Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, some 500,000 people from all walks of life earned 'holiday vouchers' to gain access to 15 large sanatoriums in Jurmala. Which one you were sent to depended upon your job and status within the state hierarchy. As the sanatorium of the Kremlin, the Amber Coast was for senior government staff.

At the other end of Jurmala's 30-km-long golden beach, the Belorusiya Sanatorium is just as impressive as the Amber Coast and, as the name suggests, catered to visitors from Belarus.

It's a trend that continues to this day, with three-quarters of visitors travelling from Latvia's southern neighbour.

Officials at the Belorusiya hope that a reputation for high-quality treatments will one day draw a larger share of foreign visitors in the niche market for 'medical tourism'.

'The Belorusiya has always been regarded as providing the highest standards and was one of the most privileged sanatoriums,' says administrator Elena Lopatko, speaking in her office beneath a portrait of Belorussian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. 'Many of our staff started in the 1970s and have stayed with us all that time.'

Almost two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, just three sanatoriums remain in Jurmala, the others having closed because of competition from resorts in Estonia, the Czech Republic and Poland. But the Russian influence remains strong.

This influence is underlined every summer, during Jurmala's glitzy New Wave song contest.

The New Wave event, successor to the Jurmala Contest for Young Soviet Popular Music Performers, is a brash entertainment extravaganza, complete with VIP parties and private jets. It makes Eurovision look shy and retiring.

Showcasing pop singers mainly from across the former Soviet Union, along with a smattering of old-time favourites such as Alla Pugacheva and Raimonds Pauls, shows are beamed live across Eastern Europe and Asia, attracting millions of viewers.

Some Latvians resent the influx of rich Russians, but New Wave is seen as a positive phenomenon in Jurmala given the current economic crisis, says Uspele of Jurmala's tourist information centre. Latvia's recession is the deepest of any EU state.

'The inhabitants and the (city) understand that (the song festival) brings a lot of money and is a big advertisement for the city around the world. It provides jobs and has helped to make Jurmala better known in the east than either Latvia (itself) or Riga,' Uspele says.