Over 7,700 people in Latvia have signed a public petition against withdrawing from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence, LSM reports. Earlier, several parties in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, signalled that they might vote to revoke Latvia’s ratification of the human rights treaty. The Union of Greens…
Altogether 126 people in Estonia renounced their Russian citizenship in the first eight months of 2025, according to data from the Estonian Ministry of Interior, ERR reports. In the whole of 2024, only 107 residents in Estonia gave up their Russian passports. The Russian embassy in Tallinn did not accept applications in the period from…
Estonia had the highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the Baltic States in 2023, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Estonia had 12.5 pupils per teacher in primary to upper secondary education in 2023, which was up from 12.4 in 2022. Latvia had 11.9 (11.5) and Lithuania 11.4 (11.4) pupils per teacher. The EU average was 12.2…
Lithuanian news outlet DELFI hosted its inaugural Most Influential People awards in Vilnius on 2 October 2025, ELTA reports. President Gitanas Nauseda won the award for the most influential politician. Other winners included journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis (media), construction entrepreneur Arvydas Avulis (business), public commentator Andrius Tapinas, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene (civil service), and discus thrower…
Cultural activists in Lithuania are preparing for a nationwide “warning strike” on 5 October 2025 to protest against control of the Ministry of Culture by the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), LRT reports. Earlier, protests across the country contributed to the hasty resignation of PPNA’s newly-appointed Culture Minister, Ignotas Adomavicius. Cultural leaders fear…
Estonian President Alar Karis has asked the Supreme Court to declare proposed amendments to the law regulating religious organisations unconstitutional, ERR reports. Earlier, the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a law to curb the influence of foreign organisations on churches in Estonia. There are concerns over the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church’s (EKÕK) canonical ties to…
Lithuania’s new Minister of Culture, Ignotas Adomavicius, resigned on 3 October 2025 after just one week in office, LRT reported. Adomavicius, a member of the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas, said that he resigned “so as not to disrupt the government’s work.” Earlier, in an interview with Lietuvos Rytas, Adomavicius evaded questions on Lithuania’s…
Altogether 564,800 households in Estonia, which is 95% of all households, now have internet access, which is 20,000 more than in 2024, according to Statistics Estonia’s survey, Estonian World reports. The survey shows that almost 100% of people aged 16-54 years use the internet. Also, internet use has increased markedly among the elderly as people…
Lithuanians are the most active savers in the Baltic States, according to a September 2025 poll for Luminor Bank, The Baltic Times reports. In the survey, 23% of Lithuanians, 17% of Estonians, and 14% of Latvians said that they were able to save more than 10% of their income regularly. As many as 43% of…