After February 2022, due to the sanctions, political and safety reasons, many people studying Russian language in the USA and European Union, do not consider going to Russia as a realistic option. International learners look for locations outside of Russia, where the majority of the local population as the first language speaks Russian. Daugavpils, Latvia, is a perfect example.

Daugavpils is a Russian-speaking enclave, where everybody speaks modern Russian. Russian is the major language of communication in this town. Students will be fully immersed in Russian all the time.

Latvia has a large Russian-speaking community. Quite often, even professionals are not aware of demographic and cultural features of the regions of Latvia. There is a huge difference between Russian-speaking Daugavpils and Riga, where Russian is not spoken as the primary language of everyday communication.

Daugavpils has a very interesting history. Different communities (Russians, Russian Old Believers, Latvians, Jews, Poles, Roma) have been living there side-by-side for centuries. It was a part of Russia and the USSR.

Daugavpils is located in the European Union. This makes it a very convenient travel destination – no visa required, safe, Euro is the official currency, well developed infrastructure, etc.

Learn Russian in the European Union, an experienced Russian-language study abroad provider working in Daugavpils, offers diverse study options for different categories of students. Please learn more at Learn Russian in the EU Study Programs.

You may find more about Daugavpils at Daugavpils, Latvia: unique cultural environment for Russian immersions.