Latvia was a small country with little presence internationally or even within Europe. Or rather, there were simply too many such small countries in Eastern Europe. Since the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, they had all but vanished from international discourse.
Ever since Earth entered the Solar System era, the countries of Eastern Europe had been in an extremely awkward position. Europe's old powers did not consider them one of their own, while the giant next door did not include them either. These tiny nations, scattered like cookie crumbs, were squeezed between great powers and drifted with the current. No one could come up with a plan, and no one could carry one out. Their situation was even worse than Africa's.
Africa's countries might have been weak, but they knew how to cling to powerful backers. Wealthier regions generally leaned toward the United States; less developed regions had received much aid from China and thus leaned more toward China. Former French colonies could follow their old master, and those with no other options could at least trail behind Wakanda and sip some broth.
But Eastern Europe truly had no friends or family. No one cared for it. The United States was busy developing its own space program, and its plans to use NATO to contain the East had not been mentioned for a long time.
And aside from that bit of strategic value, Eastern Europe had no land, no people, and no resources. It was fragmented beyond repair, yet every country thought itself the boss. They were weak, but their ambitions ran high.
Back when they had many sovereign states, they still had some voice in international discourse. But now everyone was focused on development, and no one listened to them anymore. They had become utterly unwanted.
If one had