12 days after the USSR recognized their independence Latvia became a member of the United Nations. While the majority of Latvians were happy that they were independent, they were also faced with big challenges. Like many other Soviet countries gaining independence, Latvia was unprepared to reintegrate with the capitalist world, as the majority of its economy and industry were built around the Soviet system, and almost half the factories were used for military purposes. Economic troubles continued to plague Latvia with Russia's default in 1998 and the Global Recession in 2008 both doing a lot of damage, with the second bringing Latvia to the brink of bankruptcy, but the country has slowly recovered. During this time Latvia made more steps to join the international community, joining NATO and the EU in 2004. Latvia changed its currency from Lats to Euros in 2014. As part of their contribution to NATO Latvia has sent soldiers to Afghanistan.
Latvian soldiers in Afghanistan (Source: balticreports.com)
Latvia is still feeling the impact of the recession, during which unemployment rates reached as high as 22.3%, and many Latvians still have very low incomes compared to people in other Western countries. These economic problems have created a good deal of political unrest, and corruption has been an issue for Latvia. Despite all this Latvia has successfully reintegrated with Western society after a long history of foreign oppression and rule, and has been given the EU presidency for the first half of 2015.