History of Latvia: a Brief Survey

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1914-1939The Fight forIndependence andthe Republic of LatviaIn the early 20th century and up until the First WorldWar (1914-1918), the conditions were not favourablefor Latvians to establish their own independentcountry. Latvians were also not convinced that this waspossible. The territory of present-day Latvia was dividedinto a number of provinces that belonged to the RussianEmpire. The Latvian people lived in the Russian provinces(gubernia in Russian) of Kurzeme (Courland), Vidzeme(Livonia) and Vitebsk. The Baltic German aristocracy hadtraditionally made up the political and economic ruling classin this region. Latvian participation in the political process wasrestricted.The First World War caused significant events with far-reachingconsequences in Baltic area. As the First World War spread to theLatvian territory in the spring of 1915 and directly affected theentire Latvian population, a powerful pro-autonomy movementdeveloped. The Latvian intelligentsia supported the Russian wareffort, grouping local Baltic Germans with Germany, as enemies ofthe Empire.22
Courageous Latvian Riflemen (latviešu strēlnieki) fought on theTsarist Russian side during the war, and earned recognition for theirbravery across Europe. The notion that the Latvian Riflemen wouldbe fighting in the name of the Latvian people and for their futurefreedom had become widespread. The biggest and bloodiestbattles of the Latvian Riflemen took place on the outskirts of Rīgaon 23 December 1916 (Old Style calendar). The battles beganshortly before Christmas, and have thus entered history as the‘Christmas Battles’. During these battles the Latvian Riflemendisplayed tremendous courage, which was widely reflected in theforeign press.The First World War in Latvia. The LatvianRiflemen positioned in Latvian and Russianterritory, 1915-1916.23
Page 6: In the AD 900s, the ancient Balts b
Page 10 and 11: 12th century-1914The Age ofGerman,
Page 12 and 13: Walter von Plettenberg (c.1450-1535
Page 14 and 15: Luther’s Small Catechism (Enchiri
Page 16 and 17: Rīga in 1612.However, during this
Page 18 and 19: Dome Cathedral in Rīga, 1780s.In 1
Page 20 and 21: Krišjānis Valdemārs (1825-1891),
Page 22 and 23: New political undercurrents penetra
Page 26 and 27: German army in Rīga, autumn 1917.I
Page 28 and 29: Article on the front page of the La
Page 30 and 31: A scene from the film ‘Latvian We
Page 32 and 33: In the 1930s Latvia achieved one of
Page 34 and 35: 1939-1980sThe Loss of Independence,
Page 36 and 37: Occupation of Latvia by the Soviet
Page 38 and 39: The first 1000 Latvian men conscrip
Page 40 and 41: Propaganda poster of Stalin’stota
Page 42 and 43: Forced industrialisation — largei
Page 44 and 45: From the 1980sReinstatingIndependen
Page 46 and 47: On 23 August 1989, fifty years had
Page 48 and 49: A twenty lat bill. The Latvian nati
Page 50 and 51: Main Historical Events9000 BC Arriv
Page 52: The Latvian Institute promotes know

History of Latvia: a Brief Survey

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