About

Latvians Online is a news and information website for anyone interested in Latvia and its diaspora. Regular updates include news reports, current affairs, interviews, commentary and product reviews from Latvia and abroad. For advertising, article submission or other inquiries please use the contact form below.

To subscribe to our newsletter:

Contact us

    History

    Latvians Online saw its debut Nov. 18, 2000. This network is the merger of two prominent Latvian Web sites, LatBits.com, which was led by Melbourne-based team Arnis and Daina Gross, and Minneapolis-based SVEIKS.com, which was headed by journalist Andris Straumanis and Web programmer Todd Rossman.

    LatBits.com began in 1997 and provided its online readers with an insight into the ever-changing Latvian Internet presence in the form of Web site reviews and feature articles. LatBits was affiliated with the Latvian software development firm DekSoft, which has been involved with the Latvian Internet since its inception.

    SVEIKS.com, which saw its debut at the start of 1999, was a leading independent provider of general interest content about Latvian affairs and culture in the West with a focus on North America. The site, in turn, came about from the merger of Latvians in America, created by Straumanis, and Latvia-Latvija, run by Rossman.

    Latvians Online saw its first major redesign in March 2004, adopting the latest Web standards for the display of information. The layout of our pages is driven by Cascading Style Sheets while content is largely served through a Content Management System. In May 2014, Latvians Online underwent a further change to adopt to the ever increasing usage of mobile devices and tablet computers.

    Staff

    Daina Gross, Editor

    Daina Gross was born in Sydney, Australia, and now lives in Melbourne. Daina graduated from the Sydney Latvian high school and Anna Ziedare Summer High School and has studied Latvian at the university level. She has been actively involved in the Latvian community in Australia primarily in the education sector as well as in Latvian academic sorority (korporaciju) life. Daina has an arts degree and has worked in the legal publishing industry for a number of  years. She has lived and worked in Latvia since its independence. Daina served as editor of LatBits, an online Latvian e-zine and is currently editor of Latvians Online as well as the Chairman of the Education Sector or PBLA (World Federation of Free Latvians). Has been the leader of Melbourne Latvian Playgroup “Daina”, as well as translated a number of books on Latvian industrial heritage.

    Arnis Gross, Technical Director

    Born in Melbourne, Australia, Arnis Gross has for many years been actively promoting the use of computers and the Internet to the local Latvian community and other Latvian organisations worldwide. When not developing Apps for mobile devices or digitalising Latvian grammar he looks for opportunities to travel, enjoy the fresh air and connect with nature. He has a particular affinity to Latvian culture and traditions and probably travels too often to Latvia. His qualifications include a B.Eng. from Monash University in Melbourne and a Latvian linguistics minor at Flinders University in Adelaide.

    Contributors

    Egils Kaljo, Contributing Writer

    Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian who lives in Rīga, Latvia. He went to Latvian school in Yonkers, as well as the Latvian summer camp in the Catskills. A member of the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church in Yonkers, Kaljo has a large collection of Latvian recordings, and is also a musician himself, playing the guitar and piano.