Livonian survival story ~~~ Evika Siliņa !!!

 

An interesting Political post not of what is happening in Tamil Nadu  – believe me – She is not a fashion model but a Politician.  Thousands of miles away is Košrags,  a small village in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia. It sits on the shore of the Irbe Strait of the Baltic Sea. It is one of twelve Livonian villages on Līvõd rānda (Livonian Coast).

 

One of the most fascinating Livonian stories is the legend of the two survivors after the plague – a tale of near-total extinction and miraculous renewal from the Livonian coast in northwestern Latvia. 

Latvia,  is a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia   and Belarus   and shares a maritime border with Sweden Latvia covers an area of 64,573 km2 (24,932 sq mi) with a population of 1.83 million which would compare to that of Thane in India, 7 times smaller than that of  Chennai !!   

The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes (along with Curonians, Selonians and Semigallians), which formed the ethnic core of modern Latvians together with the Finnic Livonians 

The good looking women at the start is : Evika Siliņa  a Latvian lawyer and politician who served as prime minister of Latvia from 2023 to 2026.  Recently she had to resign following the collapse of her government coalition,  and remained in office as caretaker prime minister until her successor, Andris Kulbergs, was appointed two weeks later.

 

On 16 August 2023, after the resignation of Krišjānis Kariņš, the New Unity nominated Siliņa as a candidate for the post of prime minister.  The government coalition led by Siliņa won the confidence of the parliamentary majority in the Saeima on 15 September 2023, receiving 53 votes.  In her speech, the new Prime Minister emphasized the need to be more inclusive, which was interpreted as prioritizing gender equality and other progressive goals. For the Russian-speaking minority, inclusion assumes elimination of the "non-citizen" status and integration into the Latvian-based education system.   Siliņa was the second woman to become prime minister of Latvia, following Laimdota Straujuma in 2014–2016. 

On 14 May 2026, Siliņa announced her resignation as Prime Minister after the Progressives withdrew support from her government.  They did so after Siliņa fired Defence Minister Andris Spruds following the explosion of two drones in eastern Latvia during the Russo-Ukrainian war. Andris Kulbergs who serves as the president of the Latvian Authorised Automobile Dealers Association  is the new President now. 

Now that interesting  survival story :    

Before the plague, the Livonian people thrived in villages along Cape Kolka in northwestern Latvia—Melnsils, Kolka, Vaide, Saunags, Pitrags, Košrags, and Mazirbe. They were a Balto-Finnic people, speaking a language related to Finnish and Estonian, fishing in the Baltic Sea, and living peacefully together. Then the plague arrived. It swept through the villages like a silent wolf, killing everyone. One by one, families fell. Fishermen never returned. Children stopped playing. The wooden houses stood empty, and the Livonian language grew quiet.  

When the plague finally ended, only two people remained alive—one in Saunags, the other in Sīkrags.   

The survivor from Saunags woke days later and walked through the dead village, calling names no one answered. He searched for miles until, near Sīkrags, he saw fresh footsteps in the sand. Someone had walked here. Someone was alive. His heart exploded. He dropped to his knees and kissed the footsteps, pressing his lips to the sand where another human being had walked. He cried, tears mixing with the dust.  

From Sīkrags, the other survivor emerged. He had seen the footsteps too. And he, too, kissed them. The two men found each little more than souls from a world that had disappeared. They were the last Livonians in Cape Kolka.  

"We are alone," said the man from Saunags.

"No," replied the man from Sīkrags. "We are two."  

Years later, new people arrived—families from Saaremaa (Estonia) and Finland who sailed across the Baltic Sea for new land. Two brothers from Finland arrived in Košrags and built two wooden houses: Anduļu sēta and Žoki. Their descendants grew up. The names survived. The two Livonian survivors lived long enough to see their people begin again. They never forgot the plague. They never forgot the emptiness. But they remembered the footsteps. They remembered kissing the sand. And they remembered that even when everyone dies, if two people remain, the world is not yet lost. Today, the two houses still stand in Košrags. The Livonian people, though nearly erased, still exist. Their language whispers in the wind along Cape Kolka—a testament to survival after the plague.

 

Māris Štrombergs   is a Latvian former professional BMX racer. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling.   In 2012 he added to his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the London Olympics.   In 2018 Māris Štrombergs announced his retirement.

 

Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
7.6.2026