Daugavpils (Latvian pronunciation: [ˈdaʊɡaʊpils] ( listen); Latgalian: Daugpiļs [ˈdaʊkʲpʲilʲsʲ]; Russian: Даугавпилс [ˈdaʊɡəfpʲɪls]; Polish: Dyneburg; see other names) is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres (143 miles) to its north-west.
Daugavpils is located relatively close to Belarus and Lithuania (distances of 33 km (21 mi) and 25 km (16 mi) respectively), and some 120 km (75 mi) from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a major railway junction and industrial centre and lies approximately midway between Riga and Minsk, and between Warsaw and Saint Petersburg.
Daugavpils, then Dyneburg, was the capital of Polish Livonia while in Poland. Following the first partition of Poland in 1772, the city became part of the Russian Empire. To this day it maintains an overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population, with Latvians and Poles being significant minorities.