Maskavas Forshtate or Moscow Suburb is perhaps the strangest place in Riga. For centuries it has been ethnically highly mixed area with lots of "informal" activities, to put it mildly. For this reason it is also regarded as city's least safe area though it is not terribly dangerous either. It is mostly covered with wooden buildings of rather shoddy quality though closer to the center multistory brick buildings take over.
As it often happens, the poorest places are ones with the most churches. Forshtate reminds Latgale, Latvia's eastern region in this respect. It is highly diverse - with Catholic, Russian Orthodox and Old Believer churches. Grebenscikova vecticibnieku baznica is the largest Russian Old Believer church in the world, it was built after 1812 Great Fire.