August 23, 1989, saw one of the most memorable and inspiring events in recent Baltic history. Approximately two million residents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands to form a human chain, called Baltijas ceļš (The Baltic Way), linking the capitals of the three Baltic States – Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, in a powerful display of unity to protest the then-Soviet occupation. The date was chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the fateful Molotov-Ribentropp pact, signed August 23, 1939, which divided up Eastern Europe into Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia spheres of influence.

In August of 2014, the Bank of Latvia has released a silver commemorative coin to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this history making event.

The proof quality silver coin was struck by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (the Netherlands), and was designed by Visvaldis Asaris (graphic design) and Ligita Franckeviča (plaster model), has a face value of 5 euro, and has a mintage of 10,000.

For further information, please visit the Bank of Latvia website.