The work of ethnologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Svetlana Ryzhakova is devoted to the history, social context and cultural life of academic lifelong associations - student corporations of Latvia. Based on a wide range of sources (historical, artistic, personal observations, conversations and interviews), the origins of their formation in the Baltic region, the historical and ethnocultural contexts of existence, and social functions are shown. It tells about the internal structure of the daily life of corporations, about rules, customs and rituals. Particular attention is drawn to Russian student corporations in Latvia and to the biographies of some corporators - architect Vladimir Shervinsky, chess player Vladimir Petrov and his wife Galina Petrova-Matisse, archaeologist Tatyana Pavele, doctor Ivan Roshonok and others. For the first time, the book publishes unique illustrations from personal archives and corporate albums.