Daugavpils, the second largest city in Latvia has deep rooted in history and culture. Historically, city has been part of Livonian order, Polish-Lithuanian common wealth and then the Russian Empire. Situated closer to Belarusian and Russian borders, the city is at the crossroads of politics and culture due to its historic past and the high number of Russian speakers. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 people and about 48% are ethnic Russians. For many locals, the strain in economy forces them to migrate to such countries as the UK and Ireland.

The Church Hill in Daugavpils is home to four difference churches: Old believers Church, Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Roman Catholic Church, and Martin Luther Cathedral. Daugavpils university is the largest university in Eastern Latvia, and is one of the centers for studying Russian language and Culture .