British police have identified the suspected murder victim found on the royal family’s Sandringham Estate as that of a 17-year-old girl from Latvia missing since August.

DNA tests confirmed that the body found on New Year’s Day is that of Alisa Dmitrijeva, according to a Jan. 8 statement from the Norfolk Constabulatory. Dmitrijeva was last seen Aug. 31 in King’s Lynn, which is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of London.

The body was found by a person walking their dog at Anmer, near Sandringham in West Norfolk and not far from King’s Lynn. Sandringham Estate is a sprawling territory of about 8,000 hectares (about 19,000 acres) that includes Sandringham House, the country retreat of Queen Elizabeth II.

Two days after discovery of the body, Norfolk police announced that is “highly unlikely” the victim died of natural causes.

“There is no evidence of accidental injury, damage due to firearms or bladed weapon,” according to a Jan. 3 police statement.

Dmitrijeva was born in Latvia and moved to Great Britain several years ago with her family, according to British media reports.

A relative reported her missing on Sept. 6, according to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. After initial appeals for information on her whereabouts failed to garner solid information, police turned to Facebook and even offered a GBP 5,000 reward.

Police officials said repeatedly that they were concerned for Dmitrijeva’s safety.

A statement reported by Norfolk police, Dmitrijeva’s family said, “We are devastated by the news of Alisa’s death. We wish to grieve in private.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry of the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team said in a statement that he will be working with Cambridgeshire police to learn more about Dmitrijeva’s disappearance.

Anyone with information relating to the incident is asked to contact the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team at Norfolk Constabulary on +44 01953 424242, or Crimestoppers UK at +41 800 555 111.

Latvia and its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania are among a long list of “flawed democracies” around the world, according to a new report from The Economist magazine released in December.

The publication’s Economist Intelligence Unit ranked 167 countries and territories in its Democracy Index 2011, placing Latvia at 48th overall—one notch better than last year.

The report scores countries based on five measures: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Based on their scores, countries are placed in one of four different regime categories: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.

Just 25 countries, led by Norway, are considered full democracies, according to the 2011 report. A total of 53 countries, including all three Baltic states, are considered flawed democracies. Hybrid regimes are found in 37 countries, while authoritarianism reigns in 52.

“Much of eastern Europe illustrates the difference between formal and substantive democracy,” according to the report. “The new EU (European Union) members from the region have pretty much equal level of political freedoms and civil liberties as the old developed EU, but lag significantly in political participation and political culture—a reflection of widespread anomie and weaknesses of democratic development.”

The Czech Republic, ranked No. 16, is the only country from Eastern Europe to make it into the top tier of full democracies.

Scandinavia swept the top four spots in the rankings. Norway at No. 1 is followed by Iceland, Denmark and Sweden. The Top 10 full democracies are rounded out by New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Finland and the Netherlands.

The United States ranks 19th, one notch below the United Kingdom.

Among the Baltic states, only Latvia’s ranking improved, rising from 49th in the 2010 index. Estonia dropped a spot from 33rd in 2010 to 34th in 2011. Lithuania, at No. 41, remains unchanged.

Russia ranked 117th, placing it in the list of authoritarian regimes. The announcement in September that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will again seek the presidency of Russia is “a retrograde and cynical step,” according to the report.

“It marked a decisive step in Russia’s long-running slide towards outright authoritarianism,” according to the report. “The decision has made a mockery of the institution of the presidency and the electoral process.”

At the bottom of the Democracy Index 2011 rankings, at 167th, is North Korea.

The report also notes how public opinion has changed in countries such as Latvia. Results of the Life in Transition Surveys conducted by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank in 2006 and 2010 show that support for democracy declined in parts of Eastern Europe.

“In 11 transition countries, 50 percent of respondents or fewer express a preference for democracy, with support being lowest in Serbia, Latvia, Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Bosnia & Hercegovina,” according to the Democracy Index 2011 report. “The widespread disenchantment with democracy in the region, especially in the richer economies, does not necessarily reflect a hankering for authoritarianism or a return to the communist past. Rather, it seems to reflect the exhaustion
of contemporary political systems and a general unfocused disillusion, apathy and disengagement.”

A national referendum on whether Russian should become Latvia’s second official language is set for Feb. 18, the Central Election Commission announced Jan. 3 in Rīga.

The referendum will decide whether proposed legislation to amend the constitution will be adopted. The legislation would change five sections in the constitution, including Paragraph 4, which sets Latvian as the sole official language.

At least half of all eligible voters, or nearly 772,000 citizens, would need to vote in favor of the referendum question for it to pass, according to Latvian law.

Many political observers have commented that the referendum has little chance of passing, but the fact that the language issue has come this far has sharpened discord between ethnic Latvians and ethnic Russians in Latvia. Both President Andris Bērziņš and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis in their New Year’s messages to the nation reiterated the centrality of the Latvian language.

“No matter what your decision will be about participating in the referendum and your vote in it, know that a vote in favor of changing the status of the official language will be a vote against Latvia as a state,” Bērziņš said.

The issue of Russian as a second state language was propelled by the pro-Russian Dzimtā valoda (Native Language) organization. It gathered enough signatures on a petition to spark a citizen initiative, which in turn garnered more than 183,000 signatures to bring the proposed legislation before the Saeima. The parliament, as expected, on Dec. 22 rejected the bill on its first reading.

Under Latvian law, that normally would force a national referendum. However, taking the issue to the voters was inevitable because of the proposal to change Paragraph 4 of the constitution, which is possible only through a referendum.

Polling stations will be set up across Latvia and abroad, according to the Central Election Commission, and voting by absentee ballot also will be available.