RIGA - In May 2008, a Briton aged 32 was fined for roaming naked through the streets of Riga's Old Town. He was unable to explain his actions.
In April two Irish men were arrested near Riga's Freedom statue when one of them tried to take photos of the other's naked ass.
There have been nearly a dozen cases of Britons urinating on national monuments.
Each summer the British and Irish descend on Riga and piss on it 's both literally and metaphorically. The English used to have a reputation for being gentleman, now it seems they and their compatriots from the isles in the Northern Atlantic have gained a reputation for being what Interior Minister Mareks Seglins called "pigs."
The question that everybody is asking is what is it about the British and Irish that makes them act worse than other nationalities while on holiday?
An Irish man from Cork who preferred not to be named seems to know the answer.
"They've [Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians] invaded our country and pissed all over it. We're just returning the favor," he said.
Hitting the streets
When ordinary British and Irish tourists were asked about the problem they replied that it's not much different than how they behave at home.
Jean from Dublin put it best when she said "if there's beer in the city, the Irish will be drinking it."
Having recently been to Dublin myself, I had the opportunity to witness the chaos that is a Friday night in the country and realized that they act the same at home as they would abroad. The only thing missing is strippers.
When asked why they think that so many of their fellow country men have decided to desecrate the Freedom Monument, the boys from London explained that urinating in public places seems to be a part of their society.
"Have you been to London on a Friday night? It smells awful" one of the party members said.
Some Britons think the problem lies in British society.
"The British have always been like this. Read Shakespeare some time. It's the lad culture. We have no national service in Britain so nobody behaves with any discipline," Vincent Freeman a British journalist working in Tallinn said.
The British Embassy has now taken a stand to help both Latvian and British citizens avoid conflict. After reports of British men being beaten up in strip club, the embassy and local officials have issued warnings for tourists.
The British Embassy launched their campaign for "responsible tourism," aimed directly at stag parties and advising people to not urinate in public at the end of last year. The campaign, however, has only been marginally successful.
Most groups are now being pulled aside at the airport and briefed on what is allowed and what is not. This is also done for the men's safety. Many clubs and events don't have price lists and can become threatening when the party refuses to pay exorbitant fees.
It has changed the culture of Riga. Walk along the cobbled streets of Riga's old town on a Saturday night and you can see men dressed up as cows or super heroes. It's impossible to walk down the street and not see at least three loud and raucous British stag parties.
Some event owners team up with local restaurants. Locals are often surprised when their favorite restaurant suddenly turns into a stripper bar.
Many people 's both locals and the British themselves 's think that things have gotten out of hand.
"British stag parties are an obnoxious and unpleasant trash that have destroyed the atmosphere of once pleasant city centers such as Riga, not to mention Prague," Paolo from London said.
To avoid trouble many Riga bars and clubs have "no stag parties" signs on their doors and tend to turn away any large group of British males 's stag parties or not.
Not all bad
Not all the stag parties pee in public. Some of them are fairly polite and have even learned a few Latvian words. Most stag weekend Web sites write a lot about the history and culture of the Baltic destination on the first page and then about booze and strippers.
Riga is still a popular destination because of the promise of cheap women and cheaper beer. Step into a taxi and the drivers give you cards and flyers for women or clubs.
If posters in British airports calling Riga "Europe's new party capital" aren't enough, there is the simple fact that for less than 100 euro per person it is possible to get a three course meal, five beers, and nine strippers.
Still some British tourists are more urbane in their reasons for coming to the country.
"It's brilliant 's the city is gorgeous, we shot some guns, and tomorrow we're going bobsledding. We've heard stories, but we've had no trouble so far," said David from Dundee, Scotland.
Campaigners against stags say the only thing that may help is harsher punishments for offenders.
In Nov. 2007, a Briton was barred from leaving the country until his court case was heard and was eventually charged over 700 euros.
Now the charges are much higher 's including jail time for hooliganism. February saw the first urinary offender behind bars when the 34-year-old was handed down a five day sentence.
"I urge municipal police staff to be harsher and less tolerant within the limits of the existing legal norms," Seglins said.
Meanwhile in Estonia, as The Baltic Times reported in March, the British stag parties are not coming in as large numbers as in previous years.
"I'm glad they are not coming anymore. I had to ban them. If people respect me, I treat them with respect, but these British don't respect anybody or anything," said Claudio, who runs a bar in downtown Tallinn.
