Railways of North-West Russia
The railway network linked Riga, Liepāja and Ventspils with the major industrial centres of Russia.
St Petersburg – Warsaw 1860; Riga – Dinaburg/Daugavpils 1861; Riga – Mittau/Jelgava 1868;
Riga – Dinaburg/Daugavpils – Oryol 1868; Liepāja – Romny 1871; Ventspils– Rybinsk 1901 – 1904. >>
The building of the Union plant in Riga
The Union plant was founded in 1898 on the basis of the Russian-Baltic Electrotechnical Plant. In 1904, the plant became the property of the German concern AEG. In 1905, it was taken over by the Russian Society of the General Electricity Company (VKE), a subsidiary of the AEG concern. The company manufactured electrical equipment for naval vessels, electric trams and other electrical appliances. In 1915, in connection with the outbreak of the First World War, the enterprise was evacuated to Kharkov. Subsequently, the VEF plant (1919-1999), the largest and most famous Latvian enterprise in the 20th century, was located in the shops of the former VKE.
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