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Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940



Main article: Latvian SSR
Residents of Latvia welcome the arrival of Soviet troops.
Residents of Latvia welcome the arrival of Soviet troops.

Latvia was again occupied by the Soviet Union from 1944-91.[40] 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 and Germany, from where until 1951 they drifted to various parts of the Western world (mostly Australia and North America). Approximately 150,000 Latvians ended up in exile in the West.

According to approximate estimates, as a result of the WWII 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 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.[41]

In August 1994 the last Soviet troops withdrew from the Republic of Latvia.[12]

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Historical, pre-Perestroika Soviet sources

"The Spirit of Great Lenin and his victorious banner inspire us for the Great Patriotic War" (Stalin)
"The Spirit of Great Lenin and his victorious banner inspire us for the Great Patriotic War" (Stalin)

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 was summarised thus: the Government of the Soviet Union suggested that the Government of the Republic of Latvia conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the two countries. The pressure from Latvian working people forced the Latvian government to accept this suggestion. The Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed[42] which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army units in Latvia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Latvian government policies 'that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Latvian government' political orientation towards Nazi Germany lead to a revolutionary situation in June 1940. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact additional military units entered Latvia, welcomed by the Latvian workers who demanded the resignation of the Latvian government. In June under the leadership of the Latvian Communist Party political demonstrations by workers were held. On the same day the so-called "fascist" government was overthrown, and the People's government was formed. In July 1940 elections for the Latvian Parliament were held. The "Working People’s Union", created by an initiative of the Latvian Communist Party received majority of the votes.[43] The Parliament adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Latvia and proclaimed the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. The declaration of Latvia's wish to join the USSR was adopted and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was addressed accordingly. The request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

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Continuing controversy

The issue of the Soviet occupation, its motives and consequences, remains highly controversial. At the core of the controversy lie the different interpretations of the historical events during World War II and after by the two sides: the Latvian (shared also by Estonia and Lithuania and espoused by several Western nations, international organizations, and Western historiography) and the official Soviet one, which is supported by Russia.

According to the European Court of Human Rights,[44] the Government of Latvia[5], the United States,[45] and the European Union,[46][47][48], 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 view, 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 against the Latvian population. Rigged elections were organized in which only Soviet-supported candidates were permitted to run.[49] As reported by the 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,[39] 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 to the issue of the Baltic states, leading to its becoming an established precedent in International Law.

However, the Russian Federation, the legal successor state of the USSR, does not recognize the fact of the forcible occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union. In reference to Latvia, the Russian Duma has passed a resolution to "remind the deputies of the Latvian Saeima that Latvia's being a part of the Soviet Union was grounded by fact and by law from the international juridical point of view.[50]"

The government of Russia maintains that the Soviet Union did not occupy, but rather liberated, Latvia from the Germans in 1944. For example, Pravda (October 5, 2004) stated 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."

A characteristic example of the different interpretations of the role of the Soviet Union in the Baltic states is the controversy sparked by the removal of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn statue in April 2007.

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See also

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References

  1. ^ The World Book Encyclopedia ISBN-10: 0716601036
  2. ^ Soviet occupation of the Baltic States at Encyclopedia Britannica
  3. ^ The History of the Baltic States by Kevin O'Connor ISBN-10: 0313323550
  4. ^ European Court of Human Rights cases on Occupation of Baltic States
  5. ^ a b c d The Occupation of Latvia at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
  6. ^ U.S.-Baltic Relations: Celebrating 85 Years of Friendship at state.gov
  7. ^ Motion for a resolution on the Situation in Estonia by EU
  8. ^ Dehousse, Renaud (1993). "The International Practice of the European Communities: Current Survey". European Journal of International Law 4 (1): 141. 
  9. ^ European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78. 
  10. ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-37317/Latvia The Soviet occupation and incorporation of Latvia] at Encyclopædia Britannica
  11. ^ The Forty-Third Session of the UN Sub-Commission at Google Scholar
  12. ^ a b Baltic Military District globalsecurity.org
  13. ^ Kellogg-Briand Pact at Yale University
  14. ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, 1934, No. 3408, pp. 123-125 and 127
  15. ^ Aggression Defined at Time Magazine
  16. ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, 1934, No. 3391.
  17. ^ Per Hitler's request, the Soviets transmitted coded messages to support the invading Nazi airforce. Karski, Jan (1985). The Great Powers and Poland 1919-1945. University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-4398-5. 
  18. ^ Karski, pages 373-392; Chamberlain quote confirmed in two original sources cited in Karski.
  19. ^ Moscow dispatched a telegram of congratulations to Berlin on the premature news that Warsaw had fallen to the Nazis. Karski, Jan. The Great Powers and Poland 1919-1945. 1985. University Press of America. Lanham, MD.
  20. ^ These Names Accuse. 1982. Stockholm. "Having learned that Germany after the defeat of the Polish army planned to create the State of Little Poland, Stalin suggested the exchange of Lithuania for two Polish voyevodstva (provinces) with the view of immediately 'solving the Baltic problem' with Hitler's consent. Thus, the second secret protocol, which was signed on September 28 in Moscow, came into being."
  21. ^ Telegram transmitted October 3, 1939. Documents presented to U.N. General Assembly, September 1948
  22. ^ Secret Protocol, signed Moscow, January 10, {1941 by Schulenburg and Molotov. Documents presented to U.N. General Assembly, September 1948
  23. ^ Moscow's Week at Time Magazine on Monday, Oct. 09, 1939
  24. ^ The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by David J. Smith, Page 24, ISBN 0415285801
  25. ^ latvians.com: The Story of Latvia: The Tragedy of 1940
  26. ^ a b c These Names Accuse: Historical Introduction, Part 2
  27. ^ Central Europe Review: A Brief History of Estonia by Mel Huang
  28. ^ These Names Accuse: Historical Introduction, Part 3
  29. ^ Berzins, Alfreds. "The Unpunished Crime", introduction by Senator Thomas J. Dodd, (1963), New York, Speller & Sons. quoting Izvestia, December 25, 1918: "Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are directly on the road from Russia to Western Europe and are therefore a hindrance to our revolution because they separate Soviet Russia from Revolutionary Germany. ...This separating wall must be destroyed. The Russian red proletariat should find an opportunity to influence Germany. The conquest of the Baltic Sea would make it possible for Soviet Russia to agitate in favor of the social revolution in the Scandanavian countries so that the Baltic Sea would be transformed into the Sea of Social Revolution."
  30. ^ Stalin ordered the Estonian Communist party to organize a putsch in Tallinn on December 1, 1924, which, should it succeed, would lead to the proclamation of the Estonian Soviet Republic.
  31. ^ Baltic states :: Soviet occupation - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  32. ^ Finnish Finishat Time Magazine on Monday, Nov. 20, 1939
  33. ^ Minus a Member at Time magazine on Monday, Dec. 25, 1939
  34. ^ Zalts, Alberts Zalts (ed.). Latvian Economic Review, No. 2(18) April 1940. Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Riga.
  35. ^ (Finnish) Pavel Petrov at Finnish Defence Forces home page
  36. ^ (Russian) documents published from the State Archive of the Russian Navy
  37. ^ The Last Flight from Tallinn at American Foreign Service Association
  38. ^ a b Five Years of Dates at Time magazine on Monday, Jun. 24, 1940
  39. ^ a b c Justice in The Balticat Time magazine on Monday, Aug. 19, 1940
  40. ^ Country Profile Latviaat UK Foreign Office
  41. ^ Background Note: Latvia at US Department of State
  42. ^ (Russian)1939 USSR-Latvia Mutual Aid Pact (full text)
  43. ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  44. ^ European Court of Human Rights cases on Occupation of Baltic States
  45. ^ U.S.-Baltic Relations: Celebrating 85 Years of Friendship at state.gov
  46. ^ Motion for a resolution on the Situation in Estonia by EU
  47. ^ Dehousse, Renaud (1993). "The International Practice of the European Communities: Current Survey". European Journal of International Law 4 (1): 141. 
  48. ^ European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78. 
  49. ^ A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups; p238; ISBN 0313309841
  50. ^ Reported in Pravda on Friday, November 19, 1999. This declaration states the incorporation of Latvia into the USSR was legal according to the laws of the Soviet Union and according to international law (de jure).

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Bibliography

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External links

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Soviet occupations
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