In intensive care but angry: that describes Latvia's economy after its dramatic rescue by the imf and other foreign lenders. Now the question is whether the tough conditions imposed by the bail-out are politically tolerable. A riot in Riga, in which more than 40 people (including 14 police officers) were hurt and 106 arrested, suggests there is a bumpy ride ahead.rnLatvia, a country of 2.4m that may soon be the sixth-biggest debtor to the imf, is not alone. Lithuania has pushed through similarly tough wage and spending cutsrnand tax rises. A protest on January 16th turned violent, with protesters pelting the police with snowballs and stones. After a decade in which breakneck growth made up for political weaknesses, pessimists fear that the post-cold war settlement across eastern Europe may now be at risk.
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