Analysts and experts around the world are dedicating an unprecedented volume of column inches, charts, graphs, analysis and predictions to the tiny Baltic state with a population of just 2.3 million.

According to Ojars Kalnins, director of the Latvian Institute, if the Latvian story is a novel, the country is just passing the opening chapters that capture the reader's interest. "As in any good novel with plot twists, things may get worse before they get better, but if there is a happy ending, well, then you have a rip-roaring story!" he said.