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Latvia - History

Latvia - History: Encyclopedia II - Latvia - History

Main article: History of Latvia Known originally as Livonia, the area that now constitutes Latvia was under the influence of the German Sword Brethren (Schwertbrüder) from the 13th century onward until the 16th century, when the institution of Livonia was terminated and sold by the local aristocracy to Poland. During several wars different regions of Latvia were occupied by Poland, Sweden and Russia. However, in the 18th century, during the Great Northern War, and later, following the Partitions of Poland, Russia gained control over La ...

Latvia: Encyclopedia II - Latvia - History

Latvia - History

Main article: History of Latvia

Known originally as Livonia, the area that now constitutes Latvia was under the influence of the German Sword Brethren (Schwertbrüder) from the 13th century onward until the 16th century, when the institution of Livonia was terminated and sold by the local aristocracy to Poland. During several wars different regions of Latvia were occupied by Poland, Sweden and Russia. However, in the 18th century, during the Great Northern War, and later, following the Partitions of Poland, Russia gained control over Latvia and the neighbouring regions.

With Russia devastated by revolution and World War I, Latvia declared its independence on November 18, 1918. After independence was gained, there still were two years of battles against German militarists, communists and adventurers like Pavel Bermont-Avalov. These two years are called The Struggle for Independence. During the Russian Civil War (1917-1922), Latvians fought on both sides with a significant group supporting the bolsheviks (known as Latvian red riflemen).

During the 1920s and early 1930s, Latvia enjoyed an elected, republican government. Its constitution was adopted on February 15, 1922. It acknowledged that the people themselves were sovereign, and provided for the proportional election of their representatives by all Latvians of at least 21 years of age. As with most democratic governments, it was a multi-party system, with between 22 and 28 parties, at any given time, holding at least one seat in the parliament, called the Saeima. Governments were usually organized by coalitions of parties, forming a large enough percentage to control the whole.

Latvia became an authoritarian state after a bloodless coup by the Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis in 1934, and those judged as enemies of this state were sent to a concentration camp in Liepāja. Ulmanis ruled for several years, eventually dismissing President Alberts Kviesis and adopting the mantle of "Vadonis," (Leader in Latvian) during this time. When the Soviet Union declared an ultimatum demanding that Latvia allows the Soviet Union to enter its forces, Ulmanis agreed to that and did not immediately let the public know that. Soviets entered the country, and Ulmanis resigned from power under their pressure in June 1940, and elections for a new Saeima resulted in a government friendly to the U.S.S.R. This pro-Soviet government, led by Dr. Augusts Kirhenšteins, petitioned for Latvia to re-join the Soviet Union and the country was formally annexed on June 17, 1940.

Shortly thereafter, war broke out in Europe as Germany violated a treaty with the Soviet Union, the (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) of 1939. The ensuing months would become known in Latvia as Baigais Gads (the Year of Horror). The country endured massive terror, known throughout as The Red Terror. Mass arrests, disappearances, and deportations occurred on the night of 14 June 1941 (a total of 15,424 persons or approximately 0,8 per cent of total population, according to latest figures), a date of infamy respectfully remembered by as "Tautas sēru diena," (National Day of Sorrow). As evidenced throughout Eastern Europe, Latvians were swept up in the winds of World War II. The Soviets conscripted troops in 1941, and after the Soviet Red Army was expelled by the Nazi Wehrmacht the conquering Germans found willing recruits among the survivors. At first an ethnic "order patrol" of Latvian men was established, followed by the creation "border guard" units. As not to violate the "purity laws" of soldiering in the German Wehrmacht Army, brigades of Latvian fighting men would be organized into the 15th and 19th Waffen Grenadier legions of the "Special Forces" Waffen-SS. Latvians ended up fighting on opposing sides during the horrific war, and in large numbers to boot.

While under German occupation, Latvia was administered as Nazi Germany's Reichskommissariat Ostland. Upon the defeat of the Nazis, Latvia reverted to Soviet administration as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. The country would eventually experience the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the populace would seize the opportunity to declare independence on August 21, 1991. In 2004, Latvia joined both NATO and the European Union.