''The Case for Latvia. Disinformation Campaigns Against a Small Nation. Fourteen Hard Questions and Straight Answers about a Baltic Country'' is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

book on the history of Latvia by the awarded Finnish author

Jukka Rislakki Jukka Rislakki (1945 in Kuusankoski, Finland) is a Finnish journalist, non-fiction writer, and political cartoonist who has published a number of books, mostly on recent history of Finland, the Baltic states, and books on intelligence activitie ...

. The book was first published 2007 in the

Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedi ...

. It was translated to English by Richard Impola and published by the Rodopi publishing house 2008. An expanded second edition was published January 2014. ''The Case for Latvia'' is part of the series '' On the Boundary of Two Worlds: Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination in the Baltics''.

Languages and editions

''The Case for Latvia'' was first published 2007 in the

with the title "''Tapaus Latvia. Pieni kansakunta disinformaatiokampanjan kohteena''", and has since then also been published in the

Latvian language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well ...

with the title: "''Maldināšana: Latvijas gadījums''" (2008), and in the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

with the title: "Манипуляции фактами: латвийский вариант" (2011). The English version, translated from Finnish by Richard Impola, was published by the Rodopi publishing house 2008, and an expanded second edition was published January 2014.

Cross of Recognition

On 4 May 2009, the day of restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia, the author was awarded the Latvian

Cross of Recognition The Cross of Recognition ( lv, Atzinības krusts) is a state decoration of Latvia. History The decoration was established in 1710 in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia by Duke Frederick William as a symbol of the then-established Order of Re ...

for "''selfless promotion of the Latvian image abroad and national patriotic education of youth''". ''The Case for Latvia'' is the only book by Jukka Rislakki about Latvia, that has been translated to English.

Reception

The Latvian language version of ''The Case for Latvia'' was reviewed by the Delfi web portal. The review comments on some of the points given in the book: "The analyses f the bookalso helps to understand, why the small and militarily weak Latvia in different surveys, for so long has been looked upon as Russia's enemy number one", and 'The Case for Latvia is mainly written for readers in the USA, even though Latvian readers may find new and interesting news". ''The Case for Latvia'' was reviewed by two

Latvian American Latvian Americans are Americans who are of Latvian ancestry. According to the 2008 American Community Survey, there are 93,498 Americans of full or partial Latvian descent. History The first significant wave of Latvian settlers who immigrated ...

scholars in the Latvian language magazine ''Jaunā Gaita''. Gundars Ķeniņš-Kings (1926–2015), dean of School of Business at the

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...

, and Aija Veldre Beldavs (1941–2009), Doctor of Philosophy at the Folklore Archives at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. Beldavs initiates her review by the following comment: "It is easy to spread lies. After that, they folklorize, live their independent lives far from the truth. There is little help in facts that are rich in rebukes. Information wars are usually won by the strong and wealthy. In an unequal collision, small nations should be content with a purposeful, systematic, value-enhancing and creative approach to establishing evidence for rebuttal of lies". ''

Journal of Baltic Studies The Journal of Baltic Studies, the official journal of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS), is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary academic journal founded in 1970 and published quarterly by Routledge, dedicated to the pol ...

'' (Volume 40, issue no. 3) has published a review of ''The Case for Latvia'' by Lars Johannsen, Department of Political Science at

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

, School of Business and Social Sciences; Violeta Davoliute,

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

; Allan Sikk, School of Slavonic and East European Studies,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

; Harvey L. Hix,

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. The reviewer, Lars Johannsen is complimentary and describes the book over two pages. He starts by describing the book as a "spirited defense of Latvia", and says "The book is well written and will find its best audience among those who, like my students, have an interest in but little systematic knowledge of Latvia".

Book cover

The image on the cover of the book for both editions is of a drawing by Benita Plezere, who was deported on 25 May 1949 from Latvia to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

, together with her family. She created drawings of their experiences during their travel, which she mailed as postcards to her grandmother. The drawings now are the property of the

Museum of the Occupation of Latvia The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs) is a museum and historic educational institution located in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 1993 to exhibit artifacts, archive documents, and educate the public about th ...

Languages and editions

Cross of Recognition

Reception

Book cover

References

Further reading