The history of Latvia dates back to the 10th-9th millennium BC,
when after the end of the last ice age in northern Europe it
began to be populated again. Ancient Baltic peoples arrived in
the area in the second millennium BC, and by the end of the
first millennium AD, four distinct tribal kingdoms could be
identified within Latvian territory. Latvia's main river, the
Daugava, was at the beginning of an important trade route from
the Baltic region through Russia to southern Europe and the
Middle East, which was used by the Vikings and later
Scandinavian and German traders.
During the early Middle
Ages, the peoples of the region resisted Christianization and
were attacked in the Northern Crusades. The capital of Latvia,
Riga, founded in 1201 by the Germans at the mouth of the
Daugava, became a strategic base during the papal conquest of
Latvian territory by the Livonian Swordsmen. It was to become
the first major city in the southern Baltic, and after 1282 the
main trading center of the Hanseatic League.
By the 16th
century, the dominance of the Baltic Germans was shaken during
attempts to seize the port and trading city of Riga by other
states: the Teutonic Order, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,
Sweden and Russia. In 1710, during the Northern War, control of
Riga and parts of modern Latvia finally passed from Sweden to
Russia. Within Russia, Latvia was at the forefront of
industrialization and the abolition of serfdom, thanks to which
by the end of the 19th century it became one of the most
developed parts of the Russian Empire. Increasing social
problems during industrialization and the growing discontent
caused by this indicated that Riga also played a role in the
Russian Revolution of 1905.
Latvia's first national
awakening began in the 1850s and after World War I and two years
of fighting in the Latvian War of Independence, Latvia finally
achieved sovereignty, recognized by Soviet Russia in 1920 and
the international community in 1921. Political instability and
the consequences of the Great Depression led to a coup d'état on
May 15, 1934 by Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis. The independent
existence of Latvia was interrupted in the summer of 1940, when
Soviet troops were brought into the country, which ended with
its annexation to the Soviet Union. In 1941, the territory of
Latvia was captured by Nazi Germany, but as a result of
hostilities in 1944-1945 it was returned to the USSR.
Since the mid-1940s, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic has
been under Soviet economic control and its peoples have
undergone significant Russification. However, Latvian culture
and infrastructure survived, and during the period of Soviet
liberalization under Mikhail Gorbachev, Latvia again set out on
the path to independence, eventually achieving recognition of
independence in August 1991. After this, Latvia became a member
of the United Nations, joined NATO and joined the European
Union.
Latvia's economy suffered greatly during the Great
Recession, which caused the Latvian financial crisis of 2008.
Worsening economic conditions and improving employment
opportunities in Western Europe caused mass emigration of
Latvians.
About 16 thousand years ago, the last ice age ended in the territory of present-day Latvia, but people began to populate it about 11 thousand years ago. Traces of the first settlers are classified as artifacts of the Kunda culture, on the basis of which the Narva culture was subsequently formed. Around 3rd millennium BC. e. Tribes of the Pit-Comb Ware culture came to this territory. The arrival of the Indo-European peoples is associated with the invasion of tribes of the battle ax culture. No later than the 1st millennium BC. BC [source not specified 376 days] the Baltic tribes of the Hatched Pottery culture settled here. They were already familiar with cattle breeding and shifting agriculture. Around the same time, residents in this territory began to use the first imported iron tools. Until the 5th century, hoe farming was practiced.
In the 7th century, in the west of present-day Latvia,
not far from the modern city of Liepaja, there were Scandinavian
settlements.
By the 10th century, the population in Latvia
mastered the technology of the potter's wheel. Finds of Arab dirhams
(starting from the second half of the 9th century) indicate increased
trade and economic ties with distant countries. Roman coins appeared on
the territory of Latvia in the 2nd century AD. e.
Medieval
chronicles record the residence of Finnish tribes (Livs) and Baltic
tribes (Curonians, Semigalls, villages, Latgalians) on the territory of
Latvia.
By the 12th century, there were a number of proto-state
formations: (Mežotne, Tervete, Jersika, Talava, Koknese, etc.). Each of
these lands had at least one well-fortified castle.
The Koknese
and Yersik principalities were vassals of the Principality of Polotsk,
which controlled the trade route along the Western Dvina. The Livs, who
lived at the very mouth of the Dvina (in Ikskul), also paid tribute to
the Prince of Polotsk. The lands of Talava and Atzele paid tribute to
the Pskov prince. At the same time, the princes and elders of the
Semigallians and Curonians were relatively independent politically,
although some Curonians paid tribute to the kings of Sweden.
The
population in the territory of present-day Latvia maintained pagan
beliefs for a long time. Only at the end of the 12th century did German
crusaders begin to attempt to Christianize the Livonians and other
peoples. In 1186, the first bishopric was founded (in Uexkül), and in
1201, on the orders of Bishop Albert, Riga was founded, which became the
center for the spread of the Christian faith.
By the end of the 13th century, the territory of present-day Latvia was conquered by the crusaders of the Order of the Sword (from 1237 - the Livonian Order) and became part of Livonia. A network of stone castles appeared in Livonia, which were used by the conquerors as strongholds. The Crusaders brought Catholicism with them; The ruling classes (nobility and clergy) were formed from the Germans who moved here, and the German burghers became the basis of the urban population. Local peasants until the 15th century maintained relative freedom and were often hired into the military structures of the order, but by the end of the 16th century all peasants became serfs.
One of the factors in the weakening of the Livonian
Order was the Reformation. The order was subordinate to the head of the
Roman Catholic Church, but the majority of its members were Germans who
were inspired by the preaching of Martin Luther. The end of Livonia came
during the Livonian War, which began with the invasion of the army of
Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1558.
At the same time, Poland
declared itself as a bastion of the Counter-Reformation and Catholicism.
The Swedish king declared himself protector of the Lutherans. Thus, the
Counter-Reformation in Latvia resulted in the Polish-Swedish
confrontation, which reached its climax in the Polish-Swedish war
(1600-1629). As a result of the war, the territory of modern Latvia was
divided between two countries: Riga and Livonia became Swedish, and
Courland and Latgale remained with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The end of the confrontation was marked by the arrival of a third
force - the Russian kingdom, which during the Northern War in 1710
occupied the territory of Estonia and Livonia, and in 1721, according to
the Treaty of Nystad, legally secured for itself part of the territory
of modern Latvia, which previously belonged to Sweden (including Riga ).
Received under the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721 and
bought by Russia for 2 million efimki (silver coins)[9], Swedish Livonia
(which included the northern part of modern Latvia and the southern part
of modern Estonia) in the Russian Empire became part of the Riga
province, and then the Livonia province .
In 1772, as a result of
the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Latgale
(Polish Inflants) was annexed to Russia; over time, these lands became
part of the Vitebsk province. In 1795, the Duke of Courland Peter Biron,
who had lost his sovereign, the Polish king, and was in conflict with
the local nobility, sold his possessions to the Russian Empress
Catherine II for 500 thousand chervonets and an annual pension of 100
thousand thalers (50 thousand chervonets).
During Napoleon's
invasion, French troops temporarily occupied Courland, but they failed
to take Riga. Soon after the Patriotic War of 1812, serfdom was
abolished in most of Latvia.
In the second half of the 19th
century, the Baltic lands were industrialized. In 1861, the first
railway was built between Riga and Dinaburg, which was subsequently
extended to Vitebsk. In 1862, the Riga Polytechnic was founded, and in
1868 the first Russian gymnasium, Aleksandrovskaya, was opened, where
local residents were taught the Latvian language. This opened the way
for Latvians to higher educational institutions of the Russian Empire
and marked the beginning of the formation of a national intelligentsia.
Riga turned into the largest industrial center of the Russian
Empire, where many factories were built (including the famous
Russian-Baltic Carriage Works). However, the local elite, as before,
consisted of the Baltic Germans. At the same time, the wave of national
revival that swept Europe also affected the territory of modern Latvia -
circles of Young Latvians were formed. In addition, Marxist circles
appeared.
In September 1917, in Riga, occupied by German troops,
Latvian political parties formed a coalition - the Democratic Bloc. At
the beginning of December 1917, in Valka, Latvian organizations formed
the Latvian Provisional National Council.
On December 24, 1917
(January 6, 1918), Soviet power (the so-called Republic of Iskolata) was
proclaimed in parts of the Livonia and Vitebsk provinces not occupied by
German troops, but soon German troops occupied the entire territory of
modern Latvia.
On January 28, 1918, in Stockholm, the Baltic
nobleman Heinrich von Strick handed over to the representative of Soviet
Russia V.V. Vorovsky a declaration of independence of the German noble
assemblies of Courland, Livonia and Estland. The Baltic Germans accuse
Russia of violating the Nystadt Peace Treaty of 1721 and are trying to
achieve the creation of a German Baltic state under German protectorate.
On January 28, 1918, the Latvian Provisional National Council (LPNC)
met in Petrograd for its second session. The council resolution of
January 30 declares that Latvia must be a united, democratic and
independent republic. This happens in secret, since the Bolsheviks
prohibit the work of LVNS. Later, this declaration was referred to by
Latvian diplomats who sought international recognition of the new state.
On February 18, 1918, the German army, after a three-month break,
resumes military operations on the Eastern Front. The decayed Russian
army is not able to provide serious resistance, and within ten days
German troops occupy the entire territory of Latvia. The German
offensive destroys the so-called Republic of Iskolat.
On March 3,
1918, in Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with the
Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman
Empire.
On March 8, 1918, the Courland Landtag in Mitau announced
the restoration of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. Pro-German
circles tried to revive a state formation that would be closely
connected with the German Empire.
Before the surrender of Germany
in the First World War, on November 5, 1918[17], the Baltic Duchy under
German protectorate was proclaimed in the occupied territories.
On November 18, 1918, the People's Council, representing a number of
Latvian parties and public organizations, proclaimed the independence of
the Republic of Latvia, and also formed a Provisional Government headed
by Karlis Ulmanis.
On December 7, 1918, the German Commissioner
in the Baltic States, August Winnig, in order to protect the territory
of Latvia from the offensive of the Red Army, concluded an agreement
with the government of Kārlis Ulmanis to declare the Baltic Landeswehr
the armed forces of the Republic of Latvia. In accordance with the
agreement, the Landeswehr was to consist of German, Latvian and Russian
companies, while the share of Latvians was to be 2/3 (however, this
condition was never met). The provisional government of Latvia made a
deal with the Germans, since at that time it did not have the funds to
purchase weapons, and the small Latvian detachments could not resist the
Red Army.
On December 17, 1918, the Manifesto of the Provisional
Workers' and Peasants' Government of Latvia on the establishment of
Soviet power was issued, and on December 22, 1918, V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
signed the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On
recognition of the independence of the Soviet Republic of Latvia." On
January 3, 1919, Riga was occupied by units of the Red Army. The
Socialist Soviet Republic of Latvia (SSRL) was proclaimed.
Not
receiving sufficient support from the German leadership, the Ulmanis
government began the formation of Latvian paramilitary forces
independent from the Landeswehr. So, on January 5, 1919, a separate
Latvian battalion was organized under the command of Oskar Kalpaks
(Kolpak). Latvian detachments were created in South Estonia, numbering
about 9,800 soldiers and officers, later united into the North Latvian
Brigade as part of the Estonian Armed Forces. In parallel with this, the
Minister of War of the provisional government withdrew the Latvian
companies from the Landeswehr.
By the beginning of February 1919,
the Red Army, which also included Latvian riflemen, managed to occupy
most of the territory of Latvia, with the exception of a small area
around the port city of Libau, which remained under the control of the
government of Karlis Ulmanis. Military formations of the Baltic
Landeswehr (Baltic Landeswehr), which for some time supported Ulmanis in
the fight against the Bolsheviks, were also stationed there, which
included the Latvian Brigade (about 2 thousand soldiers and officers).
On April 16, 1919, in Liepaja, German Landeswehr units overthrew the
government of Ulmanis, which was considered anti-German. A few days
later, the overthrown government of Ulmanis moved onto the steamship
Saratov, which specially arrived from Tallinn and stood in the port of
Liepaja under the guard of the British military. Under the protection of
British and French warships, the ship entered the roadstead and spent
about two months at sea.
On April 26, 1919, the Landeswehr
command appointed Lutheran pastor Andrievs Niedra, a Latvian by
nationality, who became famous for his sharp speeches on the pages of
Latvian newspapers, as Prime Minister of Latvia.
On May 22, the
German Iron Division, the Landeswehr and the Russian detachment of
Prince Lieven liberated Riga from the Red Army, and the Niedra
government moved there. After the capture of Riga, the German military
and political leadership tried to create a political regime of German
orientation in Latvia and turned their weapons against the Estonian army
and the Latvian national armed forces, which controlled the north of
Latvia.
However, on June 23, 1919, the Estonian army and Latvian
regiments defeated detachments of the Landeswehr and the Iron Division
near Cesis, as a result of which Niedra’s pro-German government was
dissolved on June 29, and Niedra himself was forced to flee abroad. On
June 27, 1919, the Ulmanis government resumed its activities in Liepaja.
On July 2, as a result of the breakthrough of the Estonian army led
by J. Laidoner and the Latvian regiments of the Riga defense line, a
truce was concluded between the command of the German forces and the
Estonian army, with the participation of representatives of the Entente.
According to its terms, by July 5, 1919, the last units of the Iron
Division left Riga, and Landeswehr units were subsequently incorporated
into the Latvian army.
In September 1919, the former commander of
the German corps, Count Rüdiger von der Goltz, with the support of
revanchist forces from among the leadership of the army of the Weimar
Republic, organized the recruitment and transfer of Russian soldiers and
officers to Latvia in prisoner camps in Germany, from which the Western
Volunteer Army was created under the command of a colonel P. R.
Bermondt-Avalov. The Western Army also included units of the formally
liquidated German corps of von der Goltz. On September 20,
Bermondt-Avalov announced the assumption of full power in the Baltic
states and refused to obey the commander of the North-Western Army,
General Yudenich. The Western Volunteer Army was defeated by Latvian
troops with the assistance of the Entente fleet near Riga in November
1919, and Bermondt-Avalov himself fled to Prussia.
At the
beginning of 1920, during the joint offensive of the Latvian and Polish
armies, the Red Army was driven out of Latgale. On August 11, 1920, the
Latvian government signed a peace treaty with the RSFSR, according to
which the Soviet government was the first in the world to recognize the
existence of an independent Latvian state. On January 26, 1921, the
independence of Latvia was officially recognized by the victorious
countries in the First World War (Entente). On September 22, 1921,
Latvia, along with Lithuania and Estonia, was admitted to the League of
Nations.
The first period of Latvian independence lasted from
November 18, 1918 to June 17, 1940. In 1917, two political forces were
formed that advocated the independence of Latvia - the Latvian
Provisional National Council and the Democratic Bloc. On November 17,
1918, these organizations created the People's Council, which, in turn,
declared the independence of the Latvian Republic on November 18, 1918.
However, the main task of the People's Council was to conduct
political consultations and elections to the Constitutional Assembly.
The People's Council, as the highest authority in Latvia, operated until
the start of the Constituent Assembly (May 1, 1920).
On February 7, 1920, the composition of the Central
and district election commissions for the elections of the Constituent
Assembly was published in the newspaper Valdības Vēstnesis (“Government
Gazette”). On February 17, the same newspaper published the first
instruction of the Central Election Commission “On the elections of the
Constituent Assembly of Latvia.”
The elections of the Constituent
Assembly took place on April 17-18, 1920, and 84.9% (677,084) of voters
took part.
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly opened
on May 1, 1920. Lawyer Jānis Čakste, who later became the first
President of the Republic of Latvia, was elected to the position of
chairman of the meeting.
On May 5, 1920, the Constituent Assembly
created 26 parliamentary commissions to develop the Constitution of
Latvia. The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on
February 15, 1922. It determined that Latvia is a free, independent,
democratic republic, in which power belongs to the people of Latvia, and
the decision to change the state structure and international status
(renunciation of sovereignty, joining any other country, etc.) can only
be made by the people of Latvia themselves through a referendum.
One of the first tasks of the new government was to divide large land
estates and provide land to landless peasants. Already in 1920, the
Constituent Assembly created a commission to prepare agrarian reform.
The maximum size of estates was set at 50 hectares of land, all surplus
was transferred free of charge to the landless. Allotment plots were not
supposed to be less than 10 hectares and no more than 22 hectares,
although in fact smaller plots were also allocated. The reform continued
until 1937 and was generally successful, ensuring rapid development of
agriculture. If in 1920 61.2% of peasants were landless, then in the
mid-1930s only 18% were landless. Already in 1923, the area under
cultivation exceeded the pre-war level.
In turn, 84% of the
forests became state property, allowing the state to control the wood
processing industry.
On June 9, 1922, the Election Law was
adopted. It provided for holding elections to the Seimas every three
years. The electoral threshold that parties needed to overcome in order
to be represented in the Seimas was low (2.5%). As a result, an active
process of formation, division and merger of political parties and
movements began, inevitably associated with intense political struggle.
This increased internal political instability and brought a political
crisis closer.
On May 15, 1934, the head of the government of the
Republic of Latvia, Kārlis Ulmanis, carried out a coup d'etat,
establishing an authoritarian regime. Martial law was declared in the
country (it remained until 1938), and the Constitution was revoked. The
parliament (Seimas) was dissolved, some of the deputies were temporarily
arrested, all political parties were banned, their press organs were
closed, and a pronounced nationalist policy began to be pursued. Local
governments came under the full control of the ruling regime. Without
exception, all workers' organizations and trade unions, sports and
cultural societies were liquidated or reorganized. Industrial workers
left without work were forcibly resettled to the countryside and sent to
logging and peat mining.
The government of Kārlis Ulmanis
tightened its policy towards national minorities: their public
organizations, as well as most national schools, were closed. A course
was pursued aimed at the complete assimilation of the Latgalians (some
of the Latgalian peasants were forcibly resettled to other regions of
Latvia).
Agriculture was supported, funds were invested in the
construction of new factories (VEF, Ford-Vairogs), objects of republican
significance were built (Kegums hydroelectric power station, Kemeri
sanatorium), national culture, education and art were actively
supported. In official propaganda, Kārlis Ulmanis was called “the leader
of the people.”
After Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia, the
Baltic countries began to lean under the patronage of Germany. On June
7, 1939, in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and the Foreign
Ministers of Latvia V. N. Munters and Estonia Karl Selter signed a
Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and Latvia. The agreement
contained a secret clause, according to which Latvia was obliged to take
“with the consent of Germany all necessary military security measures in
relation to Soviet Russia.” Latvia and Estonia formally remained
neutral, but recognized that “the danger of attack existed only from
Soviet Russia and that the sound implementation of their policy of
neutrality required the deployment of all defensive forces against this
danger.” Latvia and Estonia henceforth refused Anglo-French-Soviet
guarantees. In addition, the agreement was asymmetrical in comparison
with the existing agreement with the USSR: if the second was
automatically considered terminated when one of the parties attacked any
country, then the first remained in force in this case.
On August
23, 1939, the USSR and Germany signed the Non-Aggression Treaty between
Germany and the Soviet Union and a secret additional protocol to it on
delimiting areas of mutual interests in Eastern Europe in the event of
“territorial and political reorganization.” The protocol provided for
the inclusion of Latvia in the sphere of interests of the USSR.
In 1939-1941, first according to the Latvian-German, and then according
to the Soviet-German agreements, the majority of Germans living in
Latvia were repatriated to Germany.
On June 15, 1940, there was an attack from Soviet
territory on two Latvian border posts - Maslenki and Shmaili. In
Shmaili, the border guards did not offer any resistance, were captured
and taken to the Soviet side. In Maslenki, the Latvian border guards
resisted, as a result, three Latvian soldiers and two civilians were
killed, the border post building was burned, and several people were
detained by the Soviet side. A total of 5 people died; 37 people were
detained. There were also casualties on the side of the attackers.
On June 16, 1940 at 14:00, the Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign
Affairs V. M. Molotov read out to the Latvian Ambassador F. Kocins an
ultimatum from the USSR government, which demanded the resignation of
the Latvian government and an increase in the contingent of Soviet
troops in the republic. At the same time, the Latvian leadership was
notified that if a response was not received from the Latvian government
by 23:00, the armed forces of the USSR would enter the territory of
Latvia and suppress any resistance.
Karlis Ulmanis appealed to
the German Ambassador to Latvia, Ulrich von Kotz, with a request to open
a corridor to East Prussia for the evacuation of authorities and the
army. The request was denied. The army did not receive an order for
armed resistance to the Red Army units and was inactive. The Latvian
Cabinet of Ministers refused to use the army to counter Soviet troops,
as it believed that it would cause bloodshed but would not save the
Latvian state. On the evening of June 16, the Latvian authorities
announced their acceptance of the Soviet ultimatum.
On June 17,
1940 at 9:00, the representative of the Red Army, Colonel General D. G.
Pavlov, met with the representative of the Latvian Army, Otto Udentins,
at the Joniški railway station, but without waiting for a response from
the Latvian authorities and the results of negotiations between army
representatives, units of the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Latvian
border.
On the same day, at 13:00, the first Soviet tanks entered
the city of Riga, after which spontaneous demonstrations began in the
city demanding the resignation of K. Ulmanis. Attempts by the Latvian
police to disperse the demonstrators resulted in street clashes, during
which there were killed and wounded on both sides.
Units of the
Red Army that entered the territory of Latvia were often welcomed by the
local population (and in the east of the republic, in Latgale, there
were even facts of fraternization with the Red Army soldiers).
On
the evening of June 17, President K. Ulmanis spoke on the radio calling
on the people to remain in their places and not resist.
On June
18, 1940, a state of siege was introduced in Latvia, and Aizsargi units
began to arrive in Riga.
On the evening of June 20, 1940, the
so-called People's Government of Latvia was formed, headed by Professor
A. M. Kirchenstein (his appointment was approved by K. Ulmanis and
transferred government powers to the new cabinet of ministers).
The new Latvian government lifted the state of siege, amnestied
political prisoners, and dissolved parts of the Aizsargs. All
restrictions on national minorities were abolished.
On July
14-15, 1940, elections to the People's Seimas of Latvia took place. On
July 21, 1940, the Seimas, which gathered for its first session, decided
to form the Latvian SSR and appealed to the Soviet leadership with a
request to accept the republic into the USSR. On the same day, the
President of Latvia K. Ulmanis, having signed all the laws adopted by
the Seimas, resigned.
On August 5, 1940, the Supreme Soviet of
the USSR adopted a law on the inclusion of the Latvian SSR into the
Soviet Union.
On June 13-14, 1941, a mass deportation of
residents of Latvia was carried out: in total, more than 15,400 people
were deported. Detentions, arrests and executions continued until the
beginning of the German occupation of Latvia. In total, 0.74% of the
total population of Latvia was deported in 1941. 1.9% of all Jews living
in Latvia, 0.8% of Latvians and 0.4% of the total number of Russians
were deported (81.27% of those deported by ethnic origin were Latvians,
11.7% were Jews, and the third largest the group deported in 1941 were
Russians - 5.29%). Among those deported were former Latvian government
officials from the time of K. Ulmanis, activists of Latvian nationalist
organizations, former police and prison officials, former officers of
the White armies, some officers of the former Latvian army who were
considered unreliable, as well as criminals and antisocial elements. At
the time of arrest, 4,365 people were arrested as “socially dangerous
elements.” During the deportation, 1,857 people were arrested as family
members of the defendants (the reason for deportation was “as part of
the family”). In total, arrest was used as a protective measure in 1941
on 6,222 deportees (43% of all deportees). In total, at least 4,884
people died in the deportation in June 1941 (34% of the total number of
deportees). About 3,600 prisoners from Latvia were collected on special
trains that departed on June 26. Less than 1% of these prisoners were
able to return to Latvia.
In June - July 1941, at the beginning of the Great
Patriotic War, the territory of the Latvian SSR was occupied by the
troops of Nazi Germany.
On June 23, 1941, the Central Committee
of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the Latvian SSR and the
government of the republic issued an appeal to the population, in which
they called on everyone to gather all their strength to repel German
troops. They restored the Latvian Workers' Guard, disbanded in May 1941,
but now under the name of “extermination battalions”. Mass evacuation of
material assets and population loyal to Soviet power also began. In
total, 53 thousand Latvian residents (refugees and conscripts) were
evacuated to the Soviet rear. Already in August 1941, many of them
became the main contingent for mobilization into new Latvian formations
within the Red Army.
The defense of Riga began on June 29, 1941,
with the participation of working battalions from local residents, but
already on the night of June 30, an organized retreat of the defenders
began in the direction of Valka. In this city on the border with the
Estonian SSR the evacuated government and the Central Committee of the
KPL were temporarily located.
Before the start of the war on June
14, 1941, a considerable number (about a third) of officers of the 24th
Latvian Rifle Corps, in which former soldiers of the Latvian army
served, were repressed; from June 22, 1941, a sufficient number were
dismissed from the army; from June 29, 1941, dismissals Latvian
soldiers, according to some sources, became quite widespread. According
to Soviet historians, the demobilization of commanders and privates from
among the citizens of the Latvian SSR was carried out on June 29-30,
1941 by order of the headquarters of the North-Western Front. All units
of the corps, starting from June 29, 1941, were replenished with
conscripts from the interior regions of the USSR.
Already from
the first days of the occupation, mass extermination of the Jewish
population of Latvia and communist activists began. Local
collaborationist groups took an active part in the repressions.
On September 1, 1941, the territory of Latvia was included in the
created Reichskommissariat Ostland as the General District of Latvia.
The formation of a civilian occupation administration, auxiliary police
units and other paramilitary armed formations (“railway guards”,
“factory guards”, etc.) from Volksdeutsche and local collaborators
began.
In August 1941, the German occupation authorities declared
all state-owned enterprises to be German property.
In March 1942,
under the German Commissioner General of Latvia O.-G. In Drechsler, the
so-called Latvian Self-Government was created - a local collaborationist
administration (headed by former General of the Latvian Army O.
Dankers).
From the beginning of 1942, on the basis of several
Latvian police units, the Latvian SS Volunteer Legion began to be
created (R. Bangersky, a former general of the Latvian army, was
appointed inspector general of the legion).
In 1943, the German
occupation authorities began mobilizing local residents into the Latvian
SS Legion. Many Latvians considered mobilization into the legion
acceptable. Some German documents of that time clearly reveal the mood
of the soldiers of the 15th Latvian SS Division. One of them says: “They
want a permanent Latvian national state. Faced with a choice - Germany
or Russia, they chose Germany..., since German domination seems to them
the lesser evil. Hatred of Russia deepened... the occupation of Latvia.
They consider the fight against Russia a national duty.”
During
the years of German occupation, more than 313 thousand civilians
(including the actual residents of Latvia - about 100 thousand people)
and over 330 thousand Soviet prisoners of war died at the hands of the
Nazis and their local accomplices. The Jewish population of Latvia was
almost completely destroyed (out of 80 thousand Jews, only 162 people
survived).
On August 13, 1943, the Latvian Central Council was
created underground by representatives of the largest political parties
of the former independent Latvia, which on September 8, 1944 proclaimed
the restoration of Latvian independence. In July 1944, in occupied
Latvia, in agreement with the Germans, a group under General Kurelis was
created, which was supposed to operate in the rear of the advancing
Soviet troops. The command of this group hoped to use this force to
restore the independence of Latvia after the retreat of the Germans. But
in November 1944, the Germans disarmed this unit, several officers were
shot, some of the soldiers were sent to the Latvian SS Legion, and
others to the Stutthof concentration camp.
On October 13, 1944,
units of the Red Army entered Riga with fighting, and on October 15,
1944, they completely captured the city. Most of the territory of Latvia
was liberated from German occupation during the Baltic offensive
operation. However, the cities of Libava (Liepaja), Pavilosta, Aizpute,
Skrunda, Saldus, Sabile, Kandava, Tukums were occupied by Soviet troops
only on May 9, 1945. On the same day, a large group of German soldiers
were evacuated to Sweden by sea. Many residents of Latvia also fled to
Sweden by sea. On May 10, having learned about the surrender of Germany,
the Courland group led by General Gilpert also capitulated. On May 10,
Soviet troops entered the cities of Valdemarpils, Ventspils, Grobinya,
and Piltene.
After liberation from the Nazi occupation on November
24, 1944, the power structures of the Latvian SSR were recreated on the
territory of Latvia. But even earlier, from the moment the Soviet-German
front moved to the Baltic territory in the summer of 1944, armed
resistance to the Soviet regime began. Unlike 1940, it became quite
widespread and was accompanied by great cruelty both from the “forest
brothers” and from the Soviet regime. The Forest Brothers operated
mainly in rural areas.
In 1949, the large March deportation
(Operation Surf) was carried out in the Baltic states, during which
13,624 families or 42,975 people, mostly rural residents, classified as
kulaks or collaborators of the “forest brothers” were subject to
deportation. Those expelled made up 2.28% of the Latvian population. Of
those deported in 1949, 183 people died en route; 4,941 people died
during exile, or 12% of all those deported. Another 1,376 persons were
prohibited from returning to Latvia after the expiration period had
expired.
In 1949-1950, mass collectivization was carried out in
the Latvian SSR. After this, agricultural production fell sharply,
cultivated land began to dry out, and livestock and poultry numbers
began to decline.
At the plenum of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Lithuania, the first secretary of the Communist Party
of Latvia, Janis Kalnberzins, made a report in which data was given that
in 1945-1953, a total of 119 thousand people were subjected to
repression in the Latvian SSR, of which 2,321 were killed, 43,702 people
were deported to settle during mass deportations, and 72,850 people were
arrested.
After the start of the “Khrushchev Thaw”, a new
generation of communists came to power in Latvia (E. Berklavs, I.
Pinksis, P. Dzerve and others), who are known in the historiography of
Latvia as “national communists”. They advocated economic and cultural
autonomy for Latvia and tried to reduce the influx of population from
other Soviet republics to prevent Russification. But in July 1959, a
closed Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia
was held, after which the party leadership was replaced. About 2,000
members of the Communist Party of Latvia lost their positions and were
expelled from the party.
By the 1950s, the standard of living in
the Latvian SSR was one of the highest in the Soviet Union. Per capita
income in Latvia in 1956 was 717 rubles. For comparison, in the entire
Soviet Union in the same year this figure was 535 rubles, in the RSFSR -
598 rubles, in the Ukrainian SSR - 559 rubles, in the Estonian SSR - 720
rubles.
As part of post-war industrialization, large industrial
enterprises were built or modernized in the republic: the Riga State
Electrical Engineering Plant “VEF”, the Riga Plant “Radiotekhnika”, the
automobile plant “RAF”, the Riga Carriage Building Plant (RVZ), the Riga
Electrical Machine Building Plant (REZ) and others.
In Soviet
times, the energy infrastructure of Latvia was built: the Polotsk -
Ventspils oil pipeline, the Ventspils oil depot, the Incukalns
underground gas storage facility, the Riga hydroelectric power station,
the Plavinas hydroelectric power station, and a number of thermal power
plants. Textile enterprises were built and modernized (including the
region's largest Ogre Knitting Factory), chemical enterprises
(Daugavpils Chemical Fiber Plant), the Riga Musical Instrument Factory,
the Dzintars Cosmetic Factory, as well as residential buildings,
hospitals and clinics, educational institutions, scientific -research
institutes.
The road network was improved and the tourism
infrastructure developed. Jurmala became one of the most famous resort
cities in the USSR.
The economy of the Latvian SSR developed
rapidly in 1945–1990. If at the end of the 1940s the value of the fixed
assets of this union republic was 1 billion rubles, then by the
beginning of 1990 it reached 29.9 billion rubles (in comparable prices
in 1973), and taking into account working capital and household property
of the population, the national wealth of the republic approached 45
billion rubles.
According to a study conducted by journalists
from the Russian newspaper Versiya in the mid-2000s, the USSR annually
invested $1.3 billion in Soviet Latvia. The note notes that by the end
of the 1930s, the economy of the Baltic republic was going through hard
times:
“The decline of the Latvian economy was disrupted by the
“Soviet occupation”. The “occupiers” not only did not take anything
valuable out of the country, but also invested money in Latvia more
actively than in their own economy. In 1946–1985, 216 large industrial
enterprises were built and restored.”
According to IMEMO RAS, in
1990, in terms of GDP per capita, the USSR as a whole ranked 39th in the
world, and the Latvian SSR was 40th in the world.
Many party
leaders of Soviet Latvia were promoted to leadership positions in
Moscow, among them member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee
A. Ya. Pelshe, head of the KGB of the Latvian SSR B. K. Pugo and others.
However, large enterprises built in Latvia needed labor, which was
imported from other regions of the USSR, which changed the ethnic
composition of the population, and in the early 1980s the share of
ethnic Latvians was only 52% of the total population of Latvia.
Culture remained the most important means of preserving the national
identity of Latvians. Creative unions often turned into centers of
“intellectual resistance,” but open dissidence was a rare phenomenon in
Latvia.
After the start of “perestroika”, already in 1987,
mass protests began in the capitals of the Baltic republics of the USSR.
In 1988, new socio-political movements emerged in the Latvian SSR.
The largest of them, the Popular Front of Latvia, gradually came to
power in 1989-1990. The Interfront, opposed to the Popular Front of
Latvia, which advocated the preservation of Latvia as part of the Soviet
Union, did not have such broad support. The Latvian People's Front
collaborated with the Estonian People's Front and the Lithuanian Sąjūdis
movement. On August 23, 1989, all three movements carried out a joint
socio-political action “Baltic Way”, timed to coincide with the 50th
anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which aimed to demonstrate
the desire of the Baltic peoples to secede from the USSR. A human chain
formed from people holding hands stretched across the entire Baltic
region - from the Long Hermann Tower in Tallinn to the Gediminas Tower
in Vilnius.
On May 4, 1990, the newly elected Supreme Council of
the Latvian SSR adopted the Declaration on the restoration of
independence of the Republic of Latvia. According to this document, the
1922 Constitution was renewed and a de facto transition period was
established until the convening of the Sejm. At the same time, the
Congress of Citizens of the Republic of Latvia was convened, in the
elections of which, unlike elections to the Supreme Council, only
persons who were citizens of Latvia before its annexation to the USSR
and their descendants participated.
On January 20, 1991, Riga
riot police seized the building of the Latvian Ministry of Internal
Affairs, and as a result of intense shooting in the city center, 10
people were wounded and 5 were killed.
According to the results
of a survey on March 3, 1991, 74% of Latvian residents were in favor of
a democratic and state-independent Republic of Latvia.
After the
August putsch and the defeat of the State Emergency Committee on
September 6, 1991, the independence of the Republic of Latvia was
officially recognized by the State Council of the USSR. On September 17,
1991, the Republic of Latvia became a member of the UN.
Residents
of Latvia who were citizens of Latvia before its annexation to the USSR
in 1940, and their descendants, restored Latvian citizenship in
accordance with the resolution “On the restoration of the rights of
citizens of the Republic of Latvia and the basic conditions for
naturalization” adopted on October 15, 1991 by the Supreme Council of
the Republic of Latvia. According to it, the decree of the Presidium of
the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 7, 1940 was declared invalid
in relation to citizens of the Republic of Latvia from the moment of
adoption, and Latvian citizenship was recognized only for persons who
were former citizens of the Republic of Latvia on June 17, 1940, and
their descendants (approximately 2/3 of the country's inhabitants); dual
citizenship was prohibited. In October 1992, a resolution of the Supreme
Council was adopted “On the conditions for recognizing the rights of
citizens of the Republic of Latvia for persons who lived within the
borders of Latvia before August 1, 1914, and their descendants.”
Citizens of the USSR who arrived in Latvia while it was part of the
USSR, and their descendants, received the status of “non-citizens,”
which deprived them of political rights.
In the fall of 1991, the
restitution process was launched in the Republic of Latvia - the return
of real estate to former owners and their heirs, as a result of which
220 thousand residents of the country lost the right to live in their
houses and apartments, even on rental terms.
On August 31, 1994, the withdrawal of Russian troops
from Latvia was completed. Under US pressure, this was done within two
years from the start of negotiations, instead of the intended seven
years.
On February 10, 1995, the Republic of Latvia becomes a
member of the Council of Europe.
On February 10, 1999, the
Republic of Latvia became a member of the World Trade Organization.
In February 2004, 19 NATO member countries ratified the protocols on
Latvia's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, and in May of the
same year the country was admitted to the European Union.
On
December 21, 2007, Latvia became a member, and from March 30, 2008,
fully applies the rules of the Schengen zone. On January 1, 2014, Latvia
became the 18th member of the Eurozone.
In the 2000s, the economy
grew steadily by 5-7% per year (in 2006 - 12.6%, 2007 - 10.3%) until the
economic crisis began in 2008. The period of the global financial
crisis, which caused a decline in the economy in the period from 2008 to
2010, turned out to be quite painful for the country. However, only 2009
can be called conditionally catastrophic: Latvia’s GDP fell by 17.8% -
the worst indicator of GDP dynamics in the world. It was possible to
reach the pre-crisis level by 2014, then until 2020, economic growth was
2-3% per year.
In 2009, due to the government's economic policy,
pogroms occurred in Old Riga - a peaceful rally on the dissolution of
the Seimas on Dome Square turned into riots. After the protest, windows
were broken in several buildings, the Diet building itself was damaged,
and a store was robbed; As a result of the unrest, the police detained
126 protesters, seven of them received real prison sentences. The most
significant result of the 2009 unrest was the dissolution of the Seimas,
which took place two years later.
In the first half of 2015,
Latvia presided over the Council of the European Union.
On June
2, 2016, Latvia became the 35th member of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). In terms of GDP per capita, Latvia
ranks third among post-Soviet countries, second only to its neighbors
Estonia and Lithuania.