The winner of Turība University “Honorary Award” in the nomination Honorary Professor, Professor of the Faculty of Law, Dr.hist. Valdis Blūzma notes during the conversation that being a patriot of one’s country is very important, but sometimes we forget what it really means and what responsibilities follow from it.

What emotions did you experience when you learned that you would receive the title of Honorary Professor?

When I received the notification about the award, I felt pleasantly surprised by the assessment of the work invested in the growth of Turība students. I was overwhelmed with satisfaction and joy for the recognition. In turn, after some time, I began to think about what else I could do to make the awarded title even more consistent with reality. Receiving the award served as a reminder to finish what I had started and conclude the creation of the book that I had cherished for several years, hoping that it could be published at the beginning of the next academic year. For several years now I have been working on a book describing law in Latvia from the 9th century to 1914, supplementing previously published collections on law in other periods.

How did you come to the decision to link your career with the legal field?

I received my higher education at the University of Latvia as a historian, but due to a combination of circumstances, my professional path became closely related to law, studying its origins and historical connections. At a time when ideas were swirling in Latvia about the restoration of an independent state and the creation of the Popular Front, I gained confidence that any desires and ideas could be realized. Various representatives of the Latvian intelligentsia, including representatives of the academic staff of the University of Latvia, were involved in the revival movement. At the invitation of professors, I began my work at the University of Latvia, teaching the history of law, and then, improving my knowledge, increased my academic experience.

What do you think are the biggest challenges and benefits of working in the legal field?

One of the challenges of working in the legal field is to constantly keep up with changes. This applies to both the work of the lecturer and the students, so that the study process emphasizes current issues and their solutions, and importantly - from primary sources, so you need to count on a fairly extensive research work to get to the original article or source.

In turn, in the aspect of legal history, the time of publication of the relevant source must be taken into account, because historical facts are constantly being adapted to the relevant era and people's perceptions. In order to improve yourself, it is important to focus on reading books, not only as a hobby, but also to gain additional knowledge.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I am passionate about fiction, especially books of a philosophical nature. Of course, historical literature is still in my esteem. Currently, I am also planning to delve into the literary works of the Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco.

My wife and I travel a lot. We have visited countries - Turkey, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan. We also managed to visit Australia - Sydney and Cairns. This is the furthest point on the globe from Riga that I have been - the Great Barrier Reef on the Pacific coast. In addition, when I arrived in Cairns, I was surprised to learn that Cairns is a sister city of Riga, as evidenced by a memorial plaque in the city center.

We have only been to the north of Africa - Egypt and Morocco, but there is no particular desire to go there at the moment. However, I have long been tempted by the idea of getting to know America, especially seeing Mexico, the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations, as well as traveling around the USA, which has both rich museums with works of art by old masters in New York and also fantastic natural views - Yellowstone, etc.

How important is it to be a patriot of Latvia right now?

In this time, being a patriot is very important, and often we don't even realize what it means to be a patriot, for example, participating in elections. Therefore, I wish the younger generation to improve themselves as much as possible, to be socially active and to get involved in shaping their future not only in their own interests, but also for the common good of society.