Latvia's hidden new poor : Soup kitchen users in Riga

Abstract

Latvia underwent radical changes during the transition and a spread of poverty followed. The Latvian transition from communism to capitalism primarily focused on economic development, while social development was less emphasised. Within this broad context, this thesis describes how this imbalance between economic and social development affected Latvia’s very poor in terms of, among other aspects, social life and human security over the 15-year transition period, which spans the transition from the all-embracing Soviet system to free-market Latvia.