Deep Baltic
@deepbaltic.bsky.social
Inside the lands between - travel, culture, interviews, long reads, photography from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
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How Latin Became the Literary Language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
"In the 15th century a story first appears that the Lithuanians were descended from a group of Roman soldiers who were blown off course after leaving Britain in 55 BC"
deepbaltic.com
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was once Europe's largest state. Much of its population spoke Ruthenian, the elite were increasingly switching to Polish. Lithuanian was still not a literary language - but many Lithuanians believed it to be a form of Latin.
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Estonia's part in the Amber Road has been questioned for long but more recent research has shown that raw amber was indeed found & collected in #BronzeAge Estonia (Saaremaa) at a time when it was a material high in demand in the Apennine peninsula (& elsewhere in Southern Europe) 2/4
Photo: see ALT
Photo: see ALT
November 12, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Estonia's part in the Amber Road has been questioned for long but more recent research has shown that raw amber was indeed found & collected in #BronzeAge Estonia (Saaremaa) at a time when it was a material high in demand in the Apennine peninsula (& elsewhere in Southern Europe) 2/4
Photo: see ALT
Photo: see ALT
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Always found it oddly charming that one of the main centres for Latgalian culture in very slightly more russophone Rēzekne is... a kebab shop
(And pleasingly, they maintain their all-Latgalian signage policy even at their very popular Riga branch)
(And pleasingly, they maintain their all-Latgalian signage policy even at their very popular Riga branch)
November 29, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Always found it oddly charming that one of the main centres for Latgalian culture in very slightly more russophone Rēzekne is... a kebab shop
(And pleasingly, they maintain their all-Latgalian signage policy even at their very popular Riga branch)
(And pleasingly, they maintain their all-Latgalian signage policy even at their very popular Riga branch)
Reposted by Deep Baltic
"Tartu University is analysing other historic artefacts ... including an 800-year-old cross depicting genitalia that makes a sound when worn.
The metal cross has a hinged piece in the shape of a vulva that covers and knocks against an engraved penis design when moved around." #MedievalSky
The metal cross has a hinged piece in the shape of a vulva that covers and knocks against an engraved penis design when moved around." #MedievalSky
DNA reveals stone age teenager as chewer of 10,500-year-old ‘gum’
The prehistoric birch tar found in Estonia contained traces of saliva that were analysed by genetics experts
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 AM
"Tartu University is analysing other historic artefacts ... including an 800-year-old cross depicting genitalia that makes a sound when worn.
The metal cross has a hinged piece in the shape of a vulva that covers and knocks against an engraved penis design when moved around." #MedievalSky
The metal cross has a hinged piece in the shape of a vulva that covers and knocks against an engraved penis design when moved around." #MedievalSky
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Some photos from a visit to Lithuanian Museum of Aviation in Kaunas.
1/2
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Some photos from a visit to Lithuanian Museum of Aviation in Kaunas.
1/2
1/2
Reposted by Deep Baltic
84 years ago #OTD in occupied Riga, Nazi German forces started 2 days of mass murdering of 25,000 jews from Latvia and more than 1,000 from Berlin in Rumbula forest. Rumbula always reminds us to speak up. Today, we remembered. #niewiederistjetzt #neveragainisnow
November 30, 2025 at 11:25 AM
84 years ago #OTD in occupied Riga, Nazi German forces started 2 days of mass murdering of 25,000 jews from Latvia and more than 1,000 from Berlin in Rumbula forest. Rumbula always reminds us to speak up. Today, we remembered. #niewiederistjetzt #neveragainisnow
Reposted by Deep Baltic
A great interview from @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social with Jacob Mikanowski for @deepbaltic.bsky.social. Mikanowski's Goodbye Eastern Europe was my favorite book from last year and its great to read an interview with two people who obsess over the region like me!
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
Goodbye Eastern Europe? An Interview with Jacob Mikanowski
"That’s what I’m pushing again – to say: no, this is a unique and uniquely rich human landscape that has had also some of the most extreme experiences in all of human history"
deepbaltic.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:07 PM
A great interview from @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social with Jacob Mikanowski for @deepbaltic.bsky.social. Mikanowski's Goodbye Eastern Europe was my favorite book from last year and its great to read an interview with two people who obsess over the region like me!
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
LSM reports that Latvia plans to dismantle the railway tracks leading to Russia. This measure is being considered as one of the options for strengthening national defense and security amid the tense situation on the eastern border.
eng.lsm.lv/article/econ...
eng.lsm.lv/article/econ...
November 27, 2025 at 9:21 AM
LSM reports that Latvia plans to dismantle the railway tracks leading to Russia. This measure is being considered as one of the options for strengthening national defense and security amid the tense situation on the eastern border.
eng.lsm.lv/article/econ...
eng.lsm.lv/article/econ...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
This woman that was there delivering the news on the Soviet assault on January 13, 1991 in Vilnius is still on air btw.
What's even crazier, January 12 is her birthday. She was exactly 28 years old when she was there in the studio, while the Soviet troops were walking in the corridors.
What's even crazier, January 12 is her birthday. She was exactly 28 years old when she was there in the studio, while the Soviet troops were walking in the corridors.
November 27, 2025 at 2:29 PM
This woman that was there delivering the news on the Soviet assault on January 13, 1991 in Vilnius is still on air btw.
What's even crazier, January 12 is her birthday. She was exactly 28 years old when she was there in the studio, while the Soviet troops were walking in the corridors.
What's even crazier, January 12 is her birthday. She was exactly 28 years old when she was there in the studio, while the Soviet troops were walking in the corridors.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
November 26, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by Deep Baltic
📷 Liudvikas Ruikas. Untitled (Autostrada Kaunas-Klaipėda, Lithuania, 1977).
November 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
📷 Liudvikas Ruikas. Untitled (Autostrada Kaunas-Klaipėda, Lithuania, 1977).
Reposted by Deep Baltic
❌🎈 Another evening, another balloon-related closure at Vilnius. NOTAM closes the airfield and surrounding airspace until 2330 UTC. www.flightradar24.com/BTI3PR/3d3ad...
November 23, 2025 at 10:12 PM
❌🎈 Another evening, another balloon-related closure at Vilnius. NOTAM closes the airfield and surrounding airspace until 2330 UTC. www.flightradar24.com/BTI3PR/3d3ad...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Interviewing foreigners living in Latvia. A few gems:
"Latvians LOVE paper."(about bureaucracy, which heavily relies on physical paper sheets)
"It's a culture of penalty." (so true)
"Latvian society is like islands of warmth with a placid ocean in between." (also true)
"Latvians LOVE paper."(about bureaucracy, which heavily relies on physical paper sheets)
"It's a culture of penalty." (so true)
"Latvian society is like islands of warmth with a placid ocean in between." (also true)
November 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Interviewing foreigners living in Latvia. A few gems:
"Latvians LOVE paper."(about bureaucracy, which heavily relies on physical paper sheets)
"It's a culture of penalty." (so true)
"Latvian society is like islands of warmth with a placid ocean in between." (also true)
"Latvians LOVE paper."(about bureaucracy, which heavily relies on physical paper sheets)
"It's a culture of penalty." (so true)
"Latvian society is like islands of warmth with a placid ocean in between." (also true)
Reposted by Deep Baltic
The image is by Kriss Salmanis, a Latvian artist who created it in the early days of the full-scale invasion. It hangs as a giant banner on a museum across the street from the Russian embassy in Riga, Latvia.
November 23, 2025 at 3:33 AM
The image is by Kriss Salmanis, a Latvian artist who created it in the early days of the full-scale invasion. It hangs as a giant banner on a museum across the street from the Russian embassy in Riga, Latvia.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
My talk about learning Latvian as a native speaker of English - discussed: why streets have no beginnings in English, the mysteries of the letter "ķ", is Latvian very literal or is English just weird, and much else...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
Learning Latvian as a native English-speaker - Will Mawhood
YouTube video by Valodu māja - House of Languages
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:11 PM
My talk about learning Latvian as a native speaker of English - discussed: why streets have no beginnings in English, the mysteries of the letter "ķ", is Latvian very literal or is English just weird, and much else...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
"Estonia’s interesting, because just as you say a lot of that religious, ethnic diversity is much less present. And it’s very present in northern Greece – northern Greece really has everything I’m talking about in terms of Eastern Europe"
#DBarchives
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
#DBarchives
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
Goodbye Eastern Europe? An Interview with Jacob Mikanowski
"That’s what I’m pushing again – to say: no, this is a unique and uniquely rich human landscape that has had also some of the most extreme experiences in all of human history"
deepbaltic.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:45 AM
"Estonia’s interesting, because just as you say a lot of that religious, ethnic diversity is much less present. And it’s very present in northern Greece – northern Greece really has everything I’m talking about in terms of Eastern Europe"
#DBarchives
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
#DBarchives
deepbaltic.com/2024/12/15/g...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Lithuania to reopen Belarus border after balloon incidents reut.rs/4i6v6CF
Lithuania to reopen Belarus border after balloon incidents
Lithuania will reopen its border crossings with Belarus, ending a closure imposed in response to airspace disruptions by smugglers' balloons, the Baltic republic's government said on Wednesday.
reut.rs
November 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Lithuania to reopen Belarus border after balloon incidents reut.rs/4i6v6CF
Reposted by Deep Baltic
The long-awaited Tartu – Riga express could launch in December cutting travel to ~3.5 hours. Final approvals are nearly in — a big boost for Baltic rail links. 🚄 Read more at shorturl.at/57aoM
Photo ID 47781663 © Bormotov. Dreamstime.com.
Photo ID 47781663 © Bormotov. Dreamstime.com.
November 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The long-awaited Tartu – Riga express could launch in December cutting travel to ~3.5 hours. Final approvals are nearly in — a big boost for Baltic rail links. 🚄 Read more at shorturl.at/57aoM
Photo ID 47781663 © Bormotov. Dreamstime.com.
Photo ID 47781663 © Bormotov. Dreamstime.com.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
From the dark side but still very good:
November 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM
From the dark side but still very good:
Reposted by Deep Baltic
Russia is seeding "humanitarian intervention" narratives in Latvia and Estonia through paid social media recruits
The discrimination claims and intervention language mirror what Moscow used before invading Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/18/r...
The discrimination claims and intervention language mirror what Moscow used before invading Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/18/r...
Moscow pays young Baltics residents to spread same narratives that preceded Ukraine invasion
Investigators say typical recruits are those without steady income, motivated by small cash and cryptocurrency payments rather than ideology.
euromaidanpress.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Russia is seeding "humanitarian intervention" narratives in Latvia and Estonia through paid social media recruits
The discrimination claims and intervention language mirror what Moscow used before invading Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/18/r...
The discrimination claims and intervention language mirror what Moscow used before invading Ukraine in 2014 and 2022
euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/18/r...
Fresco at Vilnius University of the 17th-century Polish poet Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus in Lithuanian) who wrote in Latin and spent most of his life in Lithuania
(Image: Francis Young)
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
(Image: Francis Young)
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
November 18, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Fresco at Vilnius University of the 17th-century Polish poet Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus in Lithuanian) who wrote in Latin and spent most of his life in Lithuania
(Image: Francis Young)
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
(Image: Francis Young)
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
👏Tallinn, Estonia 🇪🇪 canceled the 2026 Limp Bizkit concert after the frontman’s pro Russia remarks. Estonia made it clear that backers of an aggressor state are not welcome.
👉Fred Durst praised Putin, said he wanted to live in Crimea, and flashed a “Crimea = Russia” sign.
👉Fred Durst praised Putin, said he wanted to live in Crimea, and flashed a “Crimea = Russia” sign.
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
👏Tallinn, Estonia 🇪🇪 canceled the 2026 Limp Bizkit concert after the frontman’s pro Russia remarks. Estonia made it clear that backers of an aggressor state are not welcome.
👉Fred Durst praised Putin, said he wanted to live in Crimea, and flashed a “Crimea = Russia” sign.
👉Fred Durst praised Putin, said he wanted to live in Crimea, and flashed a “Crimea = Russia” sign.
Reposted by Deep Baltic
I love the Riga Central Market r/brutalism
November 9, 2025 at 4:28 AM
I love the Riga Central Market r/brutalism
"The Lithuanian myth about the Roman origins of Lithuanian is important, because it meant that Latin in Lithuania was not a classicising affectation and a way for scholars to show off their learning"
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
How Latin Became the Literary Language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
"In the 15th century a story first appears that the Lithuanians were descended from a group of Roman soldiers who were blown off course after leaving Britain in 55 BC"
deepbaltic.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:25 AM
"The Lithuanian myth about the Roman origins of Lithuanian is important, because it meant that Latin in Lithuania was not a classicising affectation and a way for scholars to show off their learning"
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was once Europe's largest state. Much of its population spoke Ruthenian, the elite were increasingly switching to Polish. Lithuanian was still not a literary language - but many Lithuanians believed it to be a form of Latin.
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
How Latin Became the Literary Language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
"In the 15th century a story first appears that the Lithuanians were descended from a group of Roman soldiers who were blown off course after leaving Britain in 55 BC"
deepbaltic.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:50 AM
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was once Europe's largest state. Much of its population spoke Ruthenian, the elite were increasingly switching to Polish. Lithuanian was still not a literary language - but many Lithuanians believed it to be a form of Latin.
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
deepbaltic.com/2025/11/11/h...
Reposted by Deep Baltic
AFP’s Gints Ivuskans photographs protesters rallying in Riga against Latvia's bid to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty combating violence against women.
On October 31, parliament voted to withdraw from the treaty but just days later shelved discussion on the matter for a year
On October 31, parliament voted to withdraw from the treaty but just days later shelved discussion on the matter for a year
November 7, 2025 at 12:12 PM