This is the place you can meet our staff and translators
Jana Cirkste
Jana Cirkste has a B.A. in education from the Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy and a first-level professional diploma in law from the College of Law in Riga with the qualification of Legal Assistant. She has studied German at the College of Further Education (Volkshochschule)in Erftstadt, Germany. Jana also has a working knowledge of English and is fluent in Russian.
Jana has been with us since 2000, initially as secretary, then as office manager and now she is our Executive Director. Jana is in charge of all the major aspects of the day-to-day activities and administrative work in the Company.
Nadezhda Smyshlaeva
Nadezhda Smyshlaeva has a diploma in English and French from the Minsk Institute of Foreign Languages.
Nadezhda worked for several years in Moscow as office manager and translator for a UK travel agency, before returning to Latvia to work at the Israeli Embassy in Riga as Consul’s assistant in administrative and consular matters. She has also worked at the Marketing Representative Office of the British Open University’s Business School, where she taught a special English course English for Busy People. She continued her English lecturer’s career at several other higher education institutions in Riga. Nadezhda has also been a private English tutor for many years. In addition to written translations, she is an experienced interpreter and has mastered the professional skills of simultaneous interpretation.
In our company Nadezhda is a key translator from and to English, Latvian and Russian. In addition to excellent proficiency in these languages, Nadezhda also translates to and from French, Esperanto, Belarusian and from Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and Ukrainian. She is also our senior in-house translator, acting as a consultant and translation coordinator, and is a thorough and most conscientious and pedantic proofreader and editor. She is competent in many areas, including technical, IT and military translations, but we most appreciate her knowledge and experience in legal and business translations. Nadezhda has encyclopaedic knowledge in many areas and makes an invaluable contribution to the excellent quality of our translations.
Olgerts Eglitis
Olgerts Eglitis has a diploma in philosophy from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of History and Philosophy. After graduating from the University, he worked as a teacher, office worker, researcher at the Latvian Academy of Sciences and as a journalist. From 1992, Olgerts worked as a translator and interpreter, initially for a law office and later for a translation agency. He founded the company Eglitis un Partneri in 2000. Currently he translates from and to English, as well as from Russian, German, Lithuanian and Polish. He also edits and proofreads translations. His main specialisation is legal translations.
Philip Janis Birzulis
Philip Janis Birzulis was born in Australia to Latvian parents who left their native country as refugees during World War II. He received his secondary education at St. Andrews Cathedral School in Sydney, but also regularly attended a Saturday School organized by the Latvian community in Sydney. This helped him to stay truly bilingual, counting both English as well as Latvian as his native tongues. Philip holds a B.A. (Honours) in history and political science from the University of Sydney. Philip recently enrolled in a professional study programme for European Union interpreters at the University of Latvia's Faculty of Modern Languages.
Philip has been living and working in Latvia since 1994, although he spends shorter or longer periods on travels abroad and in Australia. He translates legal texts, technical documentation, business correspondence, advertising materials, newspaper articles, popular science, literary fiction and even poetry for different translation agencies and publishers from Latvian into English. In addition to his translation work, Philip is also active as a journalist and is a regular contributor to many English-language newspapers and magazines published in the Baltics, including The Baltic Times, City Paper, Riga NOW! and The Baltic Guide.
We have had very fruitful co-operation with Philip since 2001. He not only translates but also edits English translations by other translators whose native language is not English. Philip’s contribution to our translation work has been especially valuable because of his native English-speaker’s competence and his extensive intellectual horizons.
Linda Krumina
Linda Krumina has a diploma in English language and literature from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Foreign Languages. She has further improved her qualifications at the University of Oslo (Norway), the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, the Norwich Institute for Language Education at Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland) and courses organized by the International House in Zurich (Switzerland). In addition to fluency in English and Russian, Linda also has a working knowledge of Danish and some basic Japanese. She constantly works to improve her knowledge in the fields she translates, and is currently studying finance at the College of Business Administration‘s Department of Finances and Accounting in Riga.
Linda is a very successful translator as well as a talented lecturer: she has taught business English, linguistics, practical translation, lexicology and other subjectsat the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Modern Languages and at Riga Technical University’s Languages Institute. She is also a private English tutor.
Linda has been a leading translator for the PHARE programme “State Governance Reform in Latvia”. She has also translated for the Ministry of Environment and Regional Development, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several major banks and other clients.
Linda is one of our key staff and a leading Latvian/Russian - English translator. She is competent in many areas, but her main specialisation is legal, business and accounting translations. Linda has a scholarly approach to translation, thoroughly researching the subject of her translations even when she is already familiar with it. In this way she is a major contributor to the translation concepts and “handwriting” of our Company.
Ligita Kikute
Ligita Kikute graduated from a specialised English-language secondary school in Riga, then studied law and English philology at the University of Latvia. In 1993-1994 she continued her education in the USA by taking a course in contrastive linguistics at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Ligita is a sworn English-Latvian-Russian translator with more than 20 years experience in professional translation. In addition to her fluent English and Russian and native Latvian, she also has basic knowledge of German, French and Latin.
Ligita is one of our key staff members and translates a wide range of texts from/to English and Russian, including technical and medical translations, and especially excels in translation of legal texts from English. This is based on Ligita’s background of law studies as well as her direct ongoing cooperation in the field of translation with many Latvian lawyers. Ligita’s linguistic perfection has also been forged by her previous literary creative experience: she has been a freelance newspaper and radio reporter and has written and had published poems, including lyrics for pop-songs.
In recent years, Ligita has focused mainly on her translation activities. She is our staff translator and one of the major pillars in our Company for English-Russian-Latvian translations of legal texts.
Pavel Smishlayev
Pavel Smishlayev graduated from Riga Classical Gymnasium (a secondary school that allowed him to specialise in English early on), then received his BA and MA in English philology from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Modern Languages. In addition to excellent knowledge of English and Latvian (besides his native Russian), Pavel has mastered German as his second foreign language and has a working knowledge of French.
Pavel’s hobby since early childhood has been reading popular science and later scientific literature, which has greatly contributed to his general knowledge and consequently to his capacities as a translator. Pavel started practicing as a translator while still in the first year of university and has since then grown into one of the most knowledgeable English-Russian translators in our company. He translates technical, engineering and scientific texts as well as legal and business documents to and from English.
Ina Eglîte
Ina Eglîte has a diploma in library science and bibliography from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Philology. She has worked as a librarian, head of library, teacher/ lecturer and as an official in the public education system. In the 1990s she was an advertising consultant with one of the leading advertising agencies in Riga and the PR manager for a large computer company.
Ina has a key role in the management and administration of our company. She also translates from Russian and German and proofreads and edits translations.
Marika Muzikante
Marika Muzikante is born in Kerdla (Hiiumaa Island), Estonia. She graduated from Riga English-language Secondary School No. 50 in Latvia. After this Marika studied at the Estonian Language and Literature Department of Tartu University in Estonia, receiving a diploma with distinction in Finno-Ugric languages.
Marika has worked as a translator since her student years. After graduation she worked as a translator for several publishers and magazines as well as translation agencies.
Marika has been with us from almost the day we started business in 2000, translating to and from Estonian and from Finnish. She is also fluent in Russian and English and is one of the few speakers of the historical Livonian language (a Finno-Ugric language widely spoken in Latvia in the Middle Ages). She also has a working knowledge of German.
The experience and education Marika has gained in two of the three Baltic countries, Latvia and Estonia, allows her to feel at home in the two different cultural and linguistic worlds. We also hold the precision and accuracy of her translations in high regard.
Victoria Smyshlaeva
Victoria Smyshlaeva graduated from secondary school in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far-East, then studied French language and literature at Yakutsk State University in Yakutia. Later she graduated from the University of Latvia with a diploma in French philology, teaching and translation. In addition to French as her main foreign language and her native Russian, Victoria is fluent in Latvian, Esperanto and has a working knowledge of English.
Victoria has worked as proofreader, editor and translator for a number of publishing houses and translation agencies. She translates texts in different fields including literature and poetry, contracts and other legal documents, advertising, user instructions, manuals, computer hardware and software descriptions.
In our company Victoria translates to and from Latvian, Russian and French. Victoria is a serious and intelligent translator who skilfully combines her knowledge of translation with her editor’s experience and relies on her encyclopaedic knowledge in different areas.
Helena Enina
Helena Enina graduated from a specialized German-language secondary school in Riga. She continued her German studies at the University of Latvia and has a diploma in philology and German language teaching/lecturing from the University’s Faculty of Foreign Languages.
Helena has been a professional Latvian-Russian-German translator for more than 18 years, initially for a major road transport company, then for the Bank of Latvia, a large hospital and a translation company. She is therefore qualified to perform highly competent translations of technical, engineering, construction, oil and gas, medical, banking, business, legal and general texts. For Helena, languages are a passion as well as a job: when not translating, she immerses herself in German books, TV documentaries and films, which of course only enhances her language proficiency. She also has a good working knowledge of Polish and Ukrainian.
Helena has been one of our core part-time translators from/to German/Russian and from Polish and Ukrainian since we started our operations in 2000. She also interprets at seminars, conferences, discussions and court hearings in addition to performing written translation work. We are proud to have Helena on our team because of her expertise in the many areas mentioned and her enormous capacity for hard work.
Inese Repele
Inese Repele received a B.A. in German philology from the Rezekne Higher Education Institution. Later she was awarded a grant by the Catholic Academic Exchange Service in Germany to continue her studies at the 550-year-old Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald. Inese has completed a Professional Study Program in Foreign Economic Relations at the International Relations Institute of the University of Latvia.
In addition to her native Latvian and German, as her main foreign language, Inese is fluent in Russian, has a working knowledge of English and also knows basic Norwegian.
Inese has worked as a secretary and translator for the president of a major manufacturer of electric supplies and equipment in Latvia, as company manager’s assistant for a German motor industry innovations company in Remscheid, Nordrhein-Westfalen. She is back in Latvia now and working for a German company’s Baltic regional office in Riga.
Inese is a highly competent Latvian/Russian - German translator, with technical translations (electrical engineering, energy, oil and gas, machine-building etc.) her particular strength. She also translates legal, business and other texts. We deeply appreciate the precision and competence of Inese’s translations.
Sanita Dirina
Sanita Dirina graduated from the Applied Arts School in Liepaja, Latvia, obtained a teacher’s qualification from the Riga Teachers’ Institute and received a BA in Art from the Latvian Academy of Culture. Apart from her native Latvian, Sanita is also fluent in English, Russian and Swedish. She has studied Swedish in Linköping and Västerås, Sweden, and at the Latvian Academy of Culture.
Sanita has worked as secretary-translator, office administrator, customer support specialist, and as a translator of TV programs and films from Swedish into Latvian. Sanita’s work has always included communication in foreign languages, and in addition to her primary jobs, Sanita has been a professional freelance translator for translation agencies and other clients.
For our company, Sanita translates texts to and from Swedish in different fields, including culture, the arts and social sciences, technical and popular science and legal documents. Sanita’s extensive cultural and historical knowledge of Sweden and Scandinavia in general adds to her competence as a translator, allowing her to see the subject matter of each translation in a wider context.
Leonids Karklins
Leonids Karklins has got a diploma in Spanish, English and Portuguese languages from the Minsk Institute of Foreign Languages (nowadays Minsk State Linguistic University), and after graduating he has worked hard to further improve his qualifications. He has obtained a diploma from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture for the highest level of proficiency in Spanish as a foreign language, has passed exams in business Spanish, business English and business Portuguese at the College of Foreign Languages at the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Moscow, and studied Introduction to Banking at Riga School of Commerce and analysis of business sheets at Dresdner Bank in Germany. Leonids has also attended numerous courses and seminars in finance and banking, both in Latvia and abroad.
Leonids worked for five years as a Spanish-Russian translator and interpreter in Havana, Cuba. He then continued his career as a patent specialist at the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and as a financial and banking officer at several Latvian banks. He has also continuously practiced as a translator and Spanish language lecturer at higher education institutions in Riga.
Currently Leonids works mainly as a translator and interpreter from/to Spanish, English and Portuguese. In addition to these languages, he also translates from Catalonian and Galician. He is also an experienced tourist guide for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking groups visiting Latvia and the other Baltic States.
We are proud to have access to Leonids’ highly professional translations and appreciate especially the added value from his other qualifications related to banking and finances, patents, shipping, ports, etc.
Romualds Lebedeks
Romualds Lebedeks holds a qualification as a philologist and teacher of German from the University of Latvia. In 1986 he completed a qualification improvement course for German translators at the University of Gdansk in Poland.
Romualds started professional translation in the early 1970s while working at the Baltic Scientific Research Institute of Fisheries in Riga. He then moved to Poland where he spent 13 years (1979-1992) working at the Design Office of the Gdansk Shipyard. During his time in Poland, Romualds was also a sworn translator of German, Polish, Russian and Latvian at the Regional Court of Gdansk. Romualds then moved to Germany where he worked at different companies for eight years (1992-2000). Since 2000 Romualds has been back in Latvia, working at the Embassy of Poland in Riga. Romualds not only performs written translations, but also interprets (including simultaneous interpretation) at exhibitions, seminars and conferences.
For our company, Romualds translates from/to German, Polish, Russian and Latvian. We are proud to have him as one of our freelancers because of his long experience in translation and his thorough proficiency in Polish and German, obtained as a result of his long periods of residence in the respective countries.
Gintaras Kaminskas
Gintaras Kaminskas graduated from Vilnius Conservatory with a degree in classical guitar playing and later from Vilnius University’s Faculty of Linguistics with a degree in Lithuanian language. Currently his main activity is translation from English, Russian, Latvian, German and Spanish into Lithuanian.
Gintaras translates various documents and texts for translation agencies in Lithuania and Latvia, as well as books for several publishing houses in Lithuania. The works he has translated include Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (from English), Seven years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer (from German), Buddhist Meditation by Samdhong Rinpoche (from English), Hush, hush! by Michael Jordan (from English), and Learn to play the Guitar by Phil Capone (from English).
Gintaras is also an author himself. In 2005, he completed Practical Spanish Grammar (in Lithuanian), which was published the same year by a publishing house in Vilnius.
Our company has enjoyed very successful co-operation with Gintaras. We have had the good fortune to utilize Gintaras’ translations in the legal and business, information technologies, technical, cultural and other fields into his polished, literary Lithuanian.
Kristine Dembovska
Kristine Dembovska has a degree in Baltic philology from the University of Latvia. She has also studied the Lithuanian language, literature and folklore at the University of Vilnius in Lithuania. In addition to Lithuanian, Kristine’s main foreign language, she is also fluent in Russian and English and knows basic German, Polish and Ukrainian. She recently moved to Sweden and plans to add Swedish to these languages soon.
Kristine is a freelance translator for several companies, translating from English, Russian, Latvian and Lithuanian into Latvian and Lithuanian. She has also worked as a literary editor and proofreader and is a Latvian language tutor. Kristine is also a language scholar who has participated in many conferences and written quite a few articles about different Latvian and Lithuanian authors, Baltic folklore and philology and other literary subjects.
For our Company Kristine translates technical, engineering, information technology, popular science, legal and general texts. Her extensive knowledge of different fields and scholarly achievements, as well as her diligence and precision in translations bring us great benefits.
Aina Lilita Vecsile
Aina Lilita Vecsile has a diploma in Czech language and literature from Leningrad University‘s Faculty of Slavic Languages. In addition to Czech, her main foreign language, Aina is proficient in Russian, Slovak and Polish. She also has a good knowledge of German, English, Serbian and Croatian, basic knowledge of Bulgarian and other south Slavic languages.
Aina has been working for several decades at Riga Dailes Theater as an editor, interpreter, librarian and translator. She has also contributed to literary radio programs and has translated articles and works of literature for magazines and theatres.
For our company Aina translates texts from various fields, including general texts, technical, popular science and legal texts from Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovenian and other Slavic languages. Aina’s extensive knowledge of languages and cultures is a major asset for our translation work.
Evita Miscuka
Evita Miscuka has a diploma in philology, German language and literature from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Foreign Languages. With a mixed family background, Evita has two native languages: Russian and Latvian. She has also completed a specialist German language course, Deutsch für den Beruf (German) at the Goethe Institute in Riga. In addition to her fluent German, Latvian and Russian, she also speaks English and is studying French at the Riga French Culture Centre.
Evita is a project manager at the International and Public Relations Department of Riga Technical University. Before that, for many years Evita was the Deputy Head of the Riga Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany).
Evita has extensive experience in translating from/to German, Latvian and Russian. She has been translating legal, economic, business, advertising, technical and general texts for us since we started operating in 2000. Evita’s perfect knowledge of Russian and Latvian, as well as her specialist knowledge of the German language and culture are great assets for our Company.
Elina Bambite
Elina Bambite is a graduate of Niels Brock College in Copenhagen, Denmark and Riga Tourism School, has a B.A. in business and management from the Latvian Agricultural University‘s Faculty of Economics, and an M.A. in management from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Economics and Management.
Elina is a project manager with the Latvian branch of a major German bank. She has worked previously as a corporate accounts manager and electronic payment/marketing specialist with another bank, and as a trademark manager as well as marketing and purchasing manager with an international company operating in Latvia.
Elina has many years of experience in translating different texts, especially in the banking and business sectors between the following languages: Latvian, Russian, Danish, English and German. Elina’s high level of competence in languages as well as in banking and business has been a great benefit to our Company.
Jelena Bogdane
Jelena Bogdane has a diploma in English language and literature from the University of Latvia‘s Faculty of Foreign Languages. In addition to English, Jelena has thoroughly mastered Italian and is now mainly translating texts from and to Italian. She is also a certified tour guide in Russian, Italian and English.
Jelena has worked as a secretary, import manager and translator for many companies in Riga and works independently for different Latvian and Italian companies. She is a sworn translator in Russian, Italian and English. Jelena is also experienced in technical translation. You can find more about Jelena’s work from her own website: http://www.home.lv/tulkojumi.
For our Company Jelena translates legal, business and general texts from Latvian and Russian into Italian and vice versa. We have received only positive responses about her work, not only in Latvia but also from Italian clients.
Anitra Eglite
Anitra Eglite holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Art from the Visual Communication Division of the Latvian Academy of Arts.
Anitra has 12 years experience in computer graphic design.
In our company Anitra is the artist and graphic designer. In addition to her individual work, she also contributes to joint projects like this web page design, our ads, the design and layout of our first Dictionary for Translators of Legal Texts, as well as clients’ jobs involving both translation and graphic design elements.
As a bright, young and promising commercial artist, Anitra is also forging a career as an independent graphic design artist and photographer, and has taken part in art photography exhibitions in Latvia and Lithuania. Some of Anitra’s works can be seen in the graphic design section of this site.
