FACT SHEET ON LATVIA

The territory known today as Latvia has been

inhabited since 9000 BC.
In the first half of 2000 BC, the proto-Balts or
early Baltic peoples arrived.
They are the forefathers of the Latvian people.

HISTORY
OF LATVIA Text: Ph.D. Valters Nollendorfs

A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
1201
Ancient History of Latvians The City of Rīga is founded near the site of a Liv village on the confluence of Rīdzene
~ 3000 B.C. and Daugava rivers. It becomes the centre for the conquest of the Baltic by the
Finno-Ugrian peoples, ancestors of present-day Finns, Estonians and Livs (Livonians), Brothers of the Sword, later, the Livonian Order. Rīga also becomes a major trade
arrive in the Baltic area centre, joining the Hanseatic League in 1282.

~ 2000 B.C. ~ 1300

Baltic peoples, ancestors of present-day Lithuanians and Latvians arrive in the Baltic German conquests in present-day Latvia and Estonia principally concluded.
area. The land becomes known as Livonia (from the Livs), in the beginning a loose
confederation of five principalities, four bishoprics and the state of the Livonian
~ 100 A.D. Order. Northern Estonia is ruled by the Danish kingdom. The Germans become the
Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania mentions the Aestii living on the right ruling class in the cities. German knights become landed barons and keep their
shore of the Suevic (Baltic) Sea who are industrious farmers and gather amber. privileges until World War I.
Amber was in great demand by the Romans, amber trade with the eastern shore of
the Baltic Sea flourished. 1501–1503
Under Master Walter von Plettenberg of the Livonian Order, the Livonian army with
large numbers of local soldiers staves off Russian forces of Tsar Ivan III and signs a
The Age of German, Polish, Swedish peace treaty.
and Russian Rule in Latvia
(12th century – 1914) 1561
The Livonian Confederation ceases to exist. After incursions of the army of Russian
9th–11th c. Tsar Ivan IV (“The Terrible”), Danish and Polish-Lithuanian forces, Gotthard Keppler,
Viking raids and conquests in the Baltic area. Among the proto-Latvians, the the last Master of the Livonian Order, surrenders to the Polish-Lithuanian king
Curonians (in present-day Western Latvia and Lithuania) are mentioned as feared Sigismund II Augustus. He becomes Duke of Courland, the lands west of Daugava.
opponents of the Scandinavian Vikings. The German landed gentry obtains broad privileges from the Polish king. Present-
day Latvian territories to the east of Daugava come under Polish rule. Wars in
Late 12th c. Latvian territory last until 1583.
Arrival of German merchants and Christian missionaries. Establishment of first
settlements on lower Daugava in Liv (Livonian) areas. 1585, 1586
The Roman Catholic and Lutheran catechisms printed as the first books in the
1198 Latvian language. Most of Latvian become Lutheran in the 16th century. Eastern
Beginning of the crusades to Christianize the Baltic. At this time, besides the Livs, Latvia, Latgale (Latgalia), has remained mainly Catholic to this day. Written Latvian
proto-Latvian Curonians, Semigalians, Selonians and Latgalians (whose name language is developed by German clergymen in the 17th century, culminating
evolved into the name of the entire Latvian people) have already established their in the Latvian translation of the Bible, which becomes a standard and the prime
own principalities and oppose the invaders. vehicle for literacy.

Ancient Latgallian and

Semigallian bronze jewellery,
10th–12th centuries

Latvian Peasants in the Drawings of

J.C.Brotze, end of the 18th century
 FACT SHEET ON LATVIA

1621 1918
After wars from 1600 on, Rīga is conquered by Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus. November 18. Independence declared in Rīga one week after World War I armistice
Because the Swedish kings rein in the privileges of the German barons, their rule in but with Latvia still under German occupation. The Provisional Government is
Northern Latvia and Estonia becomes known as the “good Swedish times”. Eastern headed by Kārlis Ulmanis. The Liberation War starts as the new state is threatened
Latvia remains under Polish rule. by the Red Army. Among its troops the Latvian Riflemen.
December 17. The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic is declared. The government
1650s led by Pēteris Stučka institutes its rule with draconian laws and ruthless terror.
The apogee of the Duchy of Courland: Duke Jacob founds colonies in Gambia in
Africa and on the Caribbean island Tobago. 1919
January 3. Rīga is taken by Red Army troops. The Provisional Government and
1710 its small military units retreat to Liepāja in south-western Latvia. While seeking
Rīga surrenders to the forces of Tsar Peter I (“The Great”) during the Northern War assistance from Entente Powers, the government is forced to accept the help of
(1700–1721). Northern Latvia, nowadays known as Vidzeme, comes under Russian German local Home Guard and army irregulars to fight against Communist forces.
rule and, together with southern Estonia, becomes the Russian province of Livonia. March 3. A counterattack by the combined German and Latvian forces against the
Latvian peasants become serfs of their German barons. In 1772, during the First Red Army begins. The commander of the Latvian Brigade, Col. Oskars Kalpaks, is
Partition of Poland, Eastern Latvia, Latgale, becomes part of the Russian province of killed by friendly fire on 6 March.
Polotsk, later – Vitebsk. During the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the Duchy of April 16. A German coup in Liepāja fails to overthrow the Provisional Government,
Courland becomes a Russian province. which finds refuge on a ship guarded by Entente warships, but a pro-German
1818, 1820 Latvian government is established nevertheless.
Serfdom is abolished in the provinces of Courland and Livonia. Latvian peasants May 22. German troops take Rīga from the Reds and instigate an indiscriminate
gain ostensible freedom but lose their land and become, in effect, indentured killing spree against communists and suspected sympathisers. Instead of pursuing
servants. Only around mid-century Latvians obtain the right to buy land. In Latgale, Soviet forces, the Germans move against the Estonian army and Latvian Northern
serfdom is abolished only with the rest of Russia in 1863. Brigade in northern Latvia.
June 22–23. The Germans are defeated by Estonian and Latvian forces near Cēsis.
Late 19th c. The German proxy government collapses. The Germans sign an armistice, but the
Rise of national consciousness and modernization of society, called the “Awakening”: irregulars fail to keep its provisions and stay in the country. The Latvian Provisional
increasing economic independence, migration to cities, rise of a working class, Government returns to Rīga.
rising levels of education, development of cultural and political awareness and November 11. The last German attempt to take over under the cover of a fake
emergence of modern Latvian idiom, culture and national identity. Western Russian Volunteer Army led by Bermondt-Avalov is foiled as the Latvian
Army, helped by the firepower of British and French warships, retakes the western
1905
part of Rīga to end a one-month standoff on the shores of Daugava.
The 1905 Russian Revolution assumes a double characteristic in Latvia: it is both
a workers and farmers revolution with a strong national accent led by educated 1920
Latvians and the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party. The Revolution becomes February 1. An armistice with Soviet Russia takes effect after the Latvian Army
a training ground for applied democracy at the popular level. It turns against with the aid of Polish troops has liberated Eastern Latvia from the Red Army. The
both the Tsar’s government and the landed German gentry. Burning of German Latvian Communist government is dissolved on 13 January 1920.
baronial mansions becomes a widespread phenomenon. The Russian government May 1. The elected Constitutional Assembly begins its work as a temporary
sends punishment expeditions to the country welcomed by the German gentry. legislative body with the main charge to write a Constitution. Its most far-
Hundreds are executed, thousands sent into exile or flee the country. reaching law on Agrarian Reform is passed on 16 September 1920. It expropriates
large German land holdings and distributes land to the landless, giving special
consideration to participants in the Liberation War.
The Fight for Independence and August 11. A Peace Treaty is signed with Soviet Russia, in which Soviet Russia
the Republic of Latvia (1914–1939) without reservations recognizes Latvian independence and sovereignty,
renouncing voluntarily and forever any claims to Latvian sovereignty that belonged
1914–1918 to the Russian state.
World War I takes a heavy toll on Latvia. Half of its territory is occupied by German
forces 1915–1917, all of it in 1918. Heavy battles are fought on Latvian soil from 1921
1915 on. Some 700 000 become refugees, most of them in Russia. Latvian soldiers January 26. Latvian independence is recognized by the Allied Supreme Council,
serving in the Russian army suffer heavy losses. soon followed by other states. Latvia joins the League of Nations on 22 September
1921.
1915
Founding of national military units, the Latvian Riflemen battalions, later regiments, 1922
commanded by Latvian officers within the Russian army to defend Rīga against the February 22. The Constitutional Assembly adopts the Constitution of the Republic
German army. When the Germans take over the country in 1917–18, many leave for of Latvia. It declares Latvia to be an independent, democratic state whose sovereign
Russia and join the Communist revolution. power resides in the people. Only the people in a referendum can change its status.
October 7–8. Election of the First Saeima (parliament). The Saeima meets on
November 7 and on November 14 elects Jānis Čakste as the first President of Latvia.
Four Saeimas are elected during the first independence period.
1934
May 15. Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis organizes a bloodless coup. The Saeima
is dismissed and all political parties banned. Like a number of other countries
in Europe, Latvia becomes an authoritarian state. Though far from a totalitarian
regime, the government does not tolerate dissent and rules by decree.
1937
November 30. As part of Stalin’s Great Terror, Soviet authorities order closing
down of Latvian organizations and cultural institutions and mass arrests of Latvians
residing in the USSR as suspected foreign agents. Around 25,000 are arrested, of
whom 16,500 are executed.

The Act of the Proclamation of Independence,

Rīga, 18 November 1918
 FACT SHEET ON LATVIA

The Loss of Independence, Second

World War and Soviet Era in Latvia
(1939–1980s)
1939
August 23. Hitler’s Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and Stalin’s Foreign Minister
Molotov sign a Non-Aggression Treaty, also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact, which
allows Hitler to attack Poland and later – Western Europe. The pact includes secret
protocols which designate Finland, Estonia, Latvia and parts of Rumania as Soviet
sphere of influence. On 28 September a Friendship and Border Treaty is signed,
whose secret protocols assign Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence and allow
ethnic Germans to leave the areas under Soviet influence. Nazi Germany and the
Soviet Union become de facto allies for almost two years.
October 5. Under military threat, Latvia is forced to sign a Mutual Assistance
Treaty with the Soviet Union, which assures Latvian independence but allows some
25,000 Soviet troops to be stationed in Western Latvia. When Finland refuses to
sign a similar treaty, the Soviet Union attacks on October 30. Finland is forced to
surrender in March 1940.
1940 Poster. Long live USSR – prototype of a brotherhood of workers of all
June 16. Claiming breaches of the Mutual Assistance Treaty, the Soviet Union nationalities of the world! 1935
issues an ultimatum to be answered within six hours, demanding installation of
a government and allowing an unlimited number of Soviet troops to enter the 1943
country. The Ulmanis government accepts the ultimatum under the implied threat February 10. Hitler signs a decree establishing the “Latvian SS Volunteer Legion,”
of large Soviet forces massed at the border and the occupation of Lithuania on which is neither “SS,” nor “volunteer” and actually consists of fighting units under the
15 June. field command of the Wehrmacht, though formally belonging to the Waffen-SS.
June 17. Soviet troops occupy the country. Stalin’s emissary Andrei Vishinsky, The Legion subsumes some Latvian “police” battalions fighting on the eastern front,
the prosecutor of the Great Terror, comes to guide the take-over. A new Moscow- but most of its soldiers are drafted in contravention of the 1907 Hague Convention.
approved government is installed, which proceeds to prepare the country for About 20,000 desert at war’s end and surrender to the Western Allies, who eventually
political sovietisation. recognize the legionnaires as illegally conscripted citizens of Latvia. About 115,000
July 21. The People’s Saeima, “elected” in a near-unanimous one-party election on Latvians are estimated to have served under German military command.
14 and 15 July, unanimously declares Latvia to be a Soviet state, asks for admission 1944
to the Soviet Union and passes the first Soviet-style expropriation laws. July. The Red Army re-enters Latvian territory. Refugee treks westward begin.
July 23. US Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a scathing denunciation About 5000 risk their lives and reach Swedish shores; about 150,000 are evacuated
of the “devious processes” by which the Baltic States are “deliberately annihilated” to Germany and German-held areas in the West.
by a “more powerful neighbour.” The declaration initiates the continuing refusal of October 6. On Moscow’s orders, the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR cedes the
US and other governments to recognise the take-over “by the use of force or the city of Abrene (now Pitalova) and six townships to Soviet Russia. In 2007, the loss of
threat of force.” area was recognised in a border treaty with Russia by independent Latvia.
August 5. Latvia becomes the 15th Republic of the Soviet Union. The incorporation October 13. Soviet troops take Rīga. The Latvian SSR government returns. The
is never recognized de iure by most Western governments. In international law, the German Army Group North escapes to Kurzeme (Western Latvia), which becomes
Republic of Latvia continues to exist. In the USA, the United Kingdom and several an enclave, withstands at least six major Soviet attacks and holds out until the end
other countries Latvian legations and other diplomatic representations continue of the war.
to work. De facto sovereignty is re-established 51 years later, on 21 August 1991.
1944–1956
1941 Latvian national partisans, also known as the Forest Brethren, wage a war after the
June 14. More than 15,000 Latvian citizens are deported on Moscow’s orders war against the Soviet occupiers and their collaborators. Armed resistance starts
to distant parts of the Soviet Union. Men are separated from their families, tried as soon as the front passes in 1944 and encompasses all of Latvia after war’s end
under Article 58 of Soviet Russian criminal code as “counterrevolutionaries” and in May 1945. The number of partisans is estimated at 15–20,000, not counting
imprisoned in GULAG hard labour camps. Only 1/5 of the more than 5000 survive. their civilian supporters. Soviet authorities send troops and local Communist Party
The families as accessories are sent to forced settlement areas in Siberia. Death rates activists against the partisans and employ KGB agents to infiltrate partisan units.
are high, especially among the children and elderly. An estimated 25,000 (1.25%)
Latvian citizens become victims of the one-year Communist rule. 1945
June 22. Nazi Germany attacks the USSR. The Red Army flees in disarray. About February 4–11. The Yalta Conference of US, UK and USSR heads of government,
50,000 Latvian inhabitants flee Latvia or are taken along as prisoners. Rīga is Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, principally decide the
occupied by German forces on 1 July. All of Latvian territory is in German hands post-war arrangements in Europe, conceding USSR control in Eastern Europe, but
by 7 July. Although greeted at first as liberators from Soviet terror, the Germans simultaneously calling for free elections. The fate of Latvia and the other Baltic
deal with Latvia as occupied Soviet territory and never recognise its independence. States was actually decided already at the Teheran Conference 8  November to
July–December. German Security Service (SD) Operative Group A instigates and 2 December 1943
guides the annihilation of Latvia’s Jewish population, co-opting and involving May 8. At war’s end, Latvia has lost approximately a third of its population. About
Latvian proxies in the mass murder. Of the 94,000-pre-war Jews in Latvia about 120,000 Latvians in the West refuse to return and eventually settle in the UK, USA,
70,000 are killed in the Holocaust. Others killed on German orders include Canada, Australia and other countries. In Latvia, settlers from other parts of the
communists, Roma, and mentally ill. The notorious Arājs’ Commando, an auxiliary USSR start arriving. Immigration is encouraged by large-scale industrialization in
SD unit, is involved in many of the murders. the 1960s and 1970s, reducing the proportion of Latvians from more than 3/4 in the
October 12. On Stalin’s decree the 201st Latvian Riflemen’s Division with about 1935 census to just over a half in 1989.
10,000 soldiers is formed in Russia. A year later it becomes the 43rd Latvian May 9. The German army in the Kurzeme enclave surrenders, among them a
Guards’ Division, and in 1944 the 130th Latvian Riflemen’s Corps is formed, which division of Latvian legionnaires. Soviet repressions against the population extend to
is augmented by men drafted in the territories occupied by the Red Army. An all of Latvia. Tens of thousands are arrested, sent to prisons and hard labour camps.
estimated 80,000 Latvians serve in Soviet armed units during the war. August 15. A Latvian Central Committee is established in Western Germany, the
Germans start organising closed Latvian “police” battalions to fight at the Eastern first of representative Latvian organizations outside Latvia in the West. Both in
front and participate in anti-partisan activities behind the front. At first volunteer, refugee camps and after emigration to other countries, representative central and
during 1942 recruits are increasingly obtained through propaganda and financial local organizations, church congregations, schools, cultural and youth organizations
enticement. are established; an active social and cultural life ensues.
 FACT SHEET ON LATVIA

1949 1994
March 25. A second mass deportation of about 44,000 is directed against Latvian August 31. Troops of the Russian Army leave Latvian territory. For the first time
farmers, who do not want to collectivize, and Latvian partisan supporters. Entire since September 1939 there are no foreign troops in Latvian territory. The unfinished
families are settled “for life,” most of them in Siberian areas of Omsk, Tomsk and strategic locator in Skrunda was destroyed on 4 May 1995. The remaining Russian
Krasnoyarsk. After Stalin’s death in 1953, many are allowed to return to Latvia, but locators were decommissioned on 31 August 1998.
are stigmatized for life. A wave of collectivization take place, but the collective farms
are inefficient, and food shortages become common. The deportation considerably 2004
reduces national partisan activities. March 29. Latvia becomes a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. It
participates in NATO missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
1959 May 4. Latvia becomes a member of the European Union.
July. Soviet and Latvian Communist parties crackdown against Latvian national
communists for opposing Russification and colonization tendencies. Internal party 2010
dissent continues, however, and in 1972, a letter protesting Soviet policies reaches November 18. Latvia celebrates the 92nd anniversary of its independence, only
Communist parties and press publications in the West. the 39th in freedom.

Reinstating Independence and Modern

Latvia (From the 1980s)
1986
In the wake of the perestroika and glasnost policy of new CPSU chairman Mikhail
Gorbachev, popular protests against building a hydroelectric dam on the Daugava
break out. Later, the plan to build an underground railway in Rīga joins the list of
environmentally questionable projects stopped by popular action.
1987
June 14. The human rights group Helsinki-86, formed a year earlier, organizes
an unsanctioned event at the Freedom Monument in Rīga to commemorate the
victims of Soviet deportations that attracts a large number of people. It is the
beginning of mass meetings and protests on memorial days, especially 25 March
and 14 June (mass deportations), 23 August (Hitler–Stalin Pact) and 18 November
(Latvian Independence Day). A number of unsanctioned civic groups are founded
in 1987, such as the Environmental Protection Club and a Lutheran ministers group
“Rebirth and Renewal”.
1988
June 1–2. The special expanded plenum of the official Latvian Writers’ Union calls
for greater cultural autonomy, strengthening the role of the Latvian language, and
establishment of independent cultural organizations. For the first time during
Soviet rule, the takeover of 17 June 1940 is openly declared to be an occupation. In
June, for the first time the national flag is carried in the streets; the national anthem
is sung in July. The national flag and the coat-of-arms of independent Latvia
become official state symbols of the Latvian SSR in February 1990. The Mass Demonstration for Independence in early 1991
October 8–9. The Latvian Popular Front (LPF) is established and attracts a
membership of several hundred thousand. It becomes the guiding force toward
independence.
1990
May 4. After winning the March elections, the LPF delegates to the Latvian SSR
Supreme Council obtain 2/3 majority to pass a law renouncing as illegal the USSR
occupation and usurpation of power in 1940, re-establishing the 1922 constitution
and the name of the Republic of Latvia. The law provides a transition period before
the installation of the new Saeima and the restoration of full sovereignty.
1991
January 13. A demonstration to protest the attack of USSR forces on Lithuanian
institutions attracts ca. 500,000 in Rīga. Barricades are built in the Old Town and
around important objects, guarded by some 100,000 unarmed defenders. Several
are shot and killed by Soviet security forces, but massive use of force is not employed
August 21. As the coup attempt to overthrow the Soviet government of President The Latvian Institute promotes knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces informative materials and
Mikhail Gorbachev fails, the Latvian Supreme Council passes the Constitutional works closely with international media professionals in developing a wide variety of
Law declaring Latvia an independent democratic republic according to the 1922 communications projects.
constitution and cancelling the transition period decreed on 4 May 1990. Island is
ISSN 1407-8708

This fact sheet can be freely copied, distributed and cited on condition that the Latvian
the first state re-establishing diplomatic relations. Others follow in rapid succession.
Institute is acknowledged as the source.
The Russian Federation under the signature of President Boris Yeltsin recognizes
Latvian independence on 23 August; the Soviet Union on September 6. Latvia
For further information please contact
becomes a member of the United Nations on September 18.
the Latvian Embassy or Consulate in your country or the Latvian Institute:
1993 Latvijas institūts, Elizabetes iela 57, Rīga, LV–1050, Latvia
Phone: (+371) 6750-3663
June 5–6. Elections to the fifth Saeima, continuing the numbering from the first
Fax: (+371) 6750-3669
independence period, takes place. The Saeima meets on 6 July and on 7 July elects E-mail: info@li.lv
the first President after restoration, Guntis Ulmanis. In 1999, he is succeeded by Internet: www.li.lv, www.latvia.lv
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga. In 2007, Valdis Zatlers assumes the President’s office.
Photo credits: J.Kalniņš, Latvian National Museum of Art,
V.Poļakovs, V.Rīdzenieks
Original drawings: J.C.Brotze (Latvian Academic Library)

© Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, The Latvian Institute 2010