent of Russian occupation in 1991 countries as “former Soviet republics.” The decision was taken on the advice of our journalists working in the region, and it has been generally well-received.
Moving on from "Post-Soviet" States
by John Daniszewski
harriman.columbia.edu
January 26, 2026 at 5:57 AM
The Associated Press decided in June 2023 to stop referring to the 14 countries that emerged independent of Russian occupation in 1991 countries as “former Soviet republics.” The decision was taken on the advice of our journalists working in the region, and it has been generally well-received.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
#OTD 105 years ago the Allied Supreme Council supports de iure recognition of the Republic of Latvia 🇱🇻 #LVdeiure105
January 26, 2026 at 6:12 AM
#OTD 105 years ago the Allied Supreme Council supports de iure recognition of the Republic of Latvia 🇱🇻 #LVdeiure105
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Got my copy of the hottest new book in Lithuanian poetry 🇱🇹
January 20, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Got my copy of the hottest new book in Lithuanian poetry 🇱🇹
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Hitler-Stalin-Pact 1939-41
Latvia partly occupied by Soviets:
"there are some 1200 former Polish officers and soldiers interned in four military 'camps in Latvia,
248 civilians placed in two civilian camps, and about 150 civilians taken into private homes"
The Newcastle Sun
@amaragraps.bsky.social
Latvia partly occupied by Soviets:
"there are some 1200 former Polish officers and soldiers interned in four military 'camps in Latvia,
248 civilians placed in two civilian camps, and about 150 civilians taken into private homes"
The Newcastle Sun
@amaragraps.bsky.social
January 11, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Hitler-Stalin-Pact 1939-41
Latvia partly occupied by Soviets:
"there are some 1200 former Polish officers and soldiers interned in four military 'camps in Latvia,
248 civilians placed in two civilian camps, and about 150 civilians taken into private homes"
The Newcastle Sun
@amaragraps.bsky.social
Latvia partly occupied by Soviets:
"there are some 1200 former Polish officers and soldiers interned in four military 'camps in Latvia,
248 civilians placed in two civilian camps, and about 150 civilians taken into private homes"
The Newcastle Sun
@amaragraps.bsky.social
Reposted by Deep Baltic
The Cat House in #Riga. Apparently, the cat was placed there with its tail facing towards the nearby Tradesmans' Guild, with whom the house's owner had had an argument.
January 16, 2026 at 9:57 AM
The Cat House in #Riga. Apparently, the cat was placed there with its tail facing towards the nearby Tradesmans' Guild, with whom the house's owner had had an argument.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
January 18, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by Deep Baltic
13 years ago in Tallinn
Incredible interest in aerial photos. This image received 519 likes, many comments, and shares. 64,135 people saw the post in just 14 days—a strong signal of how powerful the aerial perspective can be.
#Estonia #Tallinn #AerialPhotography #lassetur
Incredible interest in aerial photos. This image received 519 likes, many comments, and shares. 64,135 people saw the post in just 14 days—a strong signal of how powerful the aerial perspective can be.
#Estonia #Tallinn #AerialPhotography #lassetur
January 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM
13 years ago in Tallinn
Incredible interest in aerial photos. This image received 519 likes, many comments, and shares. 64,135 people saw the post in just 14 days—a strong signal of how powerful the aerial perspective can be.
#Estonia #Tallinn #AerialPhotography #lassetur
Incredible interest in aerial photos. This image received 519 likes, many comments, and shares. 64,135 people saw the post in just 14 days—a strong signal of how powerful the aerial perspective can be.
#Estonia #Tallinn #AerialPhotography #lassetur
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Underappreciated fact:
The paths and positions of the cable damages around New Years 2026 were to most of Estonia's internet backbone routes.
Had it fully succeeded/happened by accident (lol) Estonia would have been left with a crippled connectivity.
The paths and positions of the cable damages around New Years 2026 were to most of Estonia's internet backbone routes.
Had it fully succeeded/happened by accident (lol) Estonia would have been left with a crippled connectivity.
January 17, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Underappreciated fact:
The paths and positions of the cable damages around New Years 2026 were to most of Estonia's internet backbone routes.
Had it fully succeeded/happened by accident (lol) Estonia would have been left with a crippled connectivity.
The paths and positions of the cable damages around New Years 2026 were to most of Estonia's internet backbone routes.
Had it fully succeeded/happened by accident (lol) Estonia would have been left with a crippled connectivity.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
I was also pleased to find an excuse to publish this, about something I've been working on for quite a while - the contemporary culture (films, music, literature, memes) being made in the oft-repressed Latgalian language of Latvia's eastern borderlands
deepbaltic.com/2025/02/24/t...
deepbaltic.com/2025/02/24/t...
The Third Star Shining: Making Culture in the Latgalian Language
"You get used to firsts and onlys when researching Latgalian"
deepbaltic.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:37 AM
I was also pleased to find an excuse to publish this, about something I've been working on for quite a while - the contemporary culture (films, music, literature, memes) being made in the oft-repressed Latgalian language of Latvia's eastern borderlands
deepbaltic.com/2025/02/24/t...
deepbaltic.com/2025/02/24/t...
"If you come from a city where politeness is announced loudly – “Please move down the carriage!”, “Let the passengers off first!” – Riga’s tram etiquette can seem almost too quiet."
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/17/t...
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/17/t...
The Quiet Courtesies of Riga: Learning to Share Space in a Small Capital
"For someone arriving from a city where queues are either aggressively policed or completely absent, this gentler discipline can be disorienting"
deepbaltic.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:47 AM
"If you come from a city where politeness is announced loudly – “Please move down the carriage!”, “Let the passengers off first!” – Riga’s tram etiquette can seem almost too quiet."
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/17/t...
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/17/t...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
The scars of clear cutting, as opposed to selective cutting of a forest...Usma, Usma parish, Ventspils Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia. #nature #geography #ecology #photo
December 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
The scars of clear cutting, as opposed to selective cutting of a forest...Usma, Usma parish, Ventspils Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia. #nature #geography #ecology #photo
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Interesting piece from a couple of months ago, about something that's become increasingly apparent in recent years - that Lithuania, historically the poorest Baltic state, is on the path to economically overtaking much-vaunted Estonia
news.err.ee/1609779081/t...
news.err.ee/1609779081/t...
Tõnis Saarts: How Lithuania overtook Estonia
In Estonia, there has been virtually no serious discussion about Lithuania's success and the reasons behind it. Instead, a self-assured arrogance prevails, a belief that we will soon reclaim our first...
news.err.ee
January 16, 2026 at 7:08 AM
Interesting piece from a couple of months ago, about something that's become increasingly apparent in recent years - that Lithuania, historically the poorest Baltic state, is on the path to economically overtaking much-vaunted Estonia
news.err.ee/1609779081/t...
news.err.ee/1609779081/t...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Classic Estonian movie 'Dead Mountaineer's Hotel' selected for Berlin Film Festival news.err.ee/1609910857/c...
Classic Estonian movie 'Dead Mountaineer's Hotel' selected for Berlin Film Festival
Grigori Kromanov's 1979 movie "Dead Mountaineer's Hotel" has become only the second Estonian picture ever to be selected in the Berlinale Classics program at the Berlin Film Festival.
news.err.ee
January 15, 2026 at 6:45 AM
Classic Estonian movie 'Dead Mountaineer's Hotel' selected for Berlin Film Festival news.err.ee/1609910857/c...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Three of Latvia's Finnic languages – Courland Livonian, Salaca Livonian, Lutsi South Estonian – have developed popular written forms. Read about these orthographies, their development, and how they changed as these communities changed in my recently published article.
tinyurl.com/latviaonthea...
tinyurl.com/latviaonthea...
Lutsi and Livonian: Perspectives on Finnic language orthographies in Latvia
This article focuses on three endangered and/or dormant Finnic languages – Courland Livonian, Salaca Livonian, and Lutsi South Estonian – spoken in Latvia at the northern end of the Amber Road and the...
www.academia.edu
December 19, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Three of Latvia's Finnic languages – Courland Livonian, Salaca Livonian, Lutsi South Estonian – have developed popular written forms. Read about these orthographies, their development, and how they changed as these communities changed in my recently published article.
tinyurl.com/latviaonthea...
tinyurl.com/latviaonthea...
A protest rally in Chicago in 1988 against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania
(Image: Romualdas Požerskis, MO Museum Collection)
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/19/a...
(Image: Romualdas Požerskis, MO Museum Collection)
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/19/a...
January 14, 2026 at 5:23 AM
A protest rally in Chicago in 1988 against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania
(Image: Romualdas Požerskis, MO Museum Collection)
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/19/a...
(Image: Romualdas Požerskis, MO Museum Collection)
deepbaltic.com/2025/12/19/a...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
In 1991, the night from Jan 12 to Jan 13, these innocent Lithuanian people were killed by the Soviet troops.
Teenager fatally shot in the back, young woman who was about to marry that summer crushed by a tank, fathers, newlyweds.
And the Nobel peace prize winner in Moscow.
Teenager fatally shot in the back, young woman who was about to marry that summer crushed by a tank, fathers, newlyweds.
And the Nobel peace prize winner in Moscow.
January 12, 2026 at 3:12 PM
In 1991, the night from Jan 12 to Jan 13, these innocent Lithuanian people were killed by the Soviet troops.
Teenager fatally shot in the back, young woman who was about to marry that summer crushed by a tank, fathers, newlyweds.
And the Nobel peace prize winner in Moscow.
Teenager fatally shot in the back, young woman who was about to marry that summer crushed by a tank, fathers, newlyweds.
And the Nobel peace prize winner in Moscow.