(...) We have detailed studies carried out by our colleague Ilmārs Mežs. For instance, regarding life expectancy. In the 1930s, Latvia was one of the best countries in the world in this respect. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, we began to fall behind; we were overtaken by European countries, then by Asian countries and even by the odd African country. These are Latvia's lost years of life.

Another thing I would like to mention is the social consequences of the occupation. For example, the education system created distorted perceptions of socioeconomic processes and values, as well as a low level of English language proficiency. For science, these are losses caused by forced isolation within the USSR's sphere of knowledge. This meant fewer publications and international contacts. Let us not even speak of entrepreneurship.

These are the social consequences that led to a very difficult transition period, until we arrived where we are today. This has also had a distinctly negative impact on GDP.

Furthermore, Latvia was home to the centre of the Soviet Army's Baltic Military District, the militarisation of industry, military pensioners and other types of immigrants, all of which made the consequences of the occupation significantly more severe.

Calculating the losses from the occupation in monetary terms is not the only essential task. It is important to understand what we must do now. We have not yet fully realised this. To understand why we do not have good results in certain areas, it is necessary to understand the main factors of how the occupation affected us. Only by implementing future strategies in social policy, education and elsewhere can we direct our efforts where they are most useful and overcome the negative consequences more quickly. At the moment, we are acting mostly on intuition. For example, in school we place emphasis on STEM subjects and are changing the educational curriculum. However, we must understand the causes of the distortions that are slowing down Latvia's development. Understanding these causes and effects is the foundation for creating future policies. (...)

https://lvportals.lv/viedokli/354825-ir-labveligs-bridis-taisniguma-atjaunosanai-2023