Latvia

Latvia (ラトビア Ratobia), is a character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and Latvia received the name Raivis Galante (ライヴィス・ガランテ Raivisu Garante).

Appearance
Latvia has short, curly blond hair and violet eyes (sometimes colored dark blue). In his WWII appearances, he usually wears a maroon military uniform with brown epaulettes.

He is the shortest of the Baltic trio, even though he was drawn somewhat taller in his earlier appearances in the webcomic and originally had thicker eyebrows. His uniform also originally had frog clasps in the front (rather than simple buttons) and he wore tall boots.

Personality And Interests
The youngest of the three Baltics, he is described as a withdrawn and a crybaby due to the series of unfortunate events he's experienced in life. He is often pushed around by Russia, whom he tried and failed to cut ties with. He loves poetry and romance novels, and is recently hooked on tragic love stories. Although he is a crybaby, he will often fail to read to the atmosphere and say or do what is prohibited in front of Russia, and then has to face harsh consequences. In his Volume 6 bio, Latvia is called a "hidden genius" who manages to do things that seem impossible. However, he often does not partake in these endeavors unless ordered, so has slacked off as of late. This is further elaborated in Hetalia: World☆Stars where Russia forces Latvia to build a railway that goes through his country. After the work is completed, Latvia is both impressed and shocked that everything worked out in one shot and trembles excitedly knowing he had these "hidden powers and talents" within himself. In the next panel however, he tosses the idea to the side saying "Not a chance, right?". In his World Stars character bio, he is said to be a bit pliable and unassertive compared to the other two Baltic States. He has a habit of thinking pessimistically. He is also troubled by stray bullets and is said to suffer from insomnia because Russia haunts his dreams. He has an apparent dislike of the Livonian Order, Alexander Lukashenko, the Teutonic Order, and Cossacks. In a 2015 blog sketch, it was stated he wished he was as confident as Estonia is.

Despite being rather young in physical age, Latvia's profile also states that he drinks a lot of alcohol. This is further elaborated on in the Hetalia Desktop Buddies, where he states that he is able to drink up to forty cups of alcohol at his best.

Estonia
Despite both being Baltic states, they are not brothers and have little in common. Character notes reveal that Latvia and Estonia are in a "mild battle" over the origin of the Christmas tree. Though they are said to be under a ceasefire, the issue is said to be smouldering under the surface. Estonia seems to care for Latvia's well-being, as he will often yell out Latvia's name if Latvia is in danger or simply in a bad situation. In the Sealand and Latvia Desktop Mascots, Sealand pointed out that he doesn't actually know much about Estonia, which upset Latvia somewhat.

Lithuania
Also a Baltic companion, Latvia is less inclined when it comes to Lithuania as he is closer with Estonia. Even so, they appear to be good friends and are caught hanging out together, significantly less than Latvia's accounts with Estonia but still an admirable effort.

Russia
Latvia isn't shown to be very fond towards Russia, however he is very frightened of him. Russia is Latvia's former ruler but he has failed to cut ties with. Thus, even in modern strips, Latvia is often shown alongside Russia. It's notable that despite how shy, fragile and fearful Latvia seems, he will still say blunt statements to Russia. It is said that Latvia lets the wrong things slip out in front of Russia, and then has to face the consequences because he has failed to read the atmosphere. Because of their strength differences, Latvia often ends up maimed by Russia's cruel retaliations, or play. The result is Latvia's growth spurt that has decreased because of Russia's action to press his head, Latvia notes that if Russia didn't do this, he would have grown up to an additional 10 centimetres by now.

Sealand
Though Latvia stabbed him with a flower when they first met at a world meeting, the two quickly managed to become close friends, due to their similarity of being small nations that weren't taken very seriously. Latvia attempts to act as an older brother and mentor figure to Sealand, but his own insecurities and worries tend to get in the way.

In The Anime
Latvia first appeared in Episode 01 at the Meeting Of The World, where he was being bullied by Russia and Belarus, the latter holding a knife to his back. He officially appears in Episode 29 with the other two Baltics, speaking for the first time.

Name
While Raivis is an actual Latvian name, his surname Galante is actually of Italian origin. Whether it is intentional or not, Latvia's human last name corresponds with that of the well-known opera singer Inessa Galante, who happens to be from Latvia herself.

Trivia

 * His birthday corresponds with the date for Latvia's declaration of independence from Russia and Germany, November 18, 1918. Latvia would later wind up occupied by both Soviet and Nazi forces in 1940 and 1941 respectively, before being reoccupied by the Soviet Union in 1944. While it announced its renewed independence from the union in 1990, it took a year for it to actually be restored.
 * The "desktop mascot" of Latvia reveals that he has an apparent dislike for things such as the Livonian Order, Alexander Lukashenko, the Teutonic Order, and Cossacks.
 * Latvia has comment In The Principality of Wy & the Mysterious Sealand, Latvia's living room is full of small but interesting references. The book he holds has the word Rilke on it, a reference to Rainer Maria Rilke, a Bohemian-Austrian novelist and poet. Though the speech bubble covers the painting, the frame has the word Balsam scribbled on it. Balsam is a type of beverage that is high in alcoholic content and one of Latvia's most famous alcoholic beverages is Riga Black Balsam. In the scene where Latvia phones Sealand, there's also a poster on the wall with Latvia and Lithuania's faces on it that says "MTV Lithuania & Latvia". This was a real station operating in the two countries that launched in January 2009 but only lasted several months before shutting down and was replaced by MTV Europe at the end of the year. In the animated adaptation, the reference to Rilke is maintained as well as the painting of balsam but the poster is removed entirely.
 * Latvia noted, after Russia asked why he was so short, that it was because of Russia pressing down on his head every day. If he did not, Latvia would be ten centimeters taller than he is now.