Latvian History

The very colorful and interesting history of Latvia is one that began when the Baltic ancestors of Latvians settled along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, in the territory of Latvia, around 3000 B.C. Four self-governing Baltic tribal units had emerged in the area by 900 A.D.: the Couronians, the Latgallians, the Selonians, and the Semigallians. These units survived in Latvia until the end of the 13th century, when German Teutonic Knights conquered the area and established the state of Livonia, which included part of modern-day Estonia.

In the late 16th century, the region was divided between the German-ruled Duchy of Courland and Poland-Lithuania, and stayed as such until the 17th century when the region around Riga came under Swedish rule.

All of Latvia became part of the Russian Empire as a result of the Great Northern War from 1700-1721, in which Russia, led by Peter the Great, defeated Sweden. By 1795, the Latvian territory was under complete Russian control.

On October 25, 1917, the October Bolshevik Revolution began, and the Russian stronghold on Latvia soon ended with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, a peace treaty marking the end of Russia's involvement in World War I, on March 3, 1918. This eased the revolution and gave freedom to Latvia, the other Baltic States, Finland, and Poland.

Latvia declared its independence from Russian rule on November 18, 1918 after the fall of the Russian Empire during World War I, and declared Riga as its capital city. Latvia continued the fight to maintain its freedom from German troops as well as the Soviet Communists, who had seized power in Russia. With the aid of a British Navy presence, Latvia seemingly won the battle for its independence when the Soviets formally recognized their independence in 1920.

At the beginning of World War II, a bilateral non-aggression pact between Latvia, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was signed, but ultimately resulted in a Soviet-occupied Latvia by June of 1940.

At this time, Latvia and the other Baltic states were incorporated into the Soviet Union and forced into a pro-Communist government. Despite the bilateral non-aggression pact, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 during World War II, which resulted in the Nazi occupation of Latvia. This remained so until 1944, when Soviet troops forced the Nazis out of Latvian territory, and Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania ultimately were incorporated into the Soviet Union, and transformed into Soviet Communist states.

In 1985, Soviet reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union, which was the beginning of major change for the Baltic States. In 1988, the non-Communist Popular Front of Latvia was established and quickly gained popularity among the masses. In 1989, the USSR Supreme Soviet adopted the "Occupation of the Baltic States" resolution in which the Soviet Union declares their occupation of the Baltic States was unlawful and against the will of the Soviet people.

At the 1990 elections to the Supreme Soviet, the Popular Front of Latvia won a decisive victory, and on May 4, of that same year, the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of the Restoration Independence of the Republic of Latvia. Russia completed the withdrawal of their military from Latvian territory in 1994 finally giving Latvia and the Baltic States the independence they had fought so many countries so long and hard for. Latvia has become a member of NATO, and on May 1, 2004, a member state of the European Union.