History of Latvia: a Brief Survey

1939-1980sThe Loss of Independence,Second World War andSoviet Era in LatviaLoss of IndependenceOn 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and the German Third Reichsigned a treaty of non-aggression, which contained a secretprotocol concerning the division of Eastern Europe into spheresof influence. This treaty is usually referred to as the ‘Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact’ after the two statesmen who signed it. As aresult of this criminal treaty and other documents that were latersigned between Moscow and Berlin, Latvia and the other Balticcountries became part of the Soviet sphere of influence. The 23August treaty provided Germany with a chance to commenceaggression against Poland on 1 September, which triggered theSecond World War, while the Soviet Union found an opportunityto subdue the Baltic States.German Minister of Foreign Affairs,Joachim von Ribbentrop, Soviet leaderJoseph Stalin and Soviet Commissar forForeign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov afterthe signing of the ‘Molotov-Ribbentrop’pact in Moscow on 23 August 1939.32On 5 October Moscow presented Latvia with an ultimatum, thereby forcing Latvian statesmento sign the so-called treaty of ‘mutual assistance’, which called for the deployment of Sovietmilitary bases in Latvia (a treaty of this nature had already been signed by Estonia on 28September and would be signed by Lithuania on 10 October). Approximately 30 000 RedArmy soldiers were garrisoned in ten army bases in Latvia, which was equivalent to the totalnumber of troops in the Latvian Army at the time. In addition, ships from the Russian fleetwere stationed in the ports of Ventspils and Liepāja. As a result, the total number of foreigntroops in Latvia exceeded the number of soldiers in the Latvian Armed Forces. Latvia founditself in a very difficult situation. The government’s freedom to act was severely restricted,and Latvia’s independence was threatened.