Latvian history from 1914 to 2014

Actually ...
- we know very little about the history of our country
and about the people who sacrificed their lives for Latvia…

Latvia’s Centennial:
The concept of Latvian Independence dating back to 1914,
the formation of the Latvian Republic in 1918,
the Occupation Period, the Restoration of the Latvian statehood
and the time until 2015

In 1944 Latvia was ruled by the German occupants, and there was a great
risk to succumb to another Soviet communist regime.
The Latvian Central Council wrote a Memorandum, which was signed by
189 Latvian patriots. Despite the possible repressions, they did what the
could and should have done.
This summary of facts of the Latvian history was compiled, inspired by
the bold and responsible actions of the statesmen and civil
society of that time.
Long live, Latvia!

Resources:
Latvija20gadsimts.lv
csb.gov
Zudusī Latvija [Lost Latvia]
wikipedia.org
etc.
Thank you to all the advisers and assistants.
Owners of the photos are not specified.
For all questions contact:
lvf@inbox.lv

In 1914, in Helsinki Miķelis Valters
publishes a brochure "A question of our
nation", dedicated to Rainis. Ideas of
Latvian statehood are defended there.
Miķelis Valters is the first Latvian public
figure who openly discussed the need of
establishing a sovereign state of Latvia
in the magazine "Proletarian" in
the article "No to autocracy! No to
Russia!" in year 1903.
Miķelis Valters

● In July 1914 World War I has begun.
● On August 1 Germany declares war on Russia; thousands of Latvians are
mobilized to the army.
● In May 1915 German troops enter the Latvian territory, Liepaja is occupied.
● In the summer of 1915 almost half a million of the population of Kurzeme and
Zemgale are forced to flee. In July begins the evacuation of Riga entreprises to the
inland of Russia; Riga's population drops by 50%.

● 10 June 1915, Janis Goldmanis submits a request to the commander-
in-chief of the Russian army to allow to establish Latvian units within
the Russian Army. On August 1, Alexeyev, the Commander of the
Northwestern Front in the Russian army, signed the order to form two
Latvian Riflemen’s battalions. In October the Latvian Riflemen’s
battalions take part in the first battles. The battalions are transformed
into regiments.
● 30 December 1915, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) Latvian refugees’
organisations establish the Latvian Refugees’ Support Committee led by
the future politicians Vilis Olavs, Jānis Čakste and Arveds Bergs.
Volunteers of the Kurzeme 3rd Latvian Riflemen’s
Battalion in August, 1915

● In January 1917 (December 1916, according to the old
calender), the violent Christmas battles and attempts to free
Jelgava.
● 8 March 1917 (23 February), in a democratic revolution the
Russian tsarist monarchy is overthrown and Russia is declared a
Republic, the head of the Provisional Government is Alexander
Kerensky.
Latvian rifleman with gas masks in the Tīreļpurvs
(swamp Tirelis)

● In September 1917 the German troops take Riga after heavy
defensive fights at Mazā Jugla where the Latvian Riflemen delay
the attacks of the German troops and rescue the 12th Russian army
from a siege.
● In 1917 the first Latvian political parties are established, such as
the Latvian Farmers’ Union (LZS). On 14 July the 1st Congress of
LZS takes place.
German troops crossing the river Daugava near Ikšķile on 2nd September,
1917.

● On 7 November 1917 (October 25) in Russia the Bolsheviks with
Lenin at the forefront arrange a coup and overthrow the Provisional
Government.
● On 16 November 1917 in Valka begins the first session of the
Latvian Provisional National Council. The Council was conceived as
a political organisation of Latvian parties. At its first session it made
a declaration about the establishment of a single and autonomous
Latvian state in Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Latgale districts.
● On 22 November 1917 - in Valka the Red or the Soviet government
is formed with Fricis Rozins at the head.
● On 11 December 1917 – the first battalion of Latvian Red Riflemen
arrives in Petrograd.

● 20 December 1917 - in Soviet Russia the All-Russian Emergency
Committee is established to defeat attempts at counter-revolution and
sabotage - The so-called “Cheka” (chrezvychaynaya komissiya).
● 22 December 1917 - In Brestlitovsk begin the peace negotiations
between Germany and Soviet Russia.
● 6 January 1918 - in Petrograd the bolsheviks dismiss the Constitutional
Assembly.
● 28 January 1918 - the Latvian National Provisional Council gathers for
its second session.
● 30 January 1918 - the Latvian Provisional National Council declares
that Latvia should become a free and democratic republic.
● 20 February 1918 - the German troops launch an attack at the eastern
front, taking Polotsk and Dvinsk and on 22 February - also Cēsis and
Valmiera.

● 3 March 1918, Brestlitovsk. The Soviet Russia and
Germany conclude peace, providing that Latgale stays
with Russia while Kurzeme and Vidzeme
become German. Many Latvian riflemen go to Russia
where the Latvian Soviet division is formed in April.
It is the first regular unit of the Red Army that takes
part in all the worst battles.
● On 15 March 1918 in Jelgava the restoration of the
Duchy of Courland is proclaimed with the consent of
the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.
● 12 July 1918 - Latvian Provisional National Council
authorises Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics to represent them
abroad. In August he arrives in London as a
representative of the Latvian Provisional National
Council in the British Government.
Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics

● September, 1918. Jukums Vācietis becomes the
commander-in-chief of the Red Army.
● 28 October 1918, London. Zigfrīds Anna
Meierovics receives the confirmation from the British
government that it accepts the Latvian Provisional
National Council as de facto government of Latvia.
● November 1918 - revolution in Germany overthrows
the monarchy. Soviet Russia terminates the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk.
● 11 November 1918 - Great Britain recognises the
Latvian independence 'de facto'.
● 12 November 1918 - the Latvian Provisional
National Council empowers Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics
to represent LPNC abroad.
Jukums Vācietis was the commander of the
Latvian Riflemen during the First World War and
later the first commander-in-chief of the Armed
Forces of Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil
War.

● 15 November 1918 - the Council of People's
Representatives appointed the former German
Commissioner of the Baltic provinces August
Winnig as Plenipotentiary of the Reich in
the Baltic.
● On 17 November 1918 in the premises of the
Latvian Artisans´ Union, Tautas padome is
formed by merging two councils of Latvian
organisations: the Provisional National Council
of Latvia and the Democratic Block. Jānis
Čakste is elected chairman and Kārlis Ulmanis
becomes the Prime Minister of the Latvian
Provisional government.
Jānis Čakste. (14 September 1859 - 14
March 1927) was the first president of
Latvia

● 18 November 1918 - Tautas padome proclaims the
independence of Latvia.
● 25 November 1918, the German government
represented by August Winnig declares its readiness to
recognise the Latvian People's Council and the Provisional
government.
Proclamation of the independence of Latvia in 1918

● 26 November 1918 - the German civilian
authority transfers power to the Latvian
Provisional Government, which becomes the
supreme power in the ethnographic
territory inhabited by Latvians.
● On 1 December 1918 the Soviet Russian troops
invade Latvia.
● On 4 December 1918 in Russia the Latvian
Soviet government is established with Pēteris
Stučka at its head. The "Red Terror" begins in
Latvia.
● On 18 December 1918 British warships enter the
Riga harbour.
● On 3 January 1919 Riga is occupied by the Red
Army. Latvia is at war with the Soviet Russia.
Pēteris Stučka

● 5 January 1919 - a special Latvian battalion is
recruited in Jelgava under the command of
Oskars Kalpaks.
● 13-15 January 1919 - the First Latvian Soviet
Congress proclaims the Latvian Socialist Soviet
Republic.
● 25 January 1919 - the League of Nations is
established.
● 3 February 1919 - General Rüdiger von der
Goltz becomes the commander of the German
army in the Baltic States.
● 3 March 1919 - the Red Army in the Latvian
territory is attacked by both the 6th German
corpus of reserve and Landeswehr, which also
includes the Latvian batallion.
Oskars Kalpaks, Latvian colonel, the first
commander of Latvian troops

● 4 March 1919, Liepaja. A Latvian press office
Latopress begins its activities - it is a
predecessor to the present news agency LETA.
● 6 March 1919 - colonel Oskars Kalpaks,
commander of the Latvian Battalion, dies in
combat.
● 20 March 1919 - the Guards
Organisation Aizsargi is established.
● 31 March 1919 - the Northern Latvian Brigade
is formed in the territory of Estonia.
● 16 April 1919 - a coup d`état is organised in
Liepaja against the Latvian Provisional
government, creating a pro-German government
led by Andrievs Niedra from 11 May.
Andrievs Niedra, Latvian priest, public
figure, politician, writer. Niedra's
government was a pro-German Cabinet of
the Latvian Provisional Government from
10 May to 26 June 1919

● 4 May 1919 - the Latvian Academy of
Arts is established.
● 6 May 1919 - within the Paris Peace
Conference a special commission for the
Baltics is established under the
leadership of Esme Howard.
● 22 May 1919 - the German Landeswehr
units occupy Riga.
● 6 June 1919 - the Battles of Cesis
begin between the German troops,
Landeswehr units and the Estonian army
and the North-Latvia brigade led General
Jorģis Zemitāns. The fights continue until
3 July.
Jorģis Zemitāns, Latvian Colonel, holder of the
order Lacplesis, III Class

● 10 June 1919 - the Baltic Commission of the Paris Peace Conference
examines and rejects the potential recognition of Latvia de iure.
● June 1919, a former Russian army officer Pavel Bermont arrives in Jelgava.
He recruits an army to liberate Western Russia.
● 19 - 22 June 1919 - fights near Cesis. Estonian and Latvian forces defeat
the German troops at Cesis on June 22, later this day is celebrated as the
Hero’s day.
Armoured train of Estonian army in Cesis, June, 1919. There gathered officers of both the North-
Latvia Brigade and the Estonian army. In the centre, wearing a coat - Colonel Zemitans,
Commander of the North-Latvia Brigade

● On 28 June 1919, the Versailles Treaty is
signed in Paris.
● 3 July 1919 - the Strazdumuiža ceasefire
provides that Germans who are not Latvian
nationals must leave Riga and Latvia.
● 6 July 1919 - North-Latvia Brigade
reaches Riga led by General Jorģis
Zemitāns.
● 8 July 1919, Riga. Karlis Ulmanis, the
head of the Latvian provisional government,
returns from Liepaja on the ship "Saratov".
● 10 July 1919 - General Dāvids Sīmansons
appointed the first commander-in-chief of
the Latvian Army.
Dāvids Sīmansons. On 10 July 1919 Order No 1
is issued for the Latvian army where Dāvids
Sīmansons announces his nomination as
commander-in-chief of the army. This day is
celebrated as the birthday of the Latvian army

● 19 August 1919 - the Latvian People's Council adopts the electoral
law for the Constitutional Assembly [Satversmes sapulce] by
consensus.
● 14 September 1919, Tallinn. The Finnish, Estonian, Latvian and
Lithuanian Heads of Government and Foreign Ministers meet in a
conference.
● 28 September 1919 - solemn opening of the Latvian University.
● 8 October 1919 - the Bermont army begins to attack Riga.
● 11 October 1919 - the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian delegations
begin peace talks with Russia.
● 10 November 1919 - the Latvian army begins a counterattack on the
Bermont army.
● 11 November 1919 - Pardaugava is freed from the Bermont army.
November 11 from then on is celebrated as Lacplesis’ Day.

● 18 November 1919 - Bermont's Western Russia liberation army
goes under the protection of the German government.
● 21 November 1919 - Jelgava is freed from Bermont’s troops. 23
November - Dobele and its surroundings are freed.
● 26 November 1919 - the Latvian Provisional Government notes that
Latvia is at a state of war with Germany and stops all diplomatic
relations with it.
● 5 December 1919, Tartu. Estonia starts separatist negotiations with
Soviet Russia on the cessation of warfare.
● 9 December 1919, Tartu. The Latvian delegation of observers
receives a draft ceasefire agreement from Soviet Russia.

● 2 January 1920 - a delegation of the Latvian Red Cross departs to
Moscow [to lead secret peace talks with Russia].
● 3 January 1920 - start of the battles to liberate Latgale. Daugavpils
is freed by the Latvian army cooperating with Polish troops.
● 13 January 1920 - the Soviet Socialist Latvian government [headed
by Pēteris Stučka] announces that it ceases its activities.
● 20 January 1920 - Latvia and Soviet Russia sign a ceasefire
agreement, Russia commits to leave Latgale.
● 1 February 1920 - warfare between Russia and Latvia ends.

● 26 March 1920 - the Latvian Foreign Minister Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics
notifies the Russian side that Latvia is ready to start peace talks.
● 16 April 1920, Moscow. Formal peace talks between Latvia and Russia.
● 17-18 April 1920 - 150 members are elected in the Constitutional Assembly
[Satversmes sapulce]. The Assembly runs until 7 November 1922.
● 1 May 1920 - the first session of the Constitutional Assembly. The 1st of May
later is celebrated as the day of convening the Constitutional Assembly. President
of the Constitutional Assembly Jānis Čakste.
1 May 1920 - the first session of the 1st nationally elected Latvian parliament - the Constitutional Assembly

● 14 May 1920 - and again on September 18 - Latvia submits a formal
request to be admitted to the League of Nations, but both are rejected
on the plea that Latvia has not been recognised de iure.
● 12 June 1920 - Latvia and Russia sign a contract of re-evacuation.
● 18 June 1920 - the Constitutional Assembly approves the Cabinet of
Ministers led by Karlis Ulmanis.
● 15 July 1920 - Latvia concludes a temporary peace treaty with
Germany.

● 9 July 1920 - the Soviet Russia agrees to relocate the peace talks
with Latvia to Riga.
● 9 August 1920 - the US State Department officially announces the
recognition of the Baltic States.
● 11 August 1920 - peace treaty with Soviet Russia is signed in Riga.
The signing of the Latvian - Russian Peace Treaty in Riga

● 18 September 1920 - the Constitutional
Assembly approves the Order of Lacplesis with
the motto "For Latvia". The order is designed by
Jānis Aleksandrs Liberts, who took part in the
fights for freedom.
● 13 November 1920 - Latvian delegation headed
by Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics arrives in Geneva, as
the League of Nations is going to raise the issue of
admitting Latvia to the League of Nations.
● December 16, 1920 - the Assembly of the
League of Nations considers the admission of the
Baltic. 5 countries voted for the admission of
Latvia - Italy, Colombia, Paraguay, Persia and
Portugal; against were 24 countries, 13 abstained.
● January 26, 1921 - the Supreme Council of the
Allied states recognises Latvia de iure.
The Order of Lāčplēsis

● 18 March 1921 - Russia and Poland sign a Peace Treaty in Riga.
● 17 June 1921 - the Constitutional Assembly approves Zigfrīds Anna
Meierovics’ Cabinet of Ministers.
● 1 September 1921 - the General Secretary of the League of Nations Sir Eric
Drummond receives a new admission request; on 22 September Latvia is
admitted to the League of Nations: 38 countries vote for, 10 - against. (The
Latvian delegation participates in all general assemblies of the League of
Nations, except the last, the 21st, held on 8 April 1946).
● 15 February 1922 - the Constitutional Assembly [with 5 members of the
Christian Farmers’ Party abstaining] adopts the first part of the Constitution of
the Republic of Latvia - Satversme.
The recognition of Latvia de jure. Minister of
Foreign Affairs Z.A. Meierovics, employees of
the Ministry and diplomatic representatives
abroad after the recognition of Latvia "de
iure". Paris, 01.27-31,1921. (1st row from the
left Miķelis Valters, Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics,
Jānis Lazdiņš, 2nd row from the left Oļģerds
Grosvalds, Georgs Bisenieks, Jānis Tepfers

● 5 April 1922 - the Parliament fails to agree on the
2nd part of Satversme where civil rights and
obligations had to be laid down.
● 27 July 1922 - the Latvian Prime Minister Z.A.
Meierovics orders to prepare the regulations for a
competition to construct a granite Memorial column
(Freedom Monument, dedicated to the Latvian
freedom fighters) in Riga.
● 28 July 1922 - the United States is the last of the
superpowers to recognise the independence of
Latvia de iure.
● 3 August 1922 - the provisions on currency are
approved. The Latvian rouble is exchanged to the
Latvian lats at a rate of 50/1.
● 7 to 8 October 1922 - elections of the 1st Saeima
[Parliament].
● 14 November 1922 - the Saeima elects the first
Latvian President - Jānis Čakste.
Five lats coin in circulation before the
Second World War. Designed by
Rihards Zariņš

● 3 December 1922 - first orphanage established at 31
Kapseļu Street in Riga owing to the efforts of A.Sīlis,
director of the Social Welfare Department at the
National Welfare Ministry.
● 22 December 1922 - a conference on disarmament
ends in Moscow with the participation of Russia, Poland,
Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Latvia.
● 2 April 1923 - Liv Union is established in Mazirbe
under the guidance of the poet and cultural worker
Kārlis Stalte.
● 18 September 1923 - the first meeting of the
Monument Board - it is the first dedicated institution in
the Latvian history with a mission to protect cultural
monuments.
● 27 September 1923, a sensational robbery of a
passenger train takes place near the station Daudzeva at
around 11 p.m, organised by Ansis Kaupēns.

● 1 November 1923 - Minister of Foreign
Affairs Zigfrīds Meierovics signs a political
union agreement with Estonia.
● 2 February 1924 - the Latvian Ethnographic
Open-Air Museum is established.
● 24 March 1924 - the Order of Three Stars is
approved.
● 28 March 1924 - the first Latvian public
radio broadcast.
● End of March 1924 - floods in Jaunjelgava,
Līvāni, Ogre, ice destroys the Luebeck bridge
over the river Daugava in Riga.
Order of Three Stars

● 26 June 1924 - the Saeima adopts a law, by
which the country is divided into ten districts.
● 7 December 1924 - the first Latvian
congress of writers and journalists.
● 22 February 1925 - the Latvian President
Jānis Čakste makes an official state visit to
Estonia.
● 22 August 1925 - the Minister of Foreign
Affairs Zigfrids Anna Meierovics dies in a car
accident
● October, 1925 - elections of the 2nd Saeima.
● 1 November 1925 - radio broadcasting
station starts working in Riga.

● 13 May 1926 - State president Jānis
Čakste visits Estonia.
● 17 December 1926 - coup d'état in
Lithuania organised by Antanas Smetona.
● 14 March 1927 - the first Latvian
President Jānis Čakste passes away
● 7 April 1927 - Latvian Parliament elects
Gustavs Zemgals as president with 73
votes “for”.
Gustavs Zemgals became the second
President of Latvia at the age 56

● 1927 - begins the construction of the architectural
ensemble of the Brothers' Cemetery.
Cemetery wall with Mother Latvia. Brothers' Cemetery, where more than two
thousand soldiers are buried, is a memorial ensemble of national importance

● October 1928 - elections of the 3rd
Saeima.
● 9 April 1930 the Latvian Saeima elects
Alberts Kviesis as the State president
with 55 votes "for".
● 1 November 1930 - formal opening of
the Riga Central Market, one of the most
advanced architectural structures in
Europe at the time.
● October, 1931 - elections of the 4th
Saeima.
Albert Kviesis was a Latvian politician, the
third Latvian President

● 6 February 1932 - Latvia and the Soviet
Union sign a mutual non-aggression pact.
● 14 March 1932 - aviator Herberts Cukurs
tests the first Latvian-built glider or motorised
aircraft C4 on the meadows of Spilva.
● 27 April 1932 - the periodical "Jaunākās
Ziņas" reports that in the Old Riga, at the end
of Peldu street, begins the demolition of the
old ramparts and remnants of a dungeon.
● 11 May 1932 - the Ethnographic Museum
opens for visitors.
Herberts Cukurs became famous in
the 1930s for his flights in a self-
constructed aircraft from Latvia to
Gambia and to Japan

● In the 1932 Summer Olympics Jānis Daliņš
receives the silver medal.
● 4 April 1933 - Alberts Kviesis elected
President of Latvia for the second term.
● 12 May 1933 - Latvian folk association
Pērkonkrusts (Thundercross) registered as a
political organisation.
● 11 June 1933 - at a meeting in Dubulti,
Jurmala, an association of economic
organisations adopts a resolution protesting
against the government's decision to allow
imports of Lithuanian strawberries to Latvia.
The silver medal of Jānis Daliņš
was the first Olympic medal won
by a Latvian athlete competing
under the flag of an independent
state

● 24 September 1933 - after the break caused by World War I, the Riga Zoo starts
working again.
● 7 October 1933 - the sugar factory of Liepāja (the last of the three) is established
● 15 December 1933 - the Latvian Parliament adopts the Law on the closure of the
Latvian national association Pērkonkrusts.
● 15 May 1934 - Prime Minister Karlis Ulmanis organises a coup, the Parliament and
all political parties are suspended.
The coup of 15 May 1934 was unconstitutional power grabbing in the
Latvian state carried out in the night of 15/16 May 1934 by Prime
Minister Kārlis Ulmanis and the army aided by Aizsargi and establishing
an authoritarian regime

● 21 December 1934 - Prime Minister
Kārlis Ulmanis founds the The
Latvian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI).
● 18 November 1935 - the Freedom
Monument created by the sculptor
Kārlis Zāle is unveiled.
● 11 April 1936 - the Latvian Prime
Minister Kārlis Ulmanis, at the end of
the term of Alberts Kviesis as a
president, also takes over the
President’s position and powers.
The Freedom Monument was erected in the memory
of the fallen during the freedom fights, but today it
has become a symbol of the Latvian state, national
unity, independence and freedom

● 14 July 1936 - Vilhelms Munters becomes the
Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
● 6 October 1936 - engineer Walter Zapp signs
an agreement on the production of a
subminiature camera called Minox at the VEF
factory.
● 28 January 1937 - the Republic of Latvia
adopts the Civil Law.
● 13 November 1937 - Latvia expels Gustavs
Celmiņš, leader of "Pērkonkrusts".
● 22 December 1938 - the Latvian Academy of
Agriculture is established.
Foreign Minister Vilhelms Munters (from
left) and ambassador Kārlis Zariņš on the
stairs of Downing Street, 10, London, 5
December, 1938

● 7 June 1939 - Germany and Latvia
conclude a mutual non-aggression
pact.
● 6 August 1939 - Liv house opens
in Mazirbe.
● 23 August 1939 - Germany and
the Soviet Union conclude the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the secret
protocols provide that Latvia falls
under the sphere of Soviet influence.
● 1 September 1939 - the Second
World War starts.
The Second World War was the largest armed conflict in the history
of mankind, which involved most of the world countries and claimed
the lives of 70 million civilians and soldiers. As beginning of the war is
considered the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939

● 2 October 1939 - the USSR requires the Latvian government to
deploy 50 000 soldiers in the territory of Latvia, as well as
demands the ice-free ports in the Baltic Sea for its warships.
● 5 October 1939 - Latvia and the USSR conclude a mutual
assistance treaty, Latvia is forced to sign a contract which
provides for the Red Army military bases in the Latvian territory.
● 11 October 1939 - the Soviet NKVD issues a secret decree No
001223 "About the deportation procedure of anti-Soviet elements
in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia" / Who owns the historical truth/
● 15 October 1939 - Ķegums HPP, the largest hydroelectric power
plant in the Baltic States, starts working.

● 30 October 1939, Germany and Latvia conclude an agreement on the
repatriation of the Baltic Germans. Around 60 thousand Latvian citizens of
German nationality leave Latvia.
● 30 November 1939 - without a declaration of war the USSR begins
attacking Finland. The Latvian people sympathise with the Finns and the
Army provides intelligence data to the Finnish authorities. (On 14 December
the USSR is excluded from the League of Nations because of the aggression
against Finland).
● 14-15 June 1940 - Soviet troops attack two Latvian border posts: III
Abrenes brigade, 2nd guard headquarters in Masļenki and 3rd guard
headquarters in Šmaiļi.
●The Baltic German exodus in
1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop
Pact provided that the Baltic
States fall under the Soviet sphere
of influence, so Adolf Hitler
launched a Baltic German
movement with the intention to
resettle the Latvian and Estonian
Germans to the just occupied
territory in Poland named
‘Warteland’

● 16 June 1940 - the Latvian government receives an ultimatum
from the Soviet Union with the requirement to let unlimited Red
Army contingents in Latvia.
● 17 June 1940 - the Red Army invades the Latvian territory.
● 19 June 1940 - the USSR led by Andrey Vyshinsky,
extraordinary representative of the USSR, forms a new Latvian
People's Government with the microbiologist Augusts
Kirhenšteins at the forefront.
In June 1940, when Latvia
was occupied by the Soviet
troops, Kirhenšteins
became the Prime Minister
of the Latvian Republic. In
fact the government's only
task was to mimic the state
independence until Latvia
acceded to the Soviet
Union.

● 5 July 1940 - the elections of the new People's Saeima are
proclaimed.
● 14-15 July 1940 - the undemocratic elections of the People's
Saeima take place.
● 21 July 1940 - the Latvian People's Saeima declares Latvia a
Soviet republic, Kārlis Ulmanis gives up the office of the
President and the following day is arrested and deported to
Voroshilovsk in Northern Caucasus, Russia. Augusts Kirhensteins
takes over the offices of the President and head of government of
the Latvian SSR, and keeps these posts until 25 August, when the
Constitution of the USSR enters into force.
● 5 August 1940 - Moscow adopts the decision on the admission
of Latvia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as such the
annexation and incorporation of Latvia in the USSR is finished.
● 13 August 1940 - the Central Political Bureau of the Union
Communist (Bolshevik) Party approves the Constitution of the
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.

● 18 December 1940 - Hitler signs the plan
"Barbarossa".
● 25 March 1941 - Lats is withdrawn and the
Soviet currency, the rouble, is introduced.
● 14 May 1941 - the Soviet government and the
Central Committee of the All-Union Communist
(Bolshevik) Party adopt the resolution on the
deportation of socially alien elements from the
Baltic republics, Western Ukraine, Western
Belorussia and Moldova."
● 10 June 1941 - many officers who formed a part
of the reformed Latvian Army - 24th territorial
corps of the Red Army - are arrested. Commander
General-major Roberts Kļaviņš.
● 14 June 1941 - the first mass deportation of
Latvian citizens to the Soviet Union; around 20000
people are deported.
The deportee families were sent to railway
stations where the men were separated and
sent to the so-called "punitive forced labour
camps" of NKVD. Women, children and elderly
people were sent to settle for life in the
regions of Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk and
the northern areas of Kazakhstan

● 22 June 1941 - German troops attack the USSR entering the
Latvian territory which is fully occupied by 8 July.
● 1 July 1941 - German troops take Riga. Latvian national
leaders establish a centre of Latvian organisations and begin
restoring the pre-occupation authorities, but the Germans have
other plans, and those activities are suspended.
● 4 July 1941 - two Jewish synagogues are burnt down in
Riga.
● 9 July 1941 - the German authority allows to create
voluntary units of Latvian soldiers under the command of
Colonel Voldemar Weiss. They are called the Order Police
battalions and are intended to be employed in Latvia.

● 17 July 1941 - ministry of the occupied eastern territories
(Ostland) is set up in Berlin, it supervises the territory of the Baltic
States and a part of Belarus. Alfred Rosenberg is appointed
minister, Heinrich Loze is appointed commissary of Ostland and
Otto Drexler is appointed General Commissary in Latvia.
● In August 1941, after the withdrawal battles in Latvia, the 24th
Territorial Corps is dismissed.
● 3 August 1941 - the Red Army establishes the 201st Latvian
Infantry division with about 10,000 soldiers.
● 17 August 1941 - the German occupation authorities prohibit the
organisation "Pērkonkrusts".
● 21 October 1941 - the first battalions of the Latvian Order Police
are sent to the Eastern Front.
● 23 October 1941 - the jews are put in a ghetto in Riga.

● 10 November 1941 - the Union of Latvian Nationalists is
founded in Riga.
● 30 November 1941 - mass killings of the Riga ghetto
inhabitants begin. In total, during the Holocaust between
70,000 and 90,000 Jews are slaughtered.
● In March 1942 - minister Alfred Rosenberg, representative
of the German occupying power in Ostland, decides to
authorise the establishment of a self-administration authority in
Latvia - a General Directorate.
● 20 September 1942 - Karlis Ulmanis dies under custody in
the Krasnovodsk prison in Turkmenistan.
● 9 May 1942 - General directors of the Latvian self-
administration are appointed with General Oscar Dankers at
the forefront.

● 24 January 1943 - in Berlin SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler orders to
establish a Latvian SS Volunteer Legion.
● 29 January 1943 - the Nazis issue an order to arrest all gypsies and send
them to the concentration camps.
● 8 February 1943 - three Latvian Order Police battalions - 16th Zemgales,
19th Latgales and 21st Liepājas, are combined into the 1st Grenadier
regiment, commander Colonel Voldemārs Veiss. Soon the 2nd (Imanta)
Latvian Grenadier Regiment is established by combining the18th Kurzemes,
the 24th Talsu and the 26th Tukuma battalions. Commander Colonel Karlis
Lobe. The Brigade, which included an artillery division and both regiments,
was sent to Volkhov in May.
Young men
mobilised in the
Latvian SS
voluntary legion.
Riga, the summer
of 1943.

● 10 February 1943 - in Berlin Adolf Hitler signs an order on the
establishment of a Latvian Legion. The Germans recruited around 51,000
Latvian citizens born between 1919 and 1924. Further mobilisation hit men
born between 1906 and 1928. In total around 110,000 Latvian citizens were
recruited to serve in different formations of the German troops.
● 11 February 1943 - the Nazi Germany issues an order according to which
every German student aged 15 is enrolled in the so-called Luftwaffenhelfer
(air-force aides). In the occupied Latvia the Nazi authorities started recruiting
pupils in the summer of 1944, similar to the Latvian Legion, appealing to the
national feelings (the boys' uniforms were adorned with red-white-red
ribbons). 4139 boys from Riga, Madona, Bauska, Cesis, Valmiera and Valka
districts were recruited.
● 15 February 1943 - the German SS headquarters issued an order on the
formation of the Latvian SS Volunteer Division.

● 23 February 1943 - the German occupation forces proclaim the mobilisation of
Latvians born between 1919 and 1924 in the SS Legion.
● March 1943 - General Rudolfs Bangerskis is appointed General Inspector of
the Latvian Legion.
● 26 March 1943 - order on the establishment of the 15th Latvian SS Division is
issued; in August the newly created 15th division has 10,621 soldiers.
● 5 April 1943 - Baltic ambassadors meet in Stockholm with the participation of
Salnais from Latvia, Laretej from Estonia and Gylys from Lithuania. They draft
a declaration to submit to the UN (the declaration later was also sent to the LCC
in order to collect the necessary signatures in Latvia).
General Inspector
of the Latvian
Legion Rūdolfs
Bangerskis during
the training of the
legionnaires

● 19 April 1943 - USSR CP politburo approves the draft
decree "On sanctions against the German fascist criminals
guilty of killing and torturing Soviet civilians and captives
from the Red Army, against traitors of the state found
amongst the Soviet citizens and their supporters". The
decree provided for death penalty by hanging in public and
another measure of sanctions - penal servitude work from
15 to 20 years. Based on this decree on 11 June 1943
Lavrenty Beria who was the USSR Interior People's
Commissar, issued a decree on the formation of penal
servitude work departments in the Soviet NKVD corrective
labor camps.
● On 22 July 1943 - Leonids Silins, member of the national
resistance movement, arrives by speedboat in Gotland from
Ventspils, bringing information about the recent Soviet
occupation and the situation in the Latvia under the
German occupation.
Leonīds Siliņš

● 13 August 1943 - the central organisation of the
Latvian national resistance movement - Latvian
Central Council - established in Riga under the
chairmanship of Konstantīns Čakste. The Council
consists of the representatives from the largest pre-
war political parties of the Republic of Latvia.
● 13 September 1943 - Friedrich Jeckeln, the
supreme head of the SS and the police in Ostland,
allows the Latvian Waffen SS units to use their
national colours emblem with the words' 'Latvia' on
their uniforms.
● 28 November 1943 - US President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
and the head of the Soviet Union Stalin meet in the
Tehran conference in Iran. Stalin procures himself
the freedom to act in the Baltic States and the Eastern
Europe after the war.
National colours emblem that
the Germans allowed to use with
the Latvian Waffen SS unit
uniforms

● 10 March 1944 - the first [and apparently, the only] issue of the illegal
newspaper "New Latvia" is published by the LCC.
● 14 March 1944 - the Gestapo arrests Gustavs Celmiņš, leader of the
organisation Perkonkrusts.
● March 1944 - the 19th Division of the Latvian Legion is formed. Both
divisions are united and fight together in the battles at the river Velikaya on
16 March. After the war this date is chosen as the remembrance day for the
Latvian Legion.
Gustavs Celmiņš. Leader of
Ugunskrusts, later Perkonkrusts,
holder of the Military Order
"Lāčplēsis", politician. After the
war, publishes the newspaper
"Free Latvia" in Italy. In 1949
emigrates to the USA, where he
holds various offices in public
administration.

● March 1944 - Čakste and Cielēns
develop a memorandum of the Latvian
Central Council (LCC), which, despite the
possible repressions from the German
occupation authorities, was signed by 189
Latvian political and public figures.
● 29 April 1944 - the Gestapo arrests the
leader of LCC Konstantīns Čakste; later,
on 2 July, also Bruno Kalniņš, Pauls
Kalniņš and others.
● 25 May 1944 - the Soviet underground
leaders Imants Sudmalis and Džems
Bankovičs are executed in Riga
● July 1944 - war begins in the territory
of Latvia.
Sheets with signatures of the Memorandum of
the Latvian Central Council, Riga, 17 March 1944.
The memorandum was a call to restore the
independence and to form an army in order to
fight against another Soviet occupation.

● 23 July 1944 - the Red Army occupies Ludza, Kārsava
and Aglona.
● 8 September 1944 - the last meeting of LCC in Latvia,
declaration on the restoration of the Latvian state is
adopted.
● 22 September 1944 - the group of General Kurelis
departs from parish Skrīveri via Riga to Courland.
● 13 October 1944 - the Red Army takes Riga without
fights (see battles of More).
● 14 November 1944 - the Germans disarm the group of
General Kurelis.
● 18 November 1944 - the first battle between the
Germans and Rubenis' battalion (of Kurelis' group) in
Kurzeme near Ugale. (Roberts Rubenis)
● 19 November 1944 - the German military court in
Liepaja sentences some General Kurelis' officers with
death penalty. //
●Jānis Kurelis. General of the Latvian
Army, holder of the Military Order
Lāčplēsis. He was also one of the
signatories of the LCC Memorandum

● 19 January 1945 - the first issue of the newspaper
"Literature and Art" is published.
● 5 February 1945 - US, USSR and UK leaders meet in Yalta.
● 13 February 1945 - the Allied aircrafts begin bombing
Dresden, killing also many refugees from Latvia.
● 21 February 1945 - LCC chairman Konstantīns Čakste dies
on the way from the Stutthof concentration camp to
Lauenburg.
● 20 April 1945 - in Potsdam, Germany, the Latvian National
Council is founded. This council, led by General Rudolfs
Bangerskis, attempts to assume the status of the Provisional
Government of Latvia.
● 29 April 1945 - the 15th Waffen SS Grenadier Division (1st
Latvian) receives the order to form a combat regiment for the
defense of Berlin, with the commander Colonel Vilis Janums
(the division soon surrenders to the American forces at
Schwerin).
About Latvian Resistance Against the Nazi Occupation

● 8 May 1945 - Strekenbahs, Commander of the19th division of the
Latvian legion, submits the order of capitulation.
● 9 May 1945 - groups of German troops in Kurzeme capitulate.
The Latvian legionnaires from the 19th division also give up
weapons. Three occupations, deportations and the war have claimed
around 500,000 victims.
● 3 October 1945 - in Austria, Lustenau, the members of the Latvian
Central Council residing in Germany meet for the first time.
● 31 October 1945 - the USSR State Security Committee (KGB)
start widespread arrests of the activists of the Latvian Central
Council in Ventspils.
● 20 November 1945 - the Nuremberg military tribunal starts work.
● 16 May 1946 - the activists of the Latvian Central Council are put
on trial in Riga.

● 22 December 1946 - the first Latvian collective farm
"Nākotne" (Future) is established in Dobele district.
● 17 January 1947 - Drava and Liezeris, the publishers
and distributors of the illegal newspapers "Latvis" and
"Mazais Latvis", are both sentenced to death penalty.
● 15 February 1947 - marriage of USSR Soviet citizens
with foreigners is prohibited.
● 17 February 1947 - radio station the Voice of America
starts its broadcasts, illegally available also in the USSR.
● 21 May 1947 - the decision of the CPSU Central
Committee on the collectivization of agriculture in the
Baltic States.
● 1947 - the first trolley bus line starts operation in Riga.
● 10 December 1948, New York - the United Nations
adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

● 25 March 1949 - the Soviets perform
the largest deportation of Latvians to
Siberia, deporting around 43,000 people.
● 12 January 1950 - the USSR restores
the death penalty.
● 5 June 1950 - the Riga Medical Institute
and the Medical Museum of Pauls
Stradiņš are established.
● 19 July 1950 - the electric train route
Riga - Dubulti begins operation.
● 26 November 1950 - the last meeting of
the branch of the Latvian Central Council
in Germany.
● 3 June 1951 - the first broadcast of the
Voice of America in the Latvian
language. ...
● 5 March 1953 - death of Joseph Stalin,
the leader of the Soviet Union.
Between 25 March and 28 March more than 2% of the pre-
war population of Latvia, were deported from Latvia to
places of "special settlement" in remote areas of Russia.
Altogether 30,620 families and 94,799 people were
deported from the three Baltic States.

●22 June 1953 - at the initiative of the Soviet communist party the
USSR adopts the decision to limit the russification trends in Latvia.
● 6 November 1954 - the Latvian Television starts working.
● 28 April 1955 - the USSR Supreme Council repeals the status
of forced settlement for the deportees.
● 14 May 1955 - the Warsaw Pact organization is established.
● 25 February 1956 - in the XX Congress of the CPSU, Nikita
Khrushchev accuses Stalin of crimes against his people.
● spring of 1956 - high floods, water reaches the engine rooms of
Kegums HPS; in the vicinity of Lake Lubans the floods last from 11
May to 26 June.
● 5 November 1957 - in Riga traffic starts over the October (now
Stone) Bridge.

● 10 April 1959 - the first Riga Art days take place.
● 7-8 July 1959 - the plenum of the Latvian CP Central Committee
takes place to condemn the national communists; several members
of the government, such as Eduards Berklavs, Vilis Krūmiņš and
others, are dismissed.
● 1959 - the celebrations of Ligo (summer solstice) are prohibited.
● 12 September 1959 - Riga celebrates its first Poetry Days.
● 27 January 1960 - the VEF Palace of Culture is inaugurated.
● 20 July 1960 - the new Riga railway station is inaugurated.
● 5 January 1962 - the readers of the magazine "Zvaigzne" can
read a fantastic forecast that in 1981 the whole Soviet Union,
including Latvia, will live in communism, oil will be extracted on
platforms on the shores of Kurzeme, Riga will have its
underground network, but there will be no police, because there
are no offenders in communism!

● 24 February 1965 - the militants of MOSSAD, the
Israeli secret service, kill Herberts Cukurs who lived in
exile in Argentina (Montevideo).
● 1965 - Plavinas HPS is opened destroying unique
natural objects in the Daugava River valley - Staburags,
Pērse waterfall and others.
● 2 May 1967 - the International Criminal Tribunal starts
working in Stockholm.
● 2 November 1969 - the strongest storm, wind speed of
48 mps.
● 15 April 1970 - the Riga Sports Palace is inaugurated.
● 16 April 1970 - the Latvian Red Riflemen Museum is
opened; now - the Occupation Museum.
● April 1972 - the US astronauts - the crew of Apollo 16,
bring the flags of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to the
Moon (not a widely accepted fact).

● 6 July 1972 - Jānis Lūsis in the Stockholm Olympic
Stadium breaks the world record in javelin (93.8 meters).
● 14 September 1972 - Ratnieks, head of the External
Tourism Bureau of the Latvian SSR Council of Ministers
sends a statement to Vilis Krūmiņš, Vice Chairman of the
Council of Ministers, informing that in the first eight
months 1,110 tourists of Latvian origin have visited Riga
from Western Europe and America.
● 1973 - the Gauja National Park is established.
● 1973 - the centenary celebrations of the Song
Festival take place in Riga.
● 3 August 1974 - the Australian Prime Minister
Whitlam's government declares the recognition of the
Baltic States de jure a part of the Soviet Union,
leading to active opposition from Latvian and Baltic
exiles; as a result, Australia revokes this decision.

● From 1974 to 1983 exists an illegal resistance
organization called the Latvian Independence Movement,
until its activities are stopped by the arrests and searches
carried out by the USSR State Security Committee
(KGB). Among the arrested members there are Pāvils and
Olafs Brūveri, Jānis Rožkalns, Jānis Vēvers, Alfrēds
Lēvalds, Gunārs Astra, Alfrēds Aperats, Edmunds
Cirvelis - around 20 people in total.
● In 1975 - the Soviet Union, together with 32 countries,
signs the Declaration of Helsinki, which
prohibits arbitrary changing of national borders and
requires strict respect for human rights. The Baltic
delegation is arrested.
● 27 July 1976 - in the Montreal Olympic Games the
basketball player Uljana Semjonova, performing for the
USSR team, receives her first Olympic medal.

● 20 June 1979 - the Soviet government submits a
protest to the Swedish Government in connection
with the World Free Latvian Song Days, which take
place in Gotland.
● 23 August 1979 , Moscow - the Baltic Appeal,
or a memorandum of 45 human rights defenders of
the occupied Baltic countries.
● 12 December 1979 - Soviet troops enter
Afghanistan. 3,640 residents of Latvia were involved
in the Afghan war, 51 of which fell in the war, but
one disappeared without a trace. ● 1 April 1981 - the
Soviet Union introduces daylight saving time.
● 17 July 1981 - Vanšu bridge over the River
Daugava is inaugurated in Riga.
● 23 April 1982 - Post No 1 is established at the
Latvian Red Riflemen monument. The Komsomol
functionaries considered that guards of honour, in
stylised uniforms of riflemen, will promote military-
patriotic education of the youth.
Latvian riflemens at their monument in Riga

● 24 May 1982 - the USSR approves the Food Program with the
principal objective to eliminate the continuous deficit of dairy
and meat products for the Soviet citizens and to avoid the imports
of agricultural products .
● Night of 26 September 1983 - in the Soviet air space control
center Serpukhov the duty officer Stanislav Petrov receives a
signal from the control systems about a nuclear attack from the
USA. After inspection it is confirmed that the signal was caused
by a fault in the computer system. It was kept secret until 1998.
Later Petrov received several prizes from western NGOs for
avoiding a nuclear war. In 2011 Danes made a film in Riga about
Petrov «Man who saved the world.»
● In 1982, Juris Podnieks releases a film, the «Riflemen
constellation». The story of the red Latvian riflemens thrilled all
Latvia.
● 11 March 1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the leader of the
USSR and the CPSU starting a policy of reformation and
openness.

● 14 July 1985 - the EU member states
sign the Schengen Agreement in
Luxembourg.
● 26 April 1986 - an accident takes
place in the nuclear power plant in
Chernobyl, Ukraine. Several hundred
Latvian inhabitants are mobilised and
sent there for rescue and radiation
neutralisation work.
● 10 July 1986 - a Latvian human
rights group "Helsinki - 86", founded
in Liepaja, announces about its
activities.
● 1987 - popular protest movements
against the construction of Daugavpils
HPP and the Riga underground
network. ● 14 June 1987 - the first
public meeting in Riga in the memory
of the victims of the 1941 deportation.
June 14, 1987 [commemorating the deportation of the victims of
1941] a legendary march from the Bastejkalns oak to the foot of
Freedom Monument. Two young Latvians Eva Biteniece and
Rolands Silaraups were in front of the march

● 23 August 1987 - protest rally against the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact at the Freedom
Monument in Riga.
● 1988 in Geneva, the USSR undertakes to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
● 31 January 1988 - the first broadcast of the well-known Latvian TV
program "Labvakar" (Good evening).
● 25 March 1988 - the Latvian Soviet authorities give permission to organize a
memorial event, commemorating the victims of the 25 March 1949 deportation.
The Latvian human rights
defense group "Helsinki-
86" organised a protest
rally on 23 August 1987 in
connection with the
anniversary of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
The rally gathered a
considerable number of
people. Several of them
were detained by the
repressive authorities.

● 15 April 1988 - the government of the Latvian SSR allows the people to celebrate
Ligo (the summer solstice).
● 1-2 June 1988 - during the plenum of the Latvian SSR Writers Union and other
creative unions Mavriks Vulfsons announces that in 1940 the Soviet Union
occupied Latvia.
● 8 June 1988 - private entrepreneurship is legalised in the USSR.
● 10 July 1988 - in the Arcadia Park in Riga takes place the foundation meeting of
the Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK).
● July 1988 - for the first time during the Soviet regime the flags of all three Baltic
states are displayed to the people at the international folklore festival "Baltica".
● 23 September 1988 - the 1st international film festival "Arsenals" starts in Riga.
Mavriks
Vulfsons at the
plenum of the SSR
Writers' Union and
other creative
unions, 1988

● 27 September 1988 - the Supreme Council of the Latvian
SSR adopts a decree on the Latvian cultural and historical
symbols, allowing to use the red-white-red Latvian flag in
public.
● 7 October 1988 - a large manifestation at Mezaparks in Riga
– «For a lawful state in Latvia».
On 7 October 1988 a manifestation takes place at Mezaparks open-air theatre under the slogan - "For
a lawful state in Latvia". 120,000 people from all Latvia participated in it

● 7-8 October 1988 - the founding congress of the Popular Front of Latvia
takes place.
● 1989 - partially free elections of the USSR Supreme Soviet Council.
There are members of the Latvian Popular Front in Moscow who actively
participate in the reformation of the USSR. The Congress of the People's
Deputies elects Mikhail Gorbachev as the president of the USSR.
● 7-8 January 1989 - the Internationalist Front of Workers of the Latvian
SSR is established as the opposing force to the Latvian Popular Front.
Latvian Popular Front founding

● 19 February 1989 - congress of the Latvian National Independence
Movement is held in Ogre.
● 12 March 1989 - the Popular Front organises a demonstration on the
banks of Daugava gathering around 250,000 people.
● 23 March 1989 - the USSR People's Deputies elections take place;
for the first time it is allowed to have alternative lists of candidates
side by side with the lists proposed by the Communist Party.
● 5 May 1989 - the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR approves the
language law according to which the Latvian language is gran ted the
status of the state language.
● 18 May 1989 - the Lithuanian Supreme Council adopts a declaration
of national independence and sovereignty.
● 26 June 1989 - the first private credit institution opens its doors in
Latvia, later the Riga Commercial Bank.
● 29 July 1989 - the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR proclaims
the sovereignty and rules that its decisions have the highest power in
the territory of Latvia.

● Summer 1989 - the Latvian exile band "Čikāgas Piecīši" has its first
tour in Latvia.
● 23 August 1989 - a peaceful political demonstration The Baltic Way
takes place - a human chain is formed from Vilnius to Tallinn passing
through Riga.
● 3 December 1989 - the presidents of the USSR and the US Mikhail
Gorbachev and George Bush meet in Malta putting an end to the "cold
war".
The Baltic Way was organised to draw the world attention to the historical events
that made the Baltic States suffer

● 7 February 1990 - in Moscow the CPSU Central
Committee decides to give up its monopoly on
power.
● 15 February 1990 - the Supreme Council of the
Latvian SSR decides to renew the sovereignty of the
Latvian state by restoring the historical flag, anthem
and coat of arms of Latvia.
● 18 March 1990 - candidates supported by the
Latvian Popular Front win the elections of the
Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR.
● 22 March 1990 - Roman Apsītis, Egils Levits,
Valdis Birkavs, Vilnis Eglājs gather at the home of
Rolands Rikards and they have an idea to draft a
document, which later becomes the declaration of
independence. // The Latvian national coat of arms
approved by the Constitutional Assembly already on
15 June 1921
The Latvian national
coat of arms approved
by the Constitutional Assembly
already on 15 June 1921

● 28 March 1990 - the Latvian Academy of Culture is established.
● 6 April 1990 - Alfrēds Rubiks is elected the secretary of the Central
Committee of the Latvian Communist Party.
● 7 April 1990 - the Latvian Communist Party splits.
● 8-23 April 1990 - the Civil Congress is elected; 259 delegates elect the
Latvian committee of 50 members.
● 4 May 1990 - the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR adopts the declaration
On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia.
● 20 May 1990 - the Communist and imperial forces in Latvia establish the
Latvian Public Rescue Committee.
4 May 1990, after
the adoption of the
declaration "On the
Restoration of
Independence of
the Republic of
Latvia"

● 4-8 July 1990 - XX All-Latvian Song and Dance Festival takes place in Riga.
● 2 November 1990 - the OMON units attack the Riga Press House, terrorising its employees.
● 2 January 1991 - the special police unit OMON of the USSR interior troops occupies the
Riga Press House beginning armed attacks on the authorities of the Republic of Latvia.
● 13-27 January 1991 - Latvian citizens participate in mass in the protection of objects of
state importance by building barricades in Riga.
● 15 January 1991 - the Latvian Public Rescue Committee tries to seize power in Latvia by
informing about the dismissal of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia.
● 20 January 1991 - the OMON forces attack the Ministry of the Interior and kill several
people.
The non-violent resistance of
the barricade defenders not
only opposed the OMON
special forces, but also
gathered broad international
support to counter the decision
of USSR's leaders to declare a
state of emergency in Latvia
and to bring in regular Soviet
troops from Vitebsk.

● 3 March 1991 - a poll of the Latvian population carried out
about a democratic and independent Latvia, where two thirds of
the people vote for the restoration of independence.
● 19 March 1991 - Livs are declared by law as one of the ethnic
inhabitants of Latvia.
● 19 April 1991 - the Latvian delegation led by Anatolijs
Gorbunovs meets Mikhail Gorbachev, who declares that the
Soviet Union will not recognise the Latvian independence.
● 12 June 1991 - Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the
Russian Federation, he takes up office on July 10.
● 19 August 1991 - the radical communists attempt a coup in
Moscow - the so-called August putsch. The Baltic Military
District commander General Kuzmins proclaims state of
emergency in Latvia.

● 21 August 1991 - the Latvian Supreme Council adopts the
Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia
proclaiming the Republic of Latvia an independent state.
● 23 August 1991 - the Republic of Iceland is the first country
in the world to recognise the statehood of Latvia.
● 11 September 1991 - the USSR recognises the independence
of Latvia.
● 11 September 1991 - Latvia joins the OSCE.
● 25 December 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns from the post
of the president of the USSR.
● 30 December 1991 - the USSR officially ceases to exist.
● Since 1991 the population growth in Latvia is negative

● 7 February 1992 - 12 European Foreign and Finance Ministers
sign the Maastricht Treaty on European Union.
● 15 May 1992 - the French President François Mitterrand visits
Latvia.
● 18 September 1991 - Latvia is admitted to the UN.
● 4 October 1991 - the Latvian and Russian Foreign Ministers
sign a protocol on the restoration of diplomatic contacts between
the two countries.
● 21 December 1991 - Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Moldova sign a declaration on the establishment
of the CIS.

● 30 January 1992 - the Riga Latvian Society
receives back its building on Merkela street, which
during the Soviet occupation was the Officers' House
of the Baltic Military District.
● 19 March 1992 - the Russian troops start leaving
Latvia.
● 11 April 1992 - after more than fifty years of
absence, the Latvian national flag is displayed on the
flagpole of the military patrol ship "Sams".
● 7 May 1992 - the Latvian Bank puts the Latvian
rouble in circulation.
● 1 July 1992 - the USSR postage stamps declared
invalid as means of payment for postal services.
● 11 November 1992 - the military guard of honour
restored at the Freedom Monument (on 11 November
2002 at the Riga Castle).
Riga Latvian Society House in 1910

● March, 1993 - Latvia regains from British its pre-war
deposited gold stocks. Latvian Bank held 7.7 tons of gold,
however, they remain stored abroad - in the UK and also in
Switzerland. In the autumn of 2011, Latvia's gold reserves in
the global list ranked 67th place.
● March 5, 1993 Latvian begins to withdraw the Latvian
rubles; in circulation comes the first banknotes of 5 lats.
● 5-6 June, 1993 - 5th elections: gaining 36 mandates, won
union Latvian Way. Voter turnout was very high - 89.9%
voted of a total 1.1 million voters.
● June 17, 1993 - from the Air Force base in Lielvārde flew
last in Latvia deployed Russian military aircrafts.
● June, 1993 - Valmiera hosts I world Latvian Three Star
games.
● July 6, 1993 - the first session of 5th Saeima, where the
full Constitution is restored.

● After the rapid decline of the gross domestic product
and economic reforms [in the beginning of the 90ies] 1994
was the first year when the Latvian gross domestic product
increased by 0.6%.
● Latvia gets access to the Internet and information from
the first www server.
● 1995 was the last in the Latvian modern history when
death penalty was imposed.
● The crisis and the problems in the banking system
emerged in 1994, but they reached the peak in 1995 when
19 banks went bankrupt, culminating in May with the
bankruptcy of Banka Baltija.
● In 1998, during the so-called Russian crisis, the export
markets start switching to Europe. The proportion of
exports to the CIS countries decreases and continues to
shrink until 2003.

● In 1998, when the Parliament passes amendments
to the Citizenship Law, facilitating naturalisation
and allowing children of non-citizens born after
1991 to be registered as Latvian citizens, 73% of the
Latvian population were Latvian citizens, while 27%
had a non-citizen status (in 2009 - 82% citizens and
16% non-citizens).
● 17 June 1999 - for the first time in the Latvian
history a woman is elected President - Vaira Vīķe-
Freiberga.
● 2000 - according to the 31 March census, there are
2,377,383 inhabitants in Latvia.
● In 2000 - a memorial plaque to the Jewish rescuer
Janis Lipke is inaugurated at his residence in
Ķīpsala. He and his wife Johanna have received the
award of the state of Israel "Righteous among the
nations".
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga so far is the only
female president of Latvia

● In 2001, during renovation works, the sole identified
original of the LCC Memorandum is found. It was drawn up
in several copies and photographed in order to take it out of
Latvia and deliver to the Western allied governments. The
original, now in the possession of the Latvian War Museum,
was hidden in Riga, Peldu street 19, apt.5 (during the war,
apt.16) under the floor boards. In this apartment once lived
Valija Veščunas - Jansson, the holder of The Order of
Lāčplēsis and a member of the national resistance. Her
husband, engineer Wilhelm Jansson is among the 189
signatories of the Memorandum.
Translated text of LCC Memorandum

● In the 2003 Latvian referendum on the Latvian accession to the
European Union, the majority (67% or 676,700) voted for, but
"against" were 33% or 325,980 voters.
● 31 December 2003 - Radio Free Europe ceases its activities in
Latvian.
● 29 March 2004 - Latvia becomes a full member of NATO, and
NATO aircrafts begin patrolling the airspace over the Baltic states.
● 1 May 2004 - Latvia becomes a full member of the EU.
● 2004, in the Athens Olympic Games Latvian athletes win four
silver medals.
● 1 January 2005 - the Lats is pegged to the euro at the rate of
EUR1= LVL 0.702804.

● In 2006 - GDP increases by 12% in comparison with the
previous year, which is the maximum increase. The following
year the growth is 10%, but in 2008 the economic crisis begins
with a 4.6% GDP reduction and in 2009 the GDP falls by
17.8%, which is one of the world's fastest growing recessions.
● In 2007 - inflation reaches the psychologically worrisome
double digits - 10.1%, setting a record.
● 2007 – Defenders of Riga, a historical film about the events
of November, 1919, is shot in Latvia.
● 2008 - in order to prevent state insolvency, in December the
Latvian government signs an agreement with the EC, IMF,
World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development and with a number of the EU member States on
an international loan program.

● 2008 - in the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing Maris
Strombergs wins the gold medal.
● 1 July 2009 - the new territorial administrative division of
the Latvian territory takes effect; the territory is divided into
109 counties and 9 towns of state importance. Previously
Latvia was divided into more than 500 administrative units
of a lower level.
● In 2009 - due to the economic recession the unemployment
rate rises in Latvia becoming one of the highest in the
European Union.
● In 2010 - Latvian producers recover their competitiveness
and the demand rises in foreign markets, leading to an
increase in the exports of goods by 30% and the total export
quantity exceeds the pre-crisis levels. Latvian long-term
economic development is under threat due to the worsening
demographic situation and an increase in emigration.

● 8 May 2010 - conference "Towards a democratic Europe during
World War II. Latvian Central Council and Kurelians" takes place
in Riga.
● 14 January 2011 - for the first time in Latvian history a liver
transplantation operation is performed at the Paul's Stradins
University Clinical Hospital.
● 26 January 2011 - in honour of the 90th anniversary of the
international (de jure) recognition of the Republic of Latvia,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis hosts an
exhibition "90 years of the Latvian international recognition" at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
●1 December 2011 - Saeima approves amendments to the law
abolishing the death penalty in Latvia.
● 24 July 2012 - a plaque is inaugurated at the Latvian War
Museum, the building where the Latvian Central Council
memorandum of 17 March, 1944 is kept. Memorandum is
included in the Latvian register of the UNESCO program
"Memory of the World".

● 21 June 2013 - a fire at the Riga Castle.
● 9 July 2013 - the European Union finance ministers officially invite Latvia to join
the euro zone [from January 1, 2014]. From 1 October the retail prices of products
and services in Latvia should be indicated in two currencies: lats and euro.
● 5 November 2013 - the Russian chess player Garry Kasparov requests the Latvian
citizenship.
● 21 November 2013 - the collapse of the roof of the "Maxima" supermarket in Riga,
Zolitūde. 54 people were killed, dozens injured. On 27 November Valdis
Dombrovskis announces his resignation as a prime minister.
● 1 January 2014 - Latvia officially joins the euro zone, changing the lats to the euro.
Tragedy of Zolitūde
is the greatest
catastrophe since
the restoration of
Latvian
independence

● 17 January 2014, at the Latvian
National Opera, Riga is officially
proclaimed the European Capital Of
Culture.
● 18 January 2014 - the first 2000 books
transferred from the old to the new
building of the Latvian National Library.
A chain of 14,000 people transferred the
books from hands to hands.
● 1 March 2014 - the Latvian President,
the Speaker of the Saeima, the Prime
Minister and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs sign a statement on the Russian
intervention in Ukraine.
Campaign "Light path - Book Lover chain" at the
Latvian National Library

● 17 March 2014 - 189 candles are lit at the Freedom
Monument in the memory of the signatories of the LCC
Memorandum.
● 30 April 2014 - the “Corner House”, the former KGB
building at Brivibas Street 61, opens to visitors for the first
time. The project Corner House was implemented within the
framework of Riga - the European Capital of Culture 2014.
●Jurģis Klotiņš about the origins of the 17 March event: "It is
important to the people to remember their heroes. The space of
information space is full with 16 March. The operation of LCC until
now has appeared sporadically. Very many do not know about
these historic events”.

● 22 June 2014 - in Dagda district classical
swine fever discovered in one farm among
domestic pigs. 26 June - African swine fever
identified in three wild boars near the
Belorussian border and three domestic pigs
in Krāslava district.
● 9 July 2014 - in Riga the 8th World Choir
Games begin with around 20,000 singers
from all over the world.
● 25 August 2014 - the Latvian Chamber of
Commerce in collaboration with its partners
launches the social movement "Latvian
product" encouraging to buy goods and
services produced in Latvia.
The social movement "Buy local" is
not a short-term campaign, but long-
term thinking.

● October 2014 - in her annual report to the Parliament
Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma notes that the threat to
the Euro-Atlantic area in relation to the Russian aggression
in Ukraine remains a major problem for the security of
Latvia.
● 13 December 2014 - for the first time the European Film
Academy Awards ceremony is held in Riga.
● January 2015 - begins the Latvian Presidency of the
Council of the European Union. Each European Union (EU)
Member State becomes the presiding country on a rotating
basis and manages the EU Council working sessions for six
months.

December, 2017
For additions, questions and suggestions:
lvf@inbox.lv

Latvian history from 1914 to 2014

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