Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers, according to the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

, the Government of Latvia, the State Department of the United States of America, and the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, to the military occupation

Military occupation

Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...

of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

ostensibly under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...

with Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

.

When World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

started in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

had already come under the Soviet sphere of influence in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

and its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939.

In the reassessment period of the Soviet history that began during the Perestroika

Perestroika

Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...

, the USSR in 1989 condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and herself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries, including Latvia. While Russia acknowledged in a treaty with Lithuania the adverse impact by the USSR on Lithuania's sovereignty prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, no such acknowledgment by Russia exists with regard to Estonia or Latvia, and the central authorities of the USSR did not acknowledge occupation prior to its dissolution.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...

, Latvia's sovereignty

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...

was restored in 1991. The last Soviet troops withdrew from the Republic of Latvia in August 1994.

Crossroads

Mēs esam kā starp vārtiem,

Starp vārtiem uzcēluši savas mājas

Kur tautām pāri staigāt.

We are as if between gates,

Between gates we have built our home

For other peoples to trample over.

Anna Brigadere
Anna Brigadere
Anna Brigadere was a writer from Latvia. She wrote comedy and drama, among which The Tale of Sprīdītis, a young boy from a Latvian peasant family and his fantastic adventures in a nearby forest....

, Latvian poet

“The historical mission of the Baltic provinces is to serve as a battlefield for the problems of the highest politics in Europe.”

Count Shuvalov
Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov
Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov was an influential Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II...

, Russian Governor-General of the Baltic Provinces

Latvia and the rest of the Baltics were a crossroads overrun by foreign domination for over seven centuries prior to achieving independence after the start of the 20th century, after World War I.

1918-1939: Historical background

In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, Latvia

Latvia

declared its independence on November 18, 1918. After a prolonged War of Independence, Latvia and Soviet Russia

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

(the predecessor of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

) signed a Peace Treaty

Peace treaty

A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...

on August 11, 1920. In its Article 2 Soviet Russia "unreservedly recognises the independence and sovereignty of the Latvian State and voluntarily and forever renounces all sovereign rights (... ) to the Latvian people and territory." The independence of Latvia was diplomatically recognised

Diplomatic recognition

Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...

by the Allied Supreme Council (France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

) on January 26, 1921. Other states followed the suit. On September 22, 1921 Latvia was admitted to membership in the League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

and remained a member until the formal dissolution of the League in 1946. On February 5, 1932, a Non-Aggression Treaty with the Soviet Union was signed, based on the August 11, 1920 treaty whose basic agreements inalterably and for all time form the firm basis of the relationship of the two states. On September 1, 1939, the day World War II

World War II

began, Latvia declared its neutrality.

Relevant Treaties between USSR and Latvia

Before World War II, the Republic of Latvia and USSR had both signed and ratified following treaties:

Kellogg-Briand Pact

August 27, 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact

Kellogg-Briand Pact

The Kellogg–Briand Pact was an agreement signed on August 27, 1928, by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Weimar Germany and a number of other countries.The pact renounced war , prohibiting the use of war...

renouncing war as an instrument of national policy

Non-aggression treaty

Latvia, USSR on February 5, 1932

The Convention for the Definition of Aggression

On July 3, 1933 for the first time in the history of international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

, aggression

Aggression

In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...

was defined in a binding treaty signed at the Soviet Embassy in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

by USSR and among others, Latvia.

Article II defines forms of aggression. There shall be recognized as an aggressor that State which shall be the first to have committed one of the following actions:

Relevant chapters:

Second — invasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war.
Fourth — a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State.

1939-1940: The road to loss of independence

German-Soviet non-aggression pact

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

, signed August 23, 1939 cleared the path for Germany and the Soviet Union to pursue their territorial interests in Eastern Europe. Secret protocols of this pact split up the territory separating Germany and the Soviet Union between the two powers. According to these protocols, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, Latvia

Latvia

and Bessarabia

Bessarabia

Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....

were within the Soviet sphere of interest, and Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

fell into the German sphere of interest. The Soviet Union continued to deny the existence of these protocols until, under pressure from the Baltic SSRs, on December 24, 1989, the Congress of the USSR People's Deputies officially recognized the secret deals illegal and invalid from their inception.

Invasion of Poland

Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 with Stalin's support. France and Britain, which were obligated by treaty to protect Poland, responded with notes of protest requesting the Germans withdraw. Following French-British indecision, Britain acted alone moving forward with a two-hour ultimatum at 9:00am on September 3, which France was then forced to follow, issuing its own ultimatum. Nevertheless, despite declarations that a state of war now existed with Germany, the inter-Allied military conferences of September 4–6 determined there was no possibility of supporting an eastern front in Poland. France subsequently requested Britain not bomb Germany, fearing military retaliation against the French populace. It was determined to do nothing, so as to not provoke a transfer of German forces to the western front. Chamberlain declared on September 12 "There is no hurry as time is on our side." The abandonment of Poland was complete.

Stalin then moved forward with his part of the Pact, ordering the Red Army on September 17 to cross the Soviet-Polish frontier under the claimed necessity to protect the Belarusians

Belarusians

Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...

and Ukrainians

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

in the territory of Poland, which Soviets argued "ceased to exist" in the wake of German successes. Stalin then suggested a "trade" to Hitler to solve the "Baltic problem." On September 28, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union having partitioned Poland signed a border agreement, including a second secret protocol, handing Lithuania to Stalin in exchange for two Polish provinces. Shortly thereafter, on October 3, 1939, the German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg

Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg

Friedrich-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg was a German diplomat who served as the last German ambassador to the Soviet Union before Operation Barbarossa. He began his diplomatic career before World War I, serving as consul and ambassador in several countries...

, had also suggested to Molotov that various changes in the borders of the Lithuanian territory wait until the "Soviet Union incorporates Lithuania, an idea on which, I believe, the arrangement concerning Lithuania was originally based." Subsequently, the Soviet Union further agreed to compensate Nazi Germany 7,500,000 gold dollars (or 31,500,000 Reichsmarks) for the Reich renouncing its "claims" on the Lithuanian territory it was to originally possess based on the September 28th agreement.

The Soviet Union now occupied just over half of all Polish territory, and the Allied powers had demonstrated themselves incapable of military intervention on the Eastern front. There were no impediments remaining to Stalin, in concert with Hitler, achieving his aims in the Baltics.

Baltic-Soviet relations in autumn 1939

On September 24, 1939, warships of the Red Navy appeared off Latvia's northern neighbor, Estonian ports, Soviet bombers began a threatening patrol over Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

and the nearby countryside. USSR then violated the air space of all three Baltic states, flying massive intelligence gathering operations on September 25. Moscow demanded that Baltic countries allow the USSR to establish military bases and station troops on their soil for the duration of the European war.

During talks in Moscow, on October 2, 1939, Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

told Vilhelms Munters, the Latvian foreign minister: "I tell you frankly, a division of spheres of interest has already taken place. As far as Germany is concerned we could occupy you." The Baltics took this threat seriously.

The government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum signing the corresponding agreement on September 28. 1939; Latvia following on October 5, 1939; and Lithuania shortly thereafter, on October 10, 1939. In Latvia's case, the agreement called for Latvia to:

lend bases to the Soviet Union at Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

, Ventspils
Ventspils
Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...

, and Pitrags
Pitrags
Pitrags is a populated place in Kolka parish, Dundaga municipality, Latvia at the mouth of the river Pitraga. One of twelve Livonian villages....

until 1949;
build special airfields for Soviet requirements; and
grant the stationing of Soviet military garrisons totaling 30,000 troops.

At face value, this pact did not impinge upon Latvian sovereignty. Section 5 of the Pact reads as follows: "The carrying into effect of the present pact must in no way affect the sovereign rights of the contracting parties, in particular their political structure, their economic and social system, and their military measures. The areas set aside for the bases and airfields remain the territory of the Latvian Republic."

With Baltic sovietization

Sovietization

Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....

imminent, Hitler issued a "call home" to ethnic Germans. Latvia entered into agreement with Nazi Germany on the repatriation of citizens of German nationality on October 30, 1939.

Publicly, on October 31, 1939, the Soviet Supreme Council called fears of Baltic sovietization "all nonsense." Privately, this stationing of Soviet troops in Latvia under the terms of the mutual assistance pact marked the beginning of the fruition of long-standing Soviet desires to gain control of the Baltics.

Soviet invasion of Finland

Similar demands were forwarded to Finland

Finland

. On October 5, 1939, the Finns had been invited to Moscow to "discuss mutual problems." The Finns refused to sign a pact of mutual assistance, and on November 30, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, launching the Winter War

Winter War

The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...

. Because the Soviet attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations

League of Nations

on December 14. Finland mounted a skillful defensive effort and managed to stall the Soviet offensive until February 1940, when its primary defensive line

Mannerheim Line

The Mannerheim Line was a defensive fortification line on the Karelian Isthmus built by Finland against the Soviet Union. During the Winter War it became known as the Mannerheim Line, after Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The line was constructed in two phases: 1920–1924 and...

finally collapsed. On March 12, 1940, faced with the prospect of a complete Soviet takeover, Finland signed the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union. Finland retained its independence, but was forced to cede 11% of its territory and lease the Hanko Peninsula

Hanko Peninsula

The Hanko Peninsula , also spelled Hango, is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs...

to the Soviet Union as a naval base for 30 years. In June 1941, hostilities between Finland and USSR resumed in the Continuation War

Continuation War

The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...

Political background

Apparent escape from Finland's fate may have led to a false sense of security for Latvia. Four months after the arrival of Soviet troops in Latvia, Vilhelms Munters, addressing an audience at the University of Latvia

University of Latvia

University of Latvia is a university located in Riga, Latvia. Being established in 1919, University of Latvia is the biggest university in the Baltic states.-History:...

on February 12, 1940, stated, "We have every reason to describe the relations existing between Latvia and the Soviet Union as very satisfactory. There are people who will say that these favourable conditions are of a temporary nature only, and that sooner or later we shall have to reckon with internal-political and foreign-political pressure on the part of the Soviet Union. The foundation on which they base these prophesies is a secret of the prophets themselves. The experience of our Government certainly does not justify such forebodings."

With Soviet failure in Finland sealed for the moment, it was little more than a month after Munters' positive expressions that Molotov, speaking on March 25, 1940, essentially announced Soviet intentions to annex the Baltic States, stating, "... the execution of the pacts progressed satisfactorily and created conditions favorable for a further improvement of the relations between Soviet Russia and these States." Improvement of the relations being a euphemism

Euphemism

A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...

for Soviet takeover.

In March and April, 1940, immediately after Molotov's speech, the Soviet press commenced attacks on the Latvian government. Next, the NKVD orchestrated a series of strikes in Riga and Liepāja. When those failed to develop into a general strike, the Soviets blamed that failure on the "irresponsible element which spoils the good neighborly relations."

Fearing Soviet action, on May 17, 1940, the Latvian government secretly issued emergency powers to the Latvian minister in London, Kārlis Zariņš

Karlis Zarinš

Kārlis Reinholds Zariņš was Ambassador and Consul General of Latvia in the United Kingdom. Shortly before the Soviet occupation of Latvia, on 17 May 1940 the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers granted Ambassador Zariņš extraordinary powers...

, designating Alfreds Bilmanis, the Latvian minister in Washington, as his substitute.

Soviet invasion

On May 28, 1940, the Lithuanian Minister in Moscow received a note from Molotov which dealt with the alleged kidnapping of two Soviet soldiers in Vilna. The Lithuanian government sought to clear up this matter by a Soviet-Lithuanian commission under the terms of the mutual assistance pact. Moscow rejected this proposal and cut off further discussion, soon showing and rapidly playing their hand:

On June 12, 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia to the Soviet Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...

is given: according to the director of the Russian State Archive of the Naval Department Pavel Petrov (C.Phil.) referring to the records in the archive
June 14, 1940 - While world attention is focused on the fall of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

a day earlier, Molotov accuses the Baltic countries of conspiracy against the Soviet Union and delivers an ultimatum to Lithuania
1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania
The Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania before midnight of June 14, 1940. The Soviets, using a formal pretext, demanded to allow an unspecified number of Soviet soldiers to enter the Lithuanian territory and to form a new pro-Soviet government...

for the establishment of a government the Soviets approve of. On the same day, the Soviet blockade of Estonia went into effect. According to eyewitness accounts pieced together by Estonian and Finnish investigators, two Soviet bombers downed Finnish passenger airplane "Kaleva
Kaleva (airplane)
Kaleva, registered OH-ALL, was a civilian Junkers Ju 52 passenger and transport plane, belonging to the Finnish carrier Aero O/Y. The aircraft was shot down by two Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers during peacetime between the Soviet Union and Finland on June 14, 1940, while en route from Tallinn to...

" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the U.S. legations in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

and Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. The US Foreign Service employee Henry W. Antheil, Jr.
Henry W. Antheil, Jr.
Henry William Antheil, Jr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey, USA.Henry W. Antheil, Jr., younger brother of noted composer George Antheil, was a clerk at the U.S. legation in Helsinki...

was killed in the crash.
June 15, 1940 - Soviet troops invade Lithuania and position troops to invade Latvia.
June 15, 1940 - Soviet troops attack the Latvian border guards at Maslenki
Maslenki
The Maslenki incident, was an attack by Soviet NKVD troops on 15 June 1940 against the Latvian border posts in district of Abrene at the then USSR/Latvian Republic border on the eve of Soviet occupation of Latvia....

, killing three border guards and two civilians, as well as taking 10 border guards and 27 civilians as hostages to the Soviet Union.
June 16, 1940 - the Soviet Union invades Latvia and Estonia. Soviets delivered ultimatums to Estonia and Latvia, to be answered within 6 hours, demanding: (1) the establishment of pro-Soviet Governments which, under the protection of the Red Army, would be better capable of carrying out the Pacts of Mutual Assistance; (2) the free passage of Soviet troops into Estonia and Latvia in order to place them in the most important centers and to avoid possible provocatory acts against Soviet garrisons. Unable to resist on their own, Latvia and Estonia capitulated.
June 17, 1940 - Soviet troops invade Latvia and occupied bridges, post/telephone, telegraph, and broadcasting offices.
June 17, 1940 - Andrei Vishinski, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union (and prosecutor of Stalin's show trials in 1937-1938), introduces himself to President Kārlis Ulmanis as Soviet special envoy.

Loss of independence

Soviet orchestration of events continued following the invasion, complete with protestors, who had arrived with the Red Army troops, organizing mass marches and meetings in order to create the impression of popular unrest:

June 19, 1940 - Vishinski visits Ulmanis again, this time, to deliver the list, pre-approved by Moscow, of the new members of the cabinet of the Latvian government.
June 20, 1940 - Ulmanis forced to approve pro-Soviet government which takes office. Jailed members of the formerly illegal communist party released. Public "processions of thanksgiving" organized in honor of Stalin.
June 30, 1940 - The Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Vincas Kreve-Mickevicius, meets with Molotov. Molotov is blunt in communicating the Soviet intent to occupy the entire region: "You must take a good look at reality and understand that in the future small nations will have to disappear. Your Lithuania along with the other Baltic nations, including Finland, will have to join the glorious family of the Soviet Union. Therefore you should begin now to initiate your people into the Soviet system, which in the future shall reign everywhere, throughout all Europe; put into practice earlier in some places, as in the Baltic nations, later in others."
July 5, 1940 - Decree issued announcing new elections; the Latvian democratic parties organize under the National Committee and attempt to participate.
July 9, 1940 - Vilis Lācis
Vilis Lacis
Vilis Lācis was a Latvian writer and Communist politician.Lācis was born into a working-class family in Mangaļi, near Riga. He was a manual labourer, mostly working in the port of Riga and writing in his free time...

, the Soviet-appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, orders the National Committee shut down, its most prominent members deported. Deportations are already taking place from territory not (yet) part of the Soviet Union.
July 14–15, 1940 - Rigged elections held in Latvia and the other Baltic states. Only one pre-approved list of candidates was allowed for elections for the "People's Parliament
People's Parliament
The People's Seimas was a puppet legislature organized in order to legitimate the occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. After the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940, a new pro-Soviet government was formed, known as the People's Government. The new government dismissed the Fourth...

". The ballots held following instructions: "Only the list of the Latvian Working People's Bloc must be deposited in the ballot box. The ballot must be deposited without any changes." The alleged voter activity index was 97.6%. Most notably, the complete election results were published in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

12 hours before the election closed. Soviet electoral documents found later substantiated that the results were completely fabricated. Tribunals were set up to punish "traitors to the people." those who had fallen short of the "political duty" of voting Latvia into the USSR. Those who failed to have their passports stamped for so voting were allowed to be shot in the back of the head.
July 21, 1940 - The fraudulently installed Saeima votes unanimously to petition to join the Soviet Union. (The consideration of such an action was denied throughout the election.) This petition was illegal under the Latvian Constitution, still in effect, which required a plebiscite referendum for approving such an action: two thirds of all eligible participating and a plain majority approving. Ulmanis is forced to resign.
July 22, 1940 - Ulmanis deported to the Soviet Union. Land is nationalized (see also below).
July 23, 1940 - the US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles condemns the "devious processes" by which "the political independence and territorial integrity of the three small Baltic republics
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

were to be deliberately annihilated by one of their more powerful neighbors."
July 31, 1940, Minister of Defense Jānis Balodis
Janis Balodis
Jānis Balodis was an army officer and politician who was a principal figure in the foundation and government of independent Latvia. He was commander in chief of the army and navy during the Latvian war of independence and later was a cabinet member and vice president...

and family deported to Soviet Union (order hand-written by Vilis Lācis
Vilis Lacis
Vilis Lācis was a Latvian writer and Communist politician.Lācis was born into a working-class family in Mangaļi, near Riga. He was a manual labourer, mostly working in the port of Riga and writing in his free time...

).
August 3, 5, and 6, 1940 - The Soviet Union grants the petitions of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, respectively, to join. Latvia was incorporated as the 15th Republic of the Soviet Union. Aside from Germany, no western nation recognizes the annexion as legitimate de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....

.

Accurate numbers for the losses the Soviets inflicted on Latvia are not available. They can, however, be conservatively estimated at 290,000 dead from military action, executions, or deportation. Many more found refuge abroad. These losses all began during the first Soviet occupation. This has also been referred to, in Latvian, as "Baigais Gads" (Year of Terror). (This term was also used in anti-Soviet propaganda of the period—these two uses should not be confused or allied in purpose. "Baigais Gads" is also a title of an openly antisemitic, false account of the events of the year penned by Pauls Kovalevskis, a Nazi sympathiser, in 1942.)

Soviet terror

The Soviet authorities, having gained control over Latvia, immediately imposed a regime of terror. Hundreds of men were arrested, including many leaders of the Republic of Latvia. Tribunals were set up to punish "traitors to the people."

Under arrest and liable to prompt liquidation were Latvia's President Karlis Ulmanis

Karlis Ulmanis

Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis was a prominent Latvian politician in pre-World War II Latvia during the Latvian period of independence from 1918 to 1940.- Education and early career :Ulmanis studied agriculture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and...

and Foreign Minister Vilhelms Munters. Immediate confiscation of property and execution within 24 hours was decreed for diplomats abroad who refused to recognize the new regimes and return to Latvia. Later orders expanded the list of repressions, including anyone related to someone in hiding from the government or who had fled abroad—which act made them a traitor to the state.

On June 22, 1940, all three Baltic parliaments passed initial resolutions on the nationalization of land, followed in Latvia by a Bill of Land Reform a week later. Initially, a maximum of 30 hectares of land could be used by a family, reduced during the second Soviet occupation to 15-20 hectares.

The June deportation

June deportation

June deportation was the first in the series of mass Soviet deportations of tens of thousands of people from the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova starting June 14, 1941 that followed the occupation and annexation of the Baltic states. The procedure for deporting the "anti-Soviet...

took place on June 13 and June 14, 1941, estimated at 15 600 men, women, and children, and including 20% of Latvia's last legal government. Approximately 35 000 total (1.8% of Latvia's population) were deported during the first Soviet occupation. Stalin's deportations also included thousands of Latvian Jews. (The mass deportation totaled 131 500 across the Baltics.)

According to the Serov Instructions, the deportations were swift and efficient and came in the middle of the night. Deportees were given an hour or less to get ready to leave. They were allowed to take with them their belongings not exceeding 100 kg in weight (money, food for a month, cooking appliances, clothing). The families would then be taken to the railway station. That was when they discovered that the men were to be separated from the women and children: "In view of the fact that a large number of deportees must be arrested and distributed in special camps and that their families must proceed to special settlements in distant regions, it is essential that the operation of removal of both the members of the deportee's family and its head shall be carried out simultaneously, without notifying them of the separation confronting them ... The convoy of the entire family to the station shall be effected in one vehicle and only at the station of departure shall the head of the family be placed separately from his family in a car specially intended for heads of families."

The trains were escorted by a NKVD officer and military convoy. Packed into barred cattle cars, with holes in the floor for sanitation, the deportees were taken to Siberia. Many died before even reaching their final destination because of harsh conditions. Many more perished during their first winter.

A number of Latvians who managed to avoid deportations decided to hide in the forests, where anti-Soviet units were organized. When Nazi Germany attacked Soviet Union, those rebels immediately went into action".

Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany 1941-1944

The Soviet-German war cut short this first year of Soviet occupation. The Nazi offensive, launched June 22, 1941, just over a week after the mass deportations were executed, entered Riga on July 1, 1941. This disrupted documented NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

plans to deport several hundred thousand more from the Baltic states on June 27 and 28, 1941.

With memories of the mass deportations of a week before still fresh, the German troops were widely greeted at their arrival by the Latvians as liberators. The Latvian national anthem played on the radio, and, as Chris Bellamy wrote: "the [anti-Soviet] rebellion broke out immediately after the news of Barbarossa". Majority of ethnic Latvians who were forced to serve in the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

deserted from their units, and soon afterwards attacked the NKVD

NKVD

. On July 2, 1941, a unit of Latvian deserters captured the town of Sigulda

Sigulda

Other twinnings: Keila, Estonia chiatura Georgia-References:* , , , , , and -External links:*...

, and three days later, Latvian rebels took control over another town, Smiltene

Smiltene

Smiltene is a town in the Vidzeme region of in northern Latvia, 150 km northeast of the capital Riga. It has a population of 5,880 .-The name:...

, also blocking the strategic road to Pskov

Pskov

Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...

. Latvians did not only desert en masse from regular Red Army units, they also escaped from military training camps, which were part of Soviet mobilization plan. Among other battles with retreating Soviet units, Bellamy mentions Limbazi

Limbaži

Limbaži is a town in the Vidzeme region of northern Latvia. Limbaži is located 90 km northeast of the capital Riga. The population is 8705 people. During the Middle Ages, as part of Livonia, Limbazi was a fortified town with stone walls, second in importance only to Riga.-Etymology:The name...

(July 4), Olaine

Olaine

Olaine is a town in Latvia that gained town rights in 1967. The history of Olaine is closely connected to a nearby peat bog that was first taken into use in 1940. Thereafter, more production facilities were built, the increasing numbers of workers needed accommodation and the first dwellings were...

(July 5), and Alūksne

Aluksne

Alūksne is a town on the shores of Lake Alūksne in northeastern Latvia near the borders with Estonia and Russia. It is the seat of Alūksne municipality.- History :...

(July 9). All these locations were captured by Latvian rebels before first Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

units appeared in the area.

Nazi Germany, however, had no plan or desire to restore autonomy to Latvia, even though they ordered Colonel Alexander Plesners to oversee formation of the Latvian Defence Forces. On July 8, the Germans announced that wearing of non-German uniforms was banned. Also, rebel units were ordered to disarm. Jewish fears of the Nazis—which had led some to look upon the Soviet occupation as a measure of security—were to prove tragically well founded. [more TBD]

By July 10, 1941, German armed forces

Wehrmacht

had occupied all of Latvia

Latvia

's territory. Latvia became a part of Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

's Reichskommissariat Ostland

Reichskommissariat Ostland

Reichskommissariat Ostland, literally "Reich Commissariat Eastland", was the civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany in the Baltic states and much of Belarus during World War II. It was also known as Reichskommissariat Baltenland initially...

– the Province General of Latvia (Generalbezirk Lettland). Anyone who was disobedient to the German occupation regime as well as those who had co-operated with the Soviet regime were killed or sent to concentration camps.

Second Soviet occupation 1944-1991

Latvia was again occupied by the Soviet Union from 1944-91. Under the Soviet occupation thousands of Latvians were deported to Siberian camps, executed or forced into exile.

Many Latvians fled in fishermen's boats and ships to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, from where until 1951 they drifted to various parts of the Western world (mostly Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

). Approximately 150,000 Latvians ended up in exile in the West.

According to approximate estimates, as a result of World War II the population of Latvia decreased by half a million (25% less than in 1939). In comparison with 1939 the Latvian population had diminished by about 300,000. The war also inflicted heavy losses on the economy – many historic cities were destroyed, as well as industry and the infrastructure.

In July 1989, following the dramatic events in East Germany, the Latvian Supreme Soviet adopted a "Declaration of Sovereignty" and amended the Constitution to assert the supremacy of its laws over those of the USSR.

On August 23, 1989 political demonstration Baltic Way

Baltic Way

The Baltic Way or Baltic Chain was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on August 23, 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning over across the three Baltic states – Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, and Lithuanian SSR, republics of the Soviet...

took place. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form an over 600 kilometer long human chain across the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).This demonstration was organized to draw the world's attention to the common historical fate which these three countries suffered.

In March 1990 Candidates from the pro-independence party Latvian Popular Front gained a two-thirds majority in the Supreme Council in democratic elections.

On May 4, 1990, the Latvian Council declared its intention to restore full Latvian independence. Soviet political and military forces tried unsuccessfully to overthrow the Latvian government. On August 21, 1991, Latvia claimed de facto independence. International recognition, including that of the USSR, followed. The United States, which had never recognized Latvia's forcible annexation by the USSR, resumed full diplomatic relations with Latvia on September 2, 1991.

In August 1994 the last Soviet troops withdrew from the Republic of Latvia.

Historical Soviet version of events

Up to the reassessment of Soviet history that began during the Perestroika, which led to the official condemnation of the 1939 secret protocol by the Soviet government, the Soviet position on the events of 1939-1940 is summarised as follows:

The Government of the Soviet Union

Government of the Soviet Union

The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was the de jure government comprising the highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union from 1946 until 1991....

suggested to the Government of the Republic of Latvia that they conclude a treaty of mutual assistance between the two countries. Pressure from the Latvian working peoples forced the Latvian government to accept this offer. A Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed allowing the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army

Red Army

units in Latvia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Latvian government policies "that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Latvian government" and political orientation towards Nazi Germany led to a revolutionary situation culminating in June 1940. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact, additional Soviet military units entered Latvia, welcomed by the Latvian workers who demanded the resignation of the bourgeoisie Latvian government and its fascist leader, Kārlis Ulmanis. That same June, under the leadership of the Latvian Communist Party

Communist Party of Latvia

Communist Party of Latvia was a political party in Latvia.- Latvian Social-Democracy prior to 1919 :The party was founded at a congress in June 1904. Initially the party was known as the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party . During its second party congress in 1905 it adopted the programme of...

, the Latvian workers held demonstrations, and on that day, the fascist government was overthrown, and a People's Government formed. Elections for the Latvian Parliament were held shortly thereafter in July 1940. The "Working People's Union", created by an initiative of the Latvian Communist Party, received the vast majority of the votes. The Parliament adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Latvia

Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic

The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR...

and proclaimed the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. The parliament then declared Latvia's wish to freely and willingly join the USSR, adopting a resolution to that effect. That request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and Latvia became a constituent republic of the USSR.

Conflicting versions of history

The issue of the Soviet occupation, its motives and consequences, remains a bone of contention between the Baltic states and Russia. At the core lie different versions of the historical events during World War II

World War II

and after: the Latvian (shared also by Estonia

Estonia

and Lithuania

Lithuania

and widely espoused by Western historical scholarship) and the Soviet one, which continues to be supported and defended by the government of Russia.

According to the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

, the Government of Latvia, the United States, and the European Union

European Union

, the occupation of Latvia by the USSR in 1940, and its subsequent re-incorporation in the Soviet Union in 1944, was illegal. According to this account, the lawful government of Latvia was overthrown in 1940 and Soviet rule was imposed by force. Subsequently, the totalitarian Communist regime of the Soviet Union conducted large-scale and systematic actions including murder and mass deportations against the Latvian population. Rigged elections were organized in which only Soviet-supported candidates were permitted to run; results were accidentally released to the Western press in London before the elections were even complete. As reported by Time Magazine in 1940, those who had failed to have their passports stamped for voting Latvia into the USSR were allowed to be shot in the back of the head by Soviet NKVD, The country remained occupied by the Soviet Union until restoration of its independence in 1991. The 48 years of Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltic States was never recognized as legal by the Western democracies. The United States especially applied the earlier-adopted Stimson Doctrine

Stimson Doctrine

The Stimson Doctrine is a policy of the United States federal government, enunciated in a note of January 7, 1932, to Japan and China, of non-recognition of international territorial changes that were executed by force. The doctrine was an application of the principle of ex injuria jus non oritur...

to the issue of the Baltic states, leading to its becoming an established precedent in International Law.

While the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union condemned the annexation of Latvia and the other Baltic states prior to the dissolution of the USSR, the Russian Federation, the legal successor state of the USSR, does not recognize the forcible occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union. Specifically in reference to Latvia, the Russian Duma

Duma

A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...

passed a resolution to "remind the deputies of the Latvian Saeima

Saeima

Saeima is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years,...

that Latvia's being a part of the Soviet Union was grounded by fact and by law from the international juridical point of view." The government of Russia further maintains that the Soviet Union liberated Latvia from the Germans in 1944. Pravda

Pravda

Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....

(October 5, 2004) complained that Latvia does not celebrate May 9 as the Soviet defeat of Nazism, noting: "One of the leaders of Latvian Veterans Association, Alexander Komarovsky, wrote in the "Chas" Russian-language Latvian newspaper that 154,000 Soviet soldiers died when fighting for Latvia's liberation." Latvian Russians are reported in the Russian press as saying, "Soviet soldiers were greeted with flowers and songs. If it weren't for the Soviets, then the Nazis would be here."

Legacy

In 2009, Soviet Occupation Day

Soviet Occupation Day

Soviet Occupation Day may refer to:* Soviet Occupation Day, Georgia* Soviet Occupation Day, Latvia* Soviet Occupation Day, Moldova...

became a public holiday in Latvia and is observed on June 17 to recall the Soviet occupation in 1940.

External links

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
Overview of Soviet atrocities during occupation of Latvia by Soviets in 1940-1941
Centropa Reports, Latvia, July 1, 1941, by Frank Gordon
Vilis Lācis handwritten note (facsmile and translation) deporting General Jānis Balodis and family

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Crossroads

1918-1939: Historical background

Relevant Treaties between USSR and Latvia

1939-1940: The road to loss of independence

German-Soviet non-aggression pact

Invasion of Poland

Baltic-Soviet relations in autumn 1939

Soviet invasion of Finland

Political background

Soviet invasion

Loss of independence

Soviet terror

Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany 1941-1944

Second Soviet occupation 1944-1991

Historical Soviet version of events

Conflicting versions of history

Legacy

See also

External links