The decision being a member of the Latvian State Theatre would cost Leiko her life. Xenophobia played a major role in Stalin's political purges of the late 1930s, as the dictator was determined to eliminate foreigners (including Latvians) from positions of power and influence. In December 1937 the Latvian State Theatre was shut down and virtually the entire company, including Leiko, was arrested on fabricated charges of belonging to a "counter-revolutionary nationalist group" in league with fascists.
