History of Latvia

A Captivating Guide to Ancient Baltic Tribes, the Medieval Kingdoms of Livonia and Courland, Soviet Occupation, and Modern Times

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Introduction

Many small nations have histories marked by war and occupation. This is also the case with the Eastern European nation of Latvia. Latvia’s story is one of constant struggle for freedom and of how it was able to preserve its national identity against all odds.

This work is a must for those interested in the history of Europe. It tells the terrible story of the Northern Crusades and provides new insights into the Nazis, the Soviets, and WWII. It deals with the current crisis in Eastern Europe as Russia, once again, threatens its neighbors.

The history of Latvia can be traced to the ancient past when the country was home to several different tribes. Learn about the great Amber Road, one of the greatest trade routes of the ancient world. Discover how the Vikings settled in Latvia and their role in the development of modern Ukraine and Russia. Then, there was the century-long bloody story of the Crusaders who fought against the pagan Latvian tribes. The victory of the Crusaders led to the development of the Livonian Order, a military-religious brotherhood that ruled most of the Latvian lands. From the 16th century to the 18th century, Latvia was a battlefield. Figures like Ivan the Terrible of Russia and Charles XII of Sweden fought for the Baltic country in savage wars.

In the 20th century, Latvia miraculously gained its independence. However, during WWII, the country was occupied, first by the Soviets, then the Nazis, and then the Soviets again. After the war, the Soviets repressed the people of Latvia. Despite the oppression, the Latvians were able to eventually regain their independence. However, today, their nation is threatened by Vladimir Putin, making one wonder if the past is doomed to repeat itself yet again.

This small Baltic nation has a very dramatic history. Above all, this book demonstrates the Latvians’ love for their country and shows that those who struggle for their freedom will, in time, achieve their liberation.

Chapter 1 – The First Latvians and the Amber Road

Early History of Latvia

Latvia is a small nation, but it has played a key role in the history of Europe. Situated in northeastern Europe on the shores of the Baltic Sea, the country has a long and storied past. Considered one of the Baltic nations, it is at the intersection of northern, western, and eastern Europe. The country’s geography has influenced its unique historical development. Latvia is mainly flat land that rises into hilly country in the south. Several rivers, in particular the Daugava, flow into the Baltic. Its position on the Baltic Sea means that it was (and still is) vulnerable to invasion and external influences. There are many peat bogs, marshes, and lakes in the region. Even today, it is densely forested, with an estimated one-third of the country covered by woodland. Yet, this difficult terrain also helped the Latvians retain their national identity during seven hundred centuries of often brutal occupation by foreign powers.

Map of modern Latvia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Latvia_1998_CIA_map.jpg

During the last ice age, vast ice sheets covered the majority of what is now Latvia. As the ice retreated around ten thousand years ago, hunters following reindeer herds first settled the area. At this time, the Baltic Sea was still completely iced over. The first inhabitants lived in the river valleys and might have migrated south in the bitter Arctic-like winters. By about five thousand years ago, the climate had improved, which allowed for more settlement of Latvia. In about 5500 BCE, the local Narva culture developed, and pottery, pastoralism, and settled inhabitations became much more common. By about 4000 BCE, this culture had been replaced by the Comb Ware culture, which was noted for its distinctive pottery. Scholars believe the people of this culture came from the northeast and might have even originated in Siberia. Academics also generally believe they were the ancestors of the Finnic peoples who inhabit modern Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and parts of the Russian Federation and spoke an early form of modern Finnish. They were cattle herders, fishers, and hunters. The Finnic people have a long history in Latvia. In the modern era, they are known as Livonians. They have their own distinct culture and language despite being part of the Latvian nation. The Comb Ware people adopted agriculture that spread from the south.

About 3000 BCE, archaeological evidence shows that the Corded Ware culture arrived in what is now Latvia. This culture is widely seen as Indo-European in origin. This culture might have originated in the modern Ukrainian-Russian steppes. The Corded Ware people were the first to use the horse in what became Latvia, and they brought other technological innovations into the region. Most likely, the Corded Ware people intermarried with the local farming communities, which led to fruitful cultural exchanges. These people are often regarded as the proto-Balts, the ancestors of the modern Baltic people. Academics believe that the various extinct and current Baltic languages derived from the Indo-European language of the Corded Ware people. The modern nations of Lithuania and Latvia are considered the heirs of these people.

In the past, the Balts inhabited not only the eastern Baltic coast but also western Russia and even Ukraine, but they became Slavicized after they were conquered by the Rus’ in the Middle Ages (the ancestors of modern Russians and Ukrainians). At an early date, the languages of the Balts were divided into Western and Eastern Baltic. The Western Balts included the Prussians, who are now extinct, while the Eastern Balts included Lithuanians and Latvians. Modern Latvians are enormously proud and conscious of their history as Balts.

The Ancestors of the Latvians: The Glory of the Amber Road

By about 2000 BCE, the Bronze Age began in what is now Latvia. The introduction of metalworking technology led to major changes. At this time, the Balts were divided into small or large clans, which often cooperated but occasionally fought each other. During the Bronze Age (2000–500 BCE), the Balts had more contact with the other cultures in eastern and northern Europe.

The use of bronze for weapons might have led to the emergence of the first small kingdoms or states in the Baltic region. This is evident in the emergence of hillforts around 1000 BCE. These are usually associated with some form of centralized power. Many impressive hillforts have been found in Latvia, and they could typically house several hundred people. Most of the people farmed the lowlands. Based on the burials discovered, the material culture in Bronze Age Latvia was rich, and there was an elaborate local art tradition.

During the Bronze Age, trade networks developed since the Balts did not possess tin and copper, which were essential in the manufacture of bronze. There have been many amazing archaeological finds from this period that show the wealth and sophistication of the Bronze Age proto-Latvians.

Trade networks led to the introduction of ironworking technology to the lands of the Balts. Iron was used in a variety of ways and might have boosted agriculture. This, in turn, led to a population boom and improvements in living standards. Iron might also have led to some proto-Latvian tribes gaining local supremacy.

The trade roads that connected the Baltic peoples to the rest of Europe led to the development of what has become known as the Amber Road. Amber, fossilized tree resin, is a semi-precious stone. Its color and beauty meant that it was widely used as a decorative object or for jewelry, especially in the Mediterranean region. Many cultures also believed that amber had magical properties, so it was often used by healers. There was an insatiable demand for the precious material, and the amber trade became an important industry in what is now Latvia.

Tacitus, one of the greatest Roman historians, wrote in the 1st century CE of the Aesti, whom many scholars have identified as a proto-Latvian tribe, although some scholars believe they were the Old Prussians. The Old Prussians and the Latvians were closely related Baltic peoples. The Old Prussians might have lived in what is now western Latvia. Even if the Aesti were Western Balts, which included the Old Prussians, they lived a similar lifestyle as the first Latvians, their Eastern Balt kinsmen. Tacitus referred to the Balts as the “amber gatherers” because they collected amber that washed ashore from the Baltic Sea. He portrayed them as hardy, martial people who enjoyed a prosperous lifestyle and were hospitable.

The amber trade eventually led to the development of the Amber Road, according to several modern historians, and the Daugava River was one of the focal points of this trade. The Daugava River Valley became thickly settled and a major economic center, a status that it has retained to this day. The Amber Road connected the cold Baltic Sea to the warm lands of the Mediterranean and beyond. This trade route might have developed as far back as 1500 BCE since Baltic amber has been found in the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh. It seems likely that proto-Latvian tribes became extraordinarily rich because of this trade, and even today, amber-working is an important local craft in modern Latvian material culture.

Goods from the Mediterranean reached what is now Latvia. However, the proto-Latvian tribes did not absorb anything of the classical Greek civilization. They remained, for the most part, conservative. This trait was passed down for many centuries and was crucial in the development of a unique national culture.

The Amber Road.

DI Richard Resch, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12050654

The First Latvian Tribes

During the Middle and Late Iron Age (100–700 CE), the various proto-Latvian tribes began to merge and form new groups. Whether this was a result of peaceful assimilation or war, we do not know for sure. Also, at this time, proto-Lithuanian tribes formed strong regional identities. It should be remembered that these tribes did not consider themselves Latvian, but they shared a common land and usually the same language and culture.

The Baltic peoples who evolved into the modern Latvians included the Curonians, Semigallians, Latgalians, and Selonians. They are all known as Eastern Baltic tribes. Some of these tribes, such as the Semigallians, also contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Lithuanian people, demonstrating the close relationship between the Baltic peoples. There were also Finnic tribes, some of which evolved into the modern Estonian population. The most important of these Finnic peoples in Latvian history are the Livonians, who are closely related to the neighboring Estonians. They are so important that at one point in the Middle Ages, much of modern Latvia was known to outsiders as Livonia.

The proto-Latvian tribes at this time and into the Early Middle Ages had chiefdoms. Various sub-groups had their own chiefs who paid tribute to a more powerful chief. In the Early Middle Ages, the Curonians lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea. They were a much-feared tribe, and they gained a notorious reputation for piracy, even among the early Vikings. It was recorded that they raided far and wide over the Baltic region, killing, plundering, and enslaving. They often served as mercenaries in many armies. The Curonians often allied with Finnic tribes and possibly invaded modern-day Sweden before being beaten back in the 7th century CE. In a later medieval source, the Curonians are shown as living in a land rich in precious minerals and being famous soothsayers and oracles. It appears that they assimilated some Finnic tribes, and the historic area of Courland is named after them. They were also famous for the quality of their horses. The Curonians are known to many today as the Baltic Vikings. It appears that they raided outside of the Baltic area and might have even established settlements in Scandinavia.

Another proto-Latvian people were the Semigallians, who lived in what is now southern Latvia. They were a fierce, warlike tribe who resided in hillforts and defensive settlements in the bogs and marshes. They were committed pagans and experts in fighting in the marshy terrains of the Baltic interior.

Less attested in the sources are the Selonians, who lived in what is now southeastern Latvia. It appears that they lived on poor and rugged lands, which allowed them to escape the attention of their more powerful neighbors. They shared a remarkably similar culture to the Latgalians but spoke an extinct Eastern Baltic language. The Latgalians also spoke an Eastern Baltic language, and it is believed it played a crucial role in the development of the modern Latvian language. They also inhabited modern Russian territory, such as the areas around modern Pskov. The Livonians occupied much of present-day Latvia, and despite being Finnic, they often collaborated with the neighboring Balts and engaged in cultural exchange and trade with them.

Proto-Latvian society was a hierarchical society with nobles, usually warriors, having a monopoly on political and economic rights. There was also a class of freemen who served as soldiers and owned their own lands, but even they were dependent on the nobility.

During the Early Middle Ages, the proto-Latvian tribes often allied with and raided each other. During the winter months when the earth became firm, these tribes would attack their fellow Balts and Finnic peoples. During these raids, they would kill, loot, and enslave those they captured. These slaves had to work as household servants or as farm workers for their captors. The majority of the slave class were women and children. The elite often sold female slaves to Byzantium, and lower-class males married them.

The Latvian lands were thinly populated, which was partly a result of the endemic raiding. Medieval sources report that these raids often involved the killing of the male population and the enslavement of women and children. These raids often left large areas as wastelands.

Most tribal people lived in hillforts or villages surrounded by wooden ramparts. Even as late as 1000 CE, almost everything was built from wood. Pastoralism was the main economic activity in the Early Middle Ages, and cattle was often used as a form of currency. Cattle were easy to move or conceal during the many raids, especially during the winter season.

Proto-Latvian tribes were patriarchal societies, and women had a subordinate role to men, even though they worked the land and created crafts. Women made linen clothes, and from the 7th to the 13th century, they wore bronze jewelry and a distinctive brooch known as the sakta. Women could not own or inherit property, and unmarried women had a guardian. In general, women had a low social status; it was even lower than those women who lived in Christian lands.

The long-drawn-out collapse of the Western Roman Empire had repercussions for the Baltic region since it led to a decline in the Amber Road trade and possibly a reduction in trade overall. The collapse of Rome was due in part to an era of mass migration. As Germanic and Iranian peoples left eastern and central Europe for the west, the vacuum was filled by Slavs, who originated in the Carpathian Mountains. They began to infiltrate areas formerly occupied by the Balts, which led to the emergence of new peoples, tribes, and even states. The Slavs are the ancestors of the Russians and Poles, all of whom played a crucial role in Latvian history.

Some sources state that the Curonians developed an early kingdom in what is now Courland (western Latvia) and that there was a major settlement in the area, which is now Riga, the Latvian capital. Some ancient sources say that the Curonians were driven out of the area by migrating Livonians, who had been driven out of their homeland by other migrating groups, namely the Slavs. It is likely that many Balts driven out of lands farther to the south found refuge in what would become Latvia during the 6th and 7th centuries CE. However, our sources are limited for this crucial period in the ethnogenesis of the Latvians as a people and a nation. We do know the forests and the marshes of the Baltic region limited the penetration of the Slavs.

Latvian Paganism

The early Latvians clung doggedly to their customs, culture, and especially their religion. Their faith and mythology are similar in many ways to that of early Lithuanians and the extinct Eastern Balts, such as the Prussians. Many of the deities of the first Latvians can be identified with other Indo-European deities.

It should be noted that, unlike modern religions, paganism allowed for more divergence in practices and even beliefs. Latvian beliefs could be remarkably diverse and differed markedly from region to region. The cosmology of the early people was that the world was divided into two regions, one for humans and one for gods. The Latvians worshiped several sky gods who were all associated with horses, signifying the importance of horses in medieval Baltic society. Dievs was one of the sky gods and shares at least some of the characteristics of the Greek god Zeus. He is often considered to be the embodiment of the skies. Perkūnas was another sky god and the embodiment of thunder. He was associated with storms and rain. He was the most important agricultural god and was commonly worshiped by farmers.

Saule was the solar goddess and one of the chief deities of the Latvian pantheon. She was often portrayed as a mother or daughter. Another important god was the moon deity, who not only embodied the moon but was also a warrior. Zemes mate, or Earth Mother, was an important deity, and her cult was popular among women. There were other deities representing natural forces. A few chthonic or underworld deities are also recorded as being worshiped by the Latvians.

The dwellings of the Latvians had household spirits that had to be worshiped. The dead often received sacrifices and were remembered, if not worshiped. Proto-Latvians also had numerous devils and evil spirits that had to be placated.

Medieval Latvian life was structured around sacrifices, prayers, and festivals, such as the summer solstice. The priesthood was immensely powerful, and the priests were portrayed as bearded with long hair. They were feared because of their supposed magical powers, but they were also respected because of their ability to interpret the signs of the gods and their oracles. It is possible that priestesses were common depending on the cult.

By the 7th century CE, the ethnogenesis of the Latvian people had begun, and a distinct culture and identity had become apparent, even though the tribes often remained bitterly divided. Moreover, these groups occupied lands that constitute the modern country of Latvia. In general, the proto-Latvians had developed in isolation in the area of the modern Republic of Latvia, but this was to change with the arrival of invaders who proved to be the first of many.

Chapter 2 – Vikings and the Early Latvians

The Arrival of the Vikings

The Vikings are often regarded as among the fiercest warriors in history. They explored the Atlantic and are credited with discovering Iceland, exploring Greenland, and even reaching North America. Historians credit the Vikings with changing the history of Europe.

Recent discoveries suggest that the Viking Age actually began much earlier than thought and that it actually began in the Baltic. Lativa would play an important part in the history of the Vikings in the Baltic. The proto-Latvians saw the Vikings as their enemies and collaborators. While many hold that the Viking Age began in 795 CE with the attack on the Lindisfarne monastery in England, it had, in fact, begun even earlier in the Baltic. Those who want to have a fuller picture of the Vikings need to understand the pivotal role that Latvia played in their development and history, which was long neglected during the Cold War.

In the 7th century CE, as the Slavs began to pressure the Balts in what is now Russia, early Vikings from the island of Gotland (now part of modern Sweden) began to raid the Latvian and Estonian coasts. They might not have even been the first to raid the Baltic peoples. The main target was the lands controlled by the Curonians of Courland. It appears that the inhabitants of Sweden and other areas of early Viking Scandinavia had long traded with and fought with the Curonians. The Curonians were noted as fierce horsemen, seafarers, and infantrymen, but they could not hold their own against the fierce Vikings, whose lightning strikes and raids demoralized and denied them the ability to fight. Vikings from Gotland likely first raided Courland; over time, this allowed them to seize territory on a permanent basis.

The first Norse or Viking settlement outside of Scandinavia has been dated to 650 CE in Courland in what is now southern Latvia. Archaeologists discovered a large Viking settlement near the modern town of Grobina, close to the modern town of Liepāja. Archaeologists have found evidence that confirms claims made in the Viking sagas. The literary and archaeological evidence shows that from the 8th century CE, Swedish kings became the overlords of the Curonians. This meant that the proto-Latvians had to pay tribute to the Vikings and allow them to settle and trade in their land; in effect, they became a dependency of their northern neighbors. This might be an exaggeration. While the Vikings did settle on the coast and elsewhere in what became Latvia, they did not colonize or subject the native tribes who inhabited the majority of the population.

A modern recreation of a Viking longship.

Viking own archive, Jarmeryk (archiwum własne wikingów, Jarmeryk), Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1693536

The Viking Age in Latvia

Given the scant and biased sources, archaeological discoveries have helped historians to better understand the complex relationship between the Curonians and the Vikings. It appears that the Vikings took over an existing settlement that had most likely been inhabited by local people. Around 650 CE, the archaeological record shows distinctive Scandinavian ship burials, indicating the presence of Viking settlers. Archaeologists also discovered the graves of native Curonians, suggesting that they lived next to the Scandinavians. There are indications that the Curonians came under the cultural influence of the Vikings, though, as they increasingly began to cremate remains rather than bury their dead. This suggests that the native early Latvians and Vikings had a very complex relationship.

The Curonians adopted the customs and practices of the new settlers to some extent; it is unknown how many saw the new arrivals as invaders or neighbors. At an early date, the Vikings might have entered into an alliance with Estonian tribes.

It appears that the Gotlanders were pushed out of Latvia by the 9th century CE after they were attacked by local Latvians who were possibly in alliance with the Estonians. A Swedish saga states the Curonians rebelled and refused to pay tribute. The Danes, hoping to take advantage of the rebellion, attacked the Curonians and other early Latvians, but these Danish Vikings were defeated, suffering heavy losses at the great hill fort of Apuolė. The Swedish king led a huge army, and after burning Grobina, which had apparently been seized by the rebels, they surrendered and resumed paying tribute. In another account, they devastated the settlements and killed several thousand. After this, they continued to raid the settlements of the Curonians and others. After the mid-9th century, the Vikings remained in Grobina and the Daugava River Valley.

Vikings, Latvia, and Byzantium

By the 10th century, the coastal area of Latvia was dominated by the Vikings, but their control of the area was tenuous and constantly challenged by the early Latvians, who remained largely unsubdued. Intrepid as ever, the Vikings saw Latvia as a route to the fabulous city of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

It seems likely that the Curonians had already explored the Volga and that they opened the way for the Scandinavians to explore what became Russia and Ukraine. The Vikings had also already established a route to the Caspian Sea, where they traded with the Muslim Abbasid Empire and Turkic Khazars.

Vikings had been in contact with the Byzantine Empire since the 8th century. There were two routes, one via Lake Ilman and the Gulf of Finland and another via what is now the Daugava River, which enters the Baltic Sea in what is now Latvia. By the 10th century, the preferred route was through what is now Latvian lands. This became known as the fabled route from the Vikings to the Greeks (the Byzantine Empire had long since been Hellenized). Norse traders would travel by the Daugava with slaves, honey, amber, and iron for the Byzantine Empire. They would bring back gold, artwork, and luxury items like silk. This resulted in a great deal of wealth. In many ways, this important trade artery replaced the old Amber Road.

At this time, “Viking” meant raider or trader, so in the Middle Ages, there was little difference between the two. It is likely that many proto-Latvians joined the Viking bands who traveled through their lands to what became Russia and Ukraine on their way to Byzantium.

Another important aspect of the Viking era in Latvia is that they used it as a secure base, not only to explore and trade with the East Slavs or proto-Ukrainians or Russians but also to launch their conquest of these people groups. This ultimately led to the foundation of Kievan Rus’, the forebear of both Ukraine and Russia.

Scales and weights of a Viking trader.

Berig - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4373097

The Formation of Early States

During the Viking era, the proto-Latvian tribes began to engage in the formation of tribal-based states. By the 11th century, some of these had become principalities. This development was partly to protect themselves from the depredations of the Vikings and to benefit from the new trade routes that were opening up because of the Scandinavians. The Curonians first developed a small state sometime in the 9th century, making them one of the earliest Baltic groups to form a semi-centralized political entity.

Bandava was a major early Latvian center that existed possibly before the arrival of the Vikings. It seemed to have been dominated by a warlord who ruled from a hillfort and could call upon his vassals for men and ships. Another later state or principality was Jersikia in eastern Latvia, which formed around the 11th century CE. It became one of the largest states in the Baltic region before the Northern Crusades, and it might have been founded by Vikings who ruled local early Latvians. It might have become richer than others because it taxed traders who wanted to sail down the Daugava and had to haul their boats overland to sail on the Volga.

The history of Jersikia is complex, and many believe that it was initially founded by the native Latgalians, not the Vikings. By the mid-11th century, it appears to have come under the influence of Polotsk, a powerful Eastern Orthodox state ruled by members of the Rurik dynasty, who established Kiev and the Rus’ state. The Principality of Polotsk was the leading tribal entity of the Slavic tribal union known as the Krivichs. It was mostly autonomous of the Rus’ state to the south based in modern Ukraine. Polotsk was a large state, encompassing what is now Belarus and southeastern Latvia. They probably seized the area from local Latgalians. Over time, Jersikia was seen as a Latgalian-Polotsk entity, and it was populated mainly by Balts who did not convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Instead, they stubbornly clung to their pagan beliefs.

As we have seen, the Finnic-Ugric people known as the Livonians had a significant presence in what is now northern Latvia. They formed a small tribal union called Mõtsa Pūol or Metsepole. This did not have a single major center but was composed of several large hillforts, such as Limbaži. Over time, Limbaži possibly became its administrative center, which indicates some sort of centralized power structure.

It also appears that the Latgalian-Polotsk state expanded into Livonian territory. The Principality of Koknese was a small vassal state of the Principality of Polotsk. It was located on the banks of the Daugava River in ancient Livonia. It was a strategic point. From here, the principality could levy taxes on those who used the river, such as merchants. This principality was ruled by an Eastern Orthodox dynasty that ruled the area for many decades.

Just like their southern kinsmen, the early Balts who became the modern Latvians came under the increasing influence of the Eastern Slavs (the forebears of the Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians). Despite this, the early Latvian tribes apparently kept their identity and even their religion, unlike those Balts who resided in what is now Russia. It is possible that this was because they were located farther from the Rus’ heartland in Ukraine.

During the 10th and 11th centuries, Swedish Vikings made several attempts to assert influence in what is now Latvia, but these efforts failed due to the fierce resistance of the local tribes. Ironically, these tribes might have been supported by local Viking groups who themselves opposed submission to a foreign monarch—even a Scandinavian one.

Latvian Vikings

By the late 10th century, Latvian Vikings had appeared on the scene. These were long-established Vikings who had lived on the shores of the eastern Baltic Sea, mainly in what is now modern Latvia, for decades and who retained their Scandinavian culture and even religion, at least in the first decades of their settlement. They had a long history of interactions and exchanges with the early Latvians.

It is recognized that by the 11th century, the Baltic Sea had become more dangerous because Latvian Viking piracy had become more intense. Ironically, this was because the area was flourishing since it linked the Arab and Byzantine worlds together. Archaeologists have found a remarkable array of goods that indicate that Latvia was crisscrossed by many important trade routes. Goods from the Muslim and Byzantine empires are common finds. A Buddha from central Asia has also been unearthed in Latvia.

There is evidence that many Vikings who settled in Latvia eventually merged with the local population from the 10th century onward. Intermarriage was common. Based on archaeological evidence, it seems that, over time, the Vikings adapted to the local culture, which is something that is also apparent in western Europe. Yet, they made many important contributions to the local people, especially in the area of technology and agriculture. These were adapted by many proto-Latvians, but they did not submit to the Northmen, and they very much retained their own ways and freedoms.

By the start of the 12th century, the old Viking era had come to an end in the Baltic. Dreams of a Scandinavian empire in the region ended. The route to Constantinople went into decline, as the Kievan Rus’ state took over the trade since it had closer relations with Byzantium. In the north, the Slavic city of Novgorod proved to be a great competitor for the Latvian Vikings.

However, the trade routes that crossed Latvia still remained important. After the Christianization of Scandinavia, many went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land via Latvia. Unlike in western Europe, the Vikings did not send large armies to the Baltic. This meant they did not colonize the area in great numbers as they did in Britain, for example. As a result, the Vikings did not fundamentally change the proto-Latvian tribes and their culture. The various Polotsk principalities, which ruled parts of modern Latvia with their Eastern Orthodox Christian culture, also did not fundamentally change the early Latvian culture. Linguistic evidence suggests that both the Vikings and the Eastern Slavs had little impact on the language of the Eastern Balts.

The Viking Age began and ended in the Baltic. Latvia was central to the story of the Northmen in this region. The raiders eventually became settlers, and they helped to open up an important trade route to Byzantium and introduced new technologies, especially in metalwork. This route also played a role in the foundation of the great state of Kievan Rus’. In general, the early Latvians still lived as their forefathers had done since the Iron Age. Despite the Viking threat, they retained their freedom and cultural identity.

Chapter 3 – The Northern Crusades: God, Blood, and Conquest

By the 12th century, the Baltic region and the proto-Latvian tribes had formed small proto-states and continued to trade with their neighbors. The tribes, such as the Latgalians, remained culturally conservative and pagan despite being flanked by Eastern Orthodox Christians to their east and across the Baltic by Viking realms that had become Christian kingdoms. The pagans of what is now Latvia clung to their old beliefs, which illustrates their inherent conservatism and an early sense of national identity.

However, the Vikings had opened the region up, and at the end of the 11th century, it was increasingly visited by Nordic and other traders and even the first Christian missionaries. The Daugava River remained a key trade artery between northern Europe, Kievan Rus’, and the Byzantine Empire until it was closed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The geography of Latvia, with its forests and marshes, meant that the various tribes remained isolated, even from each other to an extent. Little is known of the internal politics of the Latvians at this time, but they remained divided based on tribes, and they engaged in constant raiding. Slavery was common even though it had declined in the rest of Europe.

The High Middle Ages (1000–1300) was a period dominated by the idea of the crusade. This was a religiously inspired idea that argued that Christian rulers had a duty to expand the faith by force of arms if necessary. The pope in Rome proclaimed several crusades against Muslims in the Levant and Iberia and heretics in France beginning in 1096. Crusaders were promised salvation if they fought against pagans and spread Christianity. The Crusades have also been seen as an excuse for colonization, as Crusaders, when victorious, seized the lands of their enemies. By the end of the 12th century, only the shores of the southern Baltic remained pagan. The modern countries of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia stubbornly rejected the Catholic faith.

A modern drawing of a Teutonic Knight and a knight from the ​Livonian Brothers of the Sword.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109348653

In the late 12th century, a series of Christian missionaries sought to peacefully convert the pagans of what is now Latvia, which was known in Christian Europe as Livonia because of the Livonians who lived on the coast. Saint Meinhard, a German monk, arrived at the Daugava River in the 1180s, and he built a stone church that is widely viewed as the first stone building in Latvia. All other previous constructions had used wood because it was so plentiful. Meinhard attempted to convert the local pagans by preaching about the message of the Christian Gospels. The saint also built a stone fortress near his church to protect his converts from slave raids from Lithuania. Later, he built another stone fortress in Uexküll (now Ikšķile) once his missionary work expanded.

Saint Meinhard’s initial focus was on the Livonians, and he secured many new converts, but he faced growing resistance from the pagan elite. Also, many Livonians were appalled by the idea of baptism since it was so contrary to their cultural norms. The German missionary and his followers had to leave because they came under frequent attack from the locals. Meinhard later returned and was made the first Christian bishop in the region by the pope.

Meinhard continued to convert the locals, but many eventually renounced their faith, possibly because Christianity became associated with a loss of identity and because they were pressured by their family and community. This persuaded the missionary to seek a crusade for the region. In 1193, Pope Celestine III proclaimed a crusade against the pagans of what is now Estonia and Latvia. This was the start of what is known as the Livonian Crusade. It was targeted at not only the Livonians but also all the pagan proto-Latvian tribes. At this time, there was a small Christian community on the coast consisting of German immigrants from Saxony and local converts.

Religious Wars

Berthold of Hanover, a Cistercian abbot, was appointed bishop of Livonia around 1196, and he was assisted by a large contingent of Crusaders, mainly knights from Germany and their retinues. In theory, the bishop commanded the Crusaders and oversaw the Christianization of the Livonians and the other people groups who lived in modern Latvia. Although relations were peaceful at first, the pagans eventually attacked the Christians, and Berthold was forced to flee.

A large fleet arrived from Germany with more knights and many peasants who intended to settle in the area. Upon their arrival, they established what was to become Riga, which was situated on an old Viking, probably a previous Curonian settlement. Berthold led a considerable force of Crusaders down the Daugava and established a wooden palisade at an unknown location. The Livonians gathered outside it, and the German Christians sallied out to attack them. The heavily armored knights drove the pagans back.

Despite being a cleric, Berthold was on the front lines. A pagan saw him and attacked. He struck Berthold with a lance, killing him instantly. The Crusaders withdrew following the death of their leader, and they retreated to the coast with their forces largely intact.

The new pope, Innocent III, arguably the most powerful pope of the Middle Ages, was enraged by the death of Berthold. In 1198, he appointed Albert of Buxhoeveden (1165–1229) as archbishop of Riga, which had replaced the bishopric of Livonia. This aristocratic prelate was granted sweeping powers to convert the locals. With the support of the Holy Roman Empire, Albert was able to amass a considerable fleet and army. In 1202, he landed on the shores of what is now Latvia. His intention was to create an ecclesiastical state that was ruled by him as bishop. Albert’s landing would start a thirty-year campaign to conquer the forebears of the Latvians.

Statute of Archbishop Albert of Riga.

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The First Conquest of Latvia

Albert decided to make Riga rather than Uexküll the center of his crusade. By the time of his arrival, it was home to a small colony of Hanseatic traders, members of a defensive alliance of German cities and guilds who would later play a crucial role in the history of Latvia. In 1204, Albert was authorized by a papal bull to recruit Crusaders. This allowed him to forgive the sins of the Crusaders and empowered him to reward them with the lands of those they conquered. Many Germans joined Albert, as they were tempted by the idea of rewards in this world and in the life to come. Many came from Saxony, and they included second sons of wealthy families who had no hope of inheriting land or property.

Albert put pressure on the Livonians to convert to Christianity. He even managed to persuade one of their leaders, Caupo, to convert. Albert sent him to Rome, where he had an audience with the pope in 1204. Today, many Latvians view Caupo as a traitor to his people since he actually joined the ranks of the Crusaders.

Albert was able to secure the conversion of Caupo and other pagan chieftains since he provided them with protection from the ravages of Lithuanian and Estonian tribes. The promise of security was enough to persuade many pagans to convert. Albert knew that persuasion and promise would not be enough, though, and in 1202, he created a military force imbued with Christian zeal. The Letts, as the Crusaders often called the tribes living in what is now Latvia, would need to be subdued to ensure that they did not renounce their faith at their earliest convenience.

Albert created the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202 to be the standing army of his ecclesiastical state. The Brothers of the Sword was both a religious order and a military force, and most of its members took holy orders and lived as monks. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword was based on the Knights Templar. It was governed by a grand master, the first of whom was Wenno von Rohrbach, and he ruled with a council. The Brothers of the Sword built fortifications and garrisons to subdue and control the local population.

In 1205, the Brothers of the Sword defeated raiding Lithuanians, which persuaded many local pagans to convert. As an example to other raiders, they beheaded the Livonian leader. Despite being a Christian, Caupo revolted because of the poor treatment of the Livonians who had been converted by the Germans, but he was defeated and again became a valuable ally of the archbishop and the Crusaders. In 1207, the duke of Polotsk, a Slav, demanded tribute from local Latvian tribes in areas claimed by Albert. A Slavic force arrived at the Daugava to secure tribute from local Latvian tribes but was destroyed by the heavy cavalry of the German Crusaders. This victory taught the locals that they could not defeat the Christians in an open battle, so they fought a guerrilla war in the marshes and forests. Any of the tribes that did not obey the Crusaders and took to the forests were hunted down and massacred. The Germans began to develop a string of stone castles along the Daugava River, which they used to protect their newly acquired lands both from the natives and from the raids of the Lithuanians and Slavs.

King Vetseke was a Slavic Christian prince and ruler of the Principality of Koknese. He became a vassal of the Crusaders in 1209. By 1215, Russian influence in what was to become Latvia was extremely limited. It is possible that without the intervention of the Crusades, Latvia could have been conquered by a Slavic polity.

Estonia remained pagan, and Albert of Riga ordered attacks on its tribes. They proved to be brave and capable warriors, and they twice defeated the Brothers of the Sword and other Christians. By 1218, the area of southern Estonia had been conquered by Albert of Riga and added to his emerging ecclesiastical state. In 1219, the Danes, with the assistance of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, conquered northern Estonia, which they divided between themselves. This greatly strengthened the position of the Crusaders in what would become Latvia.

Guerrilla War

The Christians decided to wear down the defiant Latvians who hid in the forests and bogs. Every winter, when the ground had frozen and the forests were no longer green, the Germans and their allies would launch raids against the pagan settlements. During these raids, they would burn villages and take prisoners who became virtual slaves, many of whom were forced to become Christians. At an early date, the Latgalians submitted to the invaders and nominally became Christians to stop these brutal raids.

Year after year, the Brothers of the Sword would raid the remaining free pagans, and using fire and the sword, they slowly ground them down. At the same time, more and more early Latvians became Christians to escape servitude or the threat of servitude.

Volkwin von Naumburg zu Winterstätten (elected in 1209), the second grand master of the Brothers of the Sword, was determined to seize as much land and power for his order despite them being granted one-third of all the conquered lands. The Livonian Brothers were prone to indiscipline and often challenged Albert. They even attacked the king of Denmark’s possessions in Estonia. Their cruel treatment of the peasants reached the ears of the pope, as they were nominally Christians. Many times, the knights provoked peasant uprisings in both Latvian and Estonian lands.

By 1224, there was a large native Christian population in the region. The Brothers of the Sword took part in the suppression of the last pagan stronghold in Tartu in Estonia. Here, local Estonian tribes and Russian mercenaries defied the Crusaders but were eventually massacred. It appears that many pagans, such as the Selonians, left Latvia for Lithuania, where the anti-Christian forces were more powerful, allowing them to practice their traditions in relative peace.

The Brothers of the Sword gradually wore down the pagans, which allowed them to control much of Latvia. From the 1220s, the war-weary small states and principalities of the early Latvians genuinely began to submit to Albert of Riga, who was technically the feudal lord of the ecclesiastical state known as the Archbishopric of Riga. The various Latvian principalities became vassals of the archbishop, and in return, they became feudal lords whose tenants became their serfs, a form of economic servitude. The new Latvian feudal lords also had legal and economic obligations to the Crusaders. In this way, the traditional native nobility survived, but they had been Christianized, at least nominally. For example, the northern Curonian leader Lamekinas agreed to convert to Christianity. By doing so, he secured the title to his lands and certain rights and privileges for his people, especially the nobility. The elite of the Curonians who submitted became known as kings of the Curonians and had special rights before the laws until the early modern era. These rights gave them a level of freedom that feudal lords in the West did not know. They even had the right to hold courts based on Curonian traditional law. This shows that the Crusaders were willing to compromise with local rulers if they converted to Christianity.

Most of the Curonians who continued to resist were hemmed in by hostile Lithuanians to the south and the Brothers of the Sword to the north and east. Furthermore, the Danish and Swedish navies who assisted in the Northern Crusades blocked Courland, which led to famine. In 1230, the tribal leaders in northern Courland were forced to surrender and became vassals of the archbishop of the Brothers of the Sword. However, some Curonians in the south continued to fight for their freedom. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword had their own grand master but technically were subordinate to the archbishop of Riga.

The Semigallians, a tribe that contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Latvian and Lithuanian peoples, had initially been allies of the Christians. This changed in 1228. They attacked a monastery and later would conduct regular raids on the lands held by the German elite and their local allies.

By the late 1220s, the relationship between the archbishop of Riga and the Brothers of the Sword had broken down. The knights ignored the orders of the prelate concerning their raiding and continued oppressing the local peasants. The prelate attempted to disband them, but this proved to be impossible. The Brothers of the Sword had vast lands, which almost became an independent state. The town of Riga had grown greatly and even had its own militia. It also had a difficult relationship with the archbishop of Riga, who was technically their feudal lord. Despite this, the knights, the militia of Riga, and the archbishop mostly cooperated against rebels and pagans and would regularly raid Estonia.

The Great Battle of Saule (1236)

The second grand master of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, Volkwin von Naumburg, was a driven, ambitious, and often ruthless man. By the mid-1230s, most of Courland had already fallen under Crusader control—some by force, others through uneasy deals. However, Volkwin wasn’t interested in holding the line. He wanted more. The last major pagan strongholds in the region—Semigallia and Samogitia—were still free. Volkwin wanted to capture Samogitia and create a land corridor linking Livonia to the Teutonic Order’s holdings in Prussia. If it worked, it would connect two of the most powerful German crusading orders and give the Livonian order a new level of importance.

The Brothers of the Sword were religious, but their survival depended on war. They needed land and tribute. Most of all, they needed victories to keep recruits and support coming from Germany. The order couldn’t afford to go quiet. It had to stay busy. So, in 1236, Volkwin launched a new campaign into Samogitia. His army was large, as it was reinforced with allies and Russian mercenaries. Villages were destroyed, and fields were burned. It was a brutal but typical campaign.

However, as the Crusaders turned to head back north, they found themselves slowed by marshy ground near Šiauliai (what medieval historians referred to as Saule). And that’s when the Samogitians struck. Their fast and disciplined light cavalry hit them before dawn. The knights, weighed down by their armor and stuck in terrain that offered no room to maneuver, couldn’t respond. They were cut down where they stood.

Volkwin was killed early. Once the knights lost him, the rest unraveled. The retreat turned into a full-blown rout. The survivors tried to flee back to Livonia, but their path took them straight through Semigallian territory—the same people they had raided and terrorized not long before. The Semigallians hadn’t forgotten. They hunted the fleeing Crusaders, killing as many as they could.

By the time the survivors reached Riga, it was clear the campaign had been a disaster. Some estimates say that only one in ten Crusaders made it back. The defeat shook the entire region. Rebellions broke out, and much of southern Livonia slipped out of Crusader hands and became independent. Some thought the whole Crusader state might fall apart.

The defeat at Saule ended the Livonian Brothers of the Sword as an independent order. A year later, in 1237, they were absorbed into the Teutonic Order.

Probable site of the Battle of Saule (1236).

Rimantas Lazdynas, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10403192

The Rise of the Teutonic Knights

After their defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were in complete disarray. Desperate to recover, they turned to the Teutonic Knights, a seasoned military order that had already proven itself in Hungary and the Holy Land. The grand master of the Teutonic Order agreed to step in but on one condition: the Livonian knights had to become subordinate. So, the Brothers of the Sword were absorbed into the Teutonic Order and rebranded as the Livonian Order. Though still somewhat autonomous, they now answered to the larger and more powerful Teutonic machine.

This new alliance gave the Livonian Order a much-needed lifeline. They managed to hold on to their territories and even launched some offensives. However, not everything went their way. In 1242, they suffered a major defeat on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus at the hands of Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod, in what became known as the Battle of the Ice. The Livonian Order was weakened, but it was able to withdraw to its fortresses and recruit new members from western Europe.

Meanwhile, the Lithuanians kept up constant pressure. They raided deep into what’s now Latvia, targeting both the native Balts and the German settlers. The Livonian Order fought back, especially against the Curonians and the Semigallians. Every year brought more raids and more skirmishes. The Crusaders wanted to grind them down, but they weren’t above offering terms. Pagan elites were sometimes allowed to keep their lands if they submitted, converted, and became vassals of the Livonian Order.

The defeat of the Battle of Saule meant that the fearsome Lithuanians divided the Livonian Order from the Teutonic Order of Knights in Prussia geographically. As a result, the Teutonic Order found it hard to support the Livonian Order. Despite this, the Livonians carried on. They defended Estonia against Novgorod and launched regular raids into Russian lands.

In 1270, the Crusaders fought the Battle of Durbe. The Semigallians laid siege to a German fortress in southern Latvia, and the Crusaders responded in force. They brought in heavy cavalry, infantry, and even Danish knights. They had Curonian allies too, though calling them allies would turn out to be a stretch. The army stumbled on a Samogitian camp and decided to engage, but the battlefield was a swampy mess, which was bad news for the heavily armored knights. When the fighting started, the Curonian “allies” flipped sides mid-battle, joining the Samogitians. What followed was a disaster. The Livonian grand master, Otto von Lutterberg, was killed, and the Germans were routed.

The Battle of Durbe was a major win for the Lithuanians and the local Baltic tribes. Both battles are still remembered and celebrated today in Latvia and Lithuania. However, those victories didn’t secure long-term freedom. The remaining free Curonians were stuck between the Germans and the rising Lithuanian state. By the 1260s, most of their lands were gone, split between the archbishop of Riga and the Livonian Order.

The Semigallians kept fighting for nearly three more decades. By 1290, the writing was on the wall. Rather than submit, many of them chose to pack up and head south into Lithuanian territory, where they could still live on their own terms.

By that same year, German power—through the Catholic Church, the Livonian Order, and settlers—had taken firm control of what we now call Latvia. That doesn’t mean the locals were powerless or completely erased. Many still had influence, and plenty of native cultures held on. But the Germans stepped up their efforts to Christianize the region, and that religious push helped lock in their control. It was the beginning of a system that, in one form or another, would shape Latvian history all the way into the 20th century.

Chapter 4 – The German Supremacy: Oppression and Resistance (1300–1500)

German Subjugation

At the start of the Livonian Crusade, the pope had already divided up most of what’s now Latvia and Estonia. A big chunk of the land was handed over to the crusading knights, while the rest was reserved for the church. As time went on, the Livonian Order ended up controlling most of the territory. By the middle of the 13th century, they had officially become part of the Teutonic Order. On paper, they answered to the Teutonic leadership in Prussia, but in practice, the Livonian branch mostly ran things on their own.

The rest of Livonia was in the hands of two powerful bishops: the archbishop of Riga and the bishop of Courland. Even though they were churchmen, they ruled like secular lords, with castles, armies, and their own administrations. Farther north, what’s now Estonia had come under the control of the Danish king, who claimed territory there during the early phase of the Crusades.

To the east was the Republic of Novgorod, a major power in the Russian world. To the south, Lithuania was rising fast. It was still pagan at this point and ruled by a line of tough military dukes. The German Crusaders justified their expansion through something called the “conquest theory”—the idea that God had helped them conquer Livonia because the people there practiced paganism. Despite their belief that Livonia had been God-given, the colonists controlled the area by constructing numerous stone castles and redoubts.

By the 1300s, the Livonian Order ruled about 60 percent of the land. The rest was still controlled by the Catholic Church. Technically, the region was known as Terra Mariana, or “The Land of Mary,” named in honor of the Virgin Mary to mark it as Christian territory. However, most people just called it Livonia.

It wasn’t all about knights and bishops, though. The cities, especially Riga and Reval (modern Tallinn), were key players in the region. They had been founded by Germans and were home to people from all over, but the culture and governance were solidly German. The cities were run by rich merchant families and powerful guilds, which basically operated as trade monopolies with serious political weight.

Riga joined the Hanseatic League in 1282, linking it to a massive trade network that controlled much of the commerce around the Baltic. The Hanseatic League was more than a trade alliance; it could field fleets and armies, and its influence often rivaled that of kings. When its interests were threatened, it didn’t hesitate to act.

The cities didn’t always see eye to eye with the bishops or the Livonian Order. They clashed over taxes, trade rights, and how much, say they had in politics. The cities had privileges, but they always wanted more. Thanks to the Hanseatic League, both Riga and Reval grew quickly into major trade hubs. The wealth that flowed through them turned these towns into vibrant centers of culture and architecture. Some of the buildings from that period are still standing today.

The Hanseatic League’s main trading routes.

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Bishops, Cities, and Knights

Given the nature of medieval politics, there was a constant struggle between the cities, the bishops, and the Livonian Order. The region was essentially a frontier zone. It was still exposed to regular raids from Lithuania, which remained pagan until the late 14th century. The area was unstable, and violence was a part of daily life. German colonists and the local Balts were often armed, and both groups were drawn into frequent conflicts.

The Livonian Order was regularly involved in the long and exhausting wars between the Teutonic Order and the dukes of Lithuania, especially in the disputed lands of Samogitia, a region that was fiercely contested by both sides. Many proto-Latvians were drawn into these wars, often through feudal obligations to their German lords. Raiding across Livonian territory was almost an annual occurrence, and thousands of Germans and Balts were taken as captives by Lithuanian raiders and sold into slavery. These raids were particularly devastating for rural communities.

By this point, the Livonians, under their traditional leaders, had been brought under German domination. As part of their submission, the indigenous elites became feudal dependents of the Crusader powers. This meant they owed dues to their German overlords, and the common people had to work the land. Even though they were officially Christian, they were not the legal equals of Germans. Many Livonians—also referred to as Letts, an older term for Latvians—had the status of serfs.

Serfdom meant they were bound to the land. They had to work their lord’s estate for a portion of the year, pay rent for the land they farmed, and could not move or marry freely without permission. They also had to pay tithes to the German-dominated church. However, not all Latvians at the time were serfs. Some groups, like the Free Curonians, managed to retain certain privileges and a degree of autonomy, especially those who had aligned themselves early on with the Crusaders.

Local Livonian communities still retained a fair amount of autonomy in daily life and continued to speak their own languages and maintain their customs. Over time, some who migrated to the towns began adopting the German language and culture, though not always by choice. In the cities, the ancestors of the Latvians often faced discrimination. German-controlled guilds dominated economic life, and native Balts were largely excluded, which meant they missed out on the wealth and opportunities generated by the Hanseatic trade.

By the late 15th century, slavery in Livonia had almost entirely disappeared, although cattle raiding and other forms of rural violence remained. The end of slave raiding was particularly beneficial to the local Baltic population, especially women, who had often been targeted during these raids. Around the same time, canon law, the legal system of the Catholic Church, began to replace older codes. According to many historians, canon law offered somewhat better protections—especially for serfs and women—than the older tribal or feudal laws had.

The Civil Wars

There had been constant disagreements between the bishops, cities, and the Livonian Order in the 13th century. After the subjugation of the Livonians, these tensions became much worse. The various German groups sought to control the new colony, which led to an outright civil war in the 14th century. Fortunately for Livonia, it was protected from the ravages of the Mongols of the Golden Horde by its geography.

In 1297, a civil war broke out between the archbishop of Riga and the Livonian Order. Tensions had been building for years. In the 1270s, an earlier archbishop had been captured by the Livonian Order and forced to submit to their authority. The war that began in 1297 was part of the archbishop’s efforts to restore independence to his bishopric.

The townspeople of Riga and Reval supported the archbishop despite their differences, possibly because they feared the Livonian Order. The king of Denmark, who controlled the Duchy of Estonia, was also involved in the conflict and supported the archbishop. In theory, all the German colonists were the vassals of the Teutonic Knights, but in practice, the Livonian Order’s control was limited. The Livonian Order had castles throughout the countryside and enlisted the help of local Balts. They often besieged or blockaded Riga and other urban areas where the archbishop’s supporters were based.

At one point, the archbishop of Riga and the citizens of Riga even allied with the Lithuanians, even though they were still pagans. The Livonian Order was gradually able to wear down the archbishops and the towns. The knights’ blockades caused the economy of Riga to collapse, which persuaded the archbishop to seek terms with the Livonian Order.

The trade of Riga and the other towns was hit hard by the wars and raids. In 1330, the Livonian Order effectively won the war, and the archbishop of Riga became a vassal of the order, as did the towns in what was to become Latvia. The Livonian Order became the dominant power in the region, which allowed them to interfere in the Russian lands to the east.

At this time, the old distinctions between the proto-Latvian tribes began to break down. This was when the modern Latvian language began to emerge. A shared enemy had created a common identity and a great love of their land.

Despite its loss in the civil war, the city of Riga became one of the greatest cities in the Baltic.

The ruins of Cēsis Castle, originally built by the Livonian Military Order.

AgrisR, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34767748

1330–1450: The Livonian Order’s Golden Age

The Livonian Order had autonomy within the Teutonic Order, which largely ran its own affairs, including electing its own masters. This was because it was separated from the Teutonic Order lands in Prussia by the still-pagan Duchy of Lithuania. The independent Lithuanians began to create an empire in what is now Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Many Germans feared that Livonia would fall to the pagan Lithuanians.

Every year, the Livonian Order launched raids on the Lithuanians, but these did not lead to any strategic conquests and cost many lives. As pagans, the Lithuanians could be enslaved by the Christians. Many were taken captive and forcibly converted. Latvian contingents often fought with the Teutonic Order against their old enemies, the Lithuanians. This state of low-intensity warfare continued until 1386, when the Duchy of Lithuania accepted Christianity after its duke married the queen of Poland, creating the Union of Poland and Lithuania. However, at least initially, Samogitia, which was part of Lithuania, remained pagan, so the annual raids from Livonia continued.

In the countryside, the early Latvians began to truly Christianize and slowly began to abandon their old pagan beliefs. The Livonian Order was vigilant in its control of the Latvians since they feared they would revert to their old ways and rebel. This fear was justified; in the Duchy of Estonia, which was ruled by the king of Denmark, the local Balts revolted, renounced Christianity, and massacred Germans in the Saint George’s Night Uprising (1343–1345). The Livonian Order went to the aid of the king of Denmark and played a crucial role in defeating the rebels. As a result of the Saint George’s Night Uprising, the Danish monarchy sold the Duchy of Estonia to the military order. Thus, Livonia came to include all of modern Latvia and much of modern Estonia.

The late 14th century saw piracy flourish in the Baltic Sea, which was due to the decline of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Sweden and their respective navies. This weakened the Latvian cities and allowed the Livonian Order to become even more influential.

The Decline and Fall of the Teutonic Order

The Union of Poland and Lithuania revolutionized the geopolitics of the Eastern Baltic. The Teutonic Knights refused to accept that the duke of Lithuania and his people were now Christians, and they continued to raid the duchy. This continued until 1410.

In that year, the Teutonic Knights seized territory in Poland. By that time, they had already forced the Lithuanians to cede Samogitia to them, which allowed them to connect their lands in Prussia to the Livonian Order in present-day Latvia. In 1410, a huge Polish-Lithuanian army met the German knights at the Battle of Grunwald. The Poles and Lithuanians inflicted a crushing defeat on the Germans, which changed the history of the Eastern Baltic. The Teutonic Order was so weakened that, by the 1420s, they could no longer dominate the region. They did not become vassals of Poland-Lithuania at that point, but their power had been broken.

The defeat at Grunwald meant that the Livonian Order could not depend on the Teutonic Order for help. While the Livonian Order had not taken part in the battle, they had been forced to enter into a truce with the duke of Lithuania. The archbishop of Riga and the cities saw their opportunity. The Union of Poland and Lithuania pressured the Livonian Order to share power in Riga with the archbishop.

After 1422 and the Peace of Thorn, Livonia, like the rest of the Teutonic Order’s lands, remained independent, but its position had changed. In 1418, the pope appointed Johannes Ambundii to the role of archbishop of Riga. Political conflict and trade disputes continued between the Teutonic Order, the Catholic Church, and the towns.

In 1419, the Livonian Diet was called. It consisted of representatives of the bishops, vassals, and cities from all over what is now Latvia and Estonia. This is often seen as the birth of the Livonian Confederation, a loose alliance of all the polities in what is now Latvia and Estonia. At first, the confederation was designed to resolve internal tensions and conflicts.

From 1432 to 1438, a brutal civil war raged in Lithuania, and the Livonian Order became the allies of one of the claimants to the duchy. On September 1st, 1435, the Livonian Order and their Lithuanian allies suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Wiłkomierz. The grand master of the Livonian Order and many of his finest knights died. After this, the Livonian Order was very much diminished, and in many ways, it never recovered its former power.

In December 1435, the representatives of the bishops, cities, lords, and the Livonian Order signed an agreement that officially brought the Livonian Confederation into being. This confederation was still a dependency of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, which had become much weaker and increasingly influenced by the Polish-Lithuanian Union after the Battle of Grunwald. Yet, the Livonian Confederation had a great deal of autonomy, and the old German elite remained dominant.

In the rural areas of what is now Latvia, a manorial system developed, with poor tenants forced to pay taxes and dues to their lords. By the late 15th century, it was clear that the economy was stagnating, especially in the cities. The monopolies of the Hanseatic League on Baltic trade were also being challenged by the Swedes, Danes, and the Dutch.

A Livonian lady from a drawing by Albert Durer, c. 1550.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9508964

There was growing discontent with the existing order, particularly with the continued domination of Livonia by the Catholic Church and the Livonian Order. It was a theocratic feudal state, and it was falling behind the increasingly modern centralized states of the Union of Poland and Lithuania and Sweden. The situation did not escalate out of control because of a growing sense of apprehension about the rise of Muscovy in Russian lands.

The Reformation and the End of the Livonian Confederation

The Livonian cities had close ties with the German lands. In 1517, the Holy Roman Empire was rocked by a theologian and his heretical ideas. In that year, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to a door in Wittenberg in Saxony. This was the start of the Reformation, which challenged the authority of the papacy and promoted new religious practices and ideas of what constituted piety.

The Latvians in the countryside, such as the Latgalians, were, by and large, Catholics, but they still held many pagan beliefs. Many old identities persisted, such as the Curonians, and they continued to speak their own languages. Many of these regional identities continue to this day.

The Reformation was enthusiastically received by the German population in Livonia. Martin Luther himself wrote to the citizens of Riga in 1523 and encouraged them to reform their church. This was welcomed by the citizens of Riga and other cities, such as Reval. Many were genuinely motivated by religious zeal, while others saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the archbishop of Riga and the Livonian Order. By 1530, most of the cities in Latvia had become Lutheran. Interestingly, Riga was the first area to become Protestant outside of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Reformation had a dramatic impact on the Livonian Order. Many of the knights of the Teutonic Order, who had taken monastic vows, accepted Lutheranism. In 1525, the Teutonic Order in Prussia dissolved itself when its grand master converted and became the ruler of the secular Duchy of Prussia under Polish overlordship. This was an existential threat to the Livonian Order, a Catholic military order founded by a papal charter. Many in the Livonian Order were sympathetic to Lutheranism but could not convert because doing so would have meant that the order would have to be dissolved, just as had happened in Prussia.

What is now Latvia was deeply divided on religious grounds between the Lutherans and Catholics. The area was more decentralized than ever, as it was divided between the towns, bishoprics, and the Livonian Order. The local lords had become almost independent. Only the Landtag, or Diet, held the Livonian Confederation together. It would continue to exist until 1561, but it was weak and largely irrelevant after the 1520s.

Muscovy was on the rise, as was the Kingdom of Sweden. Muscovy was a vast state with a large population, and it was Orthodox Christian. It wanted access to the Baltic and claimed the lands of Livonia. The Kingdom of Sweden was a rising military power and had ambitions to dominate the eastern Baltic. The king of Denmark remained active in the Baltic. Meanwhile, the Union of Poland and Lithuania had become the largest state in Europe.

All of Livonia’s neighbors began to covet its strategic location, with its rich farmland and access to key trade routes. The area of what is now Latvia had become an area with huge geopolitical significance, but the Livonian Confederation was too weak to protect its lands and people.

Modern Latvians and Baltic Germans

The conflicts between the German colonists, the impact of western European ideas, and urbanization changed the native inhabitants. By the 16th century, locals were speaking Latvian and were often known as Letts to outsiders. They were seen as being distinct from the German community.

This period also saw the emergence of another identity in the region: the Baltic Germans. The German colonists who had conquered Estonia and Latvia came to see themselves as a unique group with special rights in the Baltic. They had close ties to their German homeland. The Baltic nobility in both Estonia and Latvia was dominated by the Baltic Germans. They grew wealthy because of the manorial system that prevailed in what is now Latvia and were dependent on the labor of mainly local people.

Oftentimes, the local Balts, the ancestors of modern Latvians, had to work the estates of the Baltic Germans. Moreover, the Baltic Germans often had business interests in the cities that, as we have seen, had grown rich as a result of the Hanseatic League. The Baltic German aristocracy’s influence grew at the expense of the church and the Livonian Order, and they became the dominant force in Latvia. They often strove to maintain the privileges of the German community. Over time, some Latvians who adopted the German language and culture came to regard themselves as Baltic Germans.

The period from 1300 to 1550 witnessed the rise and decline of Terra Mariana, as Latvia was known. By the 16th century, despite dramatic changes, it was a land still dominated by the descendants of the Crusaders, and the native people remained their subjects. Despite the political changes that had been made, the Germans still retained great influence. One of the most important trends in this period was that the native people came to have increasing contact with the West, which would greatly shape Latvian history and culture.

Chapter 5 – Latvia and the Great Northern Wars (1558–1721)

The Livonian War and Ivan the Terrible

Since the German conquest of what was to become Latvia, it had been relatively peaceful and even enjoyed a measure of prosperity. It had become part of the European world and Christianized. This period of calm was to end in the mid-16th century when Latvia became the most crucial battleground in what became known as the Livonian War. This was a series of conflicts between the Swedish Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Denmark/Norway, and the rising power of Russia. This prolonged conflict was fought between 1558 and 1583 and transformed northern Europe and, ultimately, the rest of Europe.

Livonia, which included Latvia and Estonia, was bitterly divided. The Livonian Order was divided between Catholics and Protestants, and it still had strained relations with the cities and bishoprics. The Livonian Order also opposed the secularization of the Teutonic lands, which had become the Duchy of Prussia. Ivan IV, known to history as Ivan the Terrible, had transformed the old princedom of Muscovy into an expanding empire. His conquest of Pskov and Novgorod meant that his lands now bordered the Livonian Confederation.

When Ivan the Terrible demanded tribute from the Livonian Order, the Polish king intervened and pressured the confederation to sign a treaty of alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Union. This gave Ivan a pretext for war, and he invaded Livonian lands and devastated the countryside in 1558. His vast army seized many fortresses, some without a fight. The Livonian Order was able to hire German mercenaries, and they were able to halt the Russian army.

In 1560, the Russians and their Tartar allies surrounded and annihilated the Livonian Order at the Battle of Ermes. The leadership and knights of the Livonian Order were either captured or killed. Ivan the Terrible again laid waste to the lands of what are now Latvia and Estonia. Many atrocities were committed by the Russians, and Ivan the Terrible often personally supervised the torture of his prisoners.

The Livonian Order was effectively destroyed and forced to sign the Second Treaty of Vilnius with the Polish king and uke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus. The Livonian Order was secularized, but the bishops, towns, and Baltic Germans had most of their privileges confirmed. Under the treaty, the former lands of Livonia were divided into two dukedoms: the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Duchy of Livonia. The last grand master of the Livonian Order became the duke of Courland and Semigallia. Both dukedoms were vassal states of the duke of Lithuania, and in 1569, after the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it became part of the empire.

The Danes and the Swedes had outposts in what is now Estonia. They became concerned at the increase in the power of the Russians and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They wanted to secure their interests in Livonia. There was some sporadic fighting. The Danes allied with the Polish-Lithuanians, while the Swedes allied with Ivan the Terrible.

In 1560, Danish King Frederick II acquired territories in present-day Estonia and appointed his brother, Duke Magnus of Holstein, as their ruler. During the Livonian War, Tsar Ivan IV aimed to expand Russian influence in the Baltic region. In 1570, Ivan crowned Magnus as the nominal king of Livonia, establishing a Russian client state.

Despite early successes, Russian forces faced stiff resistance and failed to capture key coastal cities like Riga. The conflict culminated in the eventual decline of Russian influence in the region, with significant territories falling under the control of Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was an elective monarchy, and it elected the Transylvanian Stephen Báthory (1533–1586) as its monarch. Once Báthory had established himself, he launched a vigorous counterattack and quickly drove the Russians from Lithuania and later Latvia and even parts of Estonia.

Next, the Polish-Lithuanian army invaded Russian lands and seized Velikiye Luki after a siege in 1581. During the fighting, the magazine of the fortress exploded, killing most of the Russian garrison. Báthory then captured Pskov, cutting off communications between the Latvian lands and Russian territory. Ivan IV’s remaining forces in Livonia were cut off, and Ivan was forced to agree to the Peace of Jam Zapolski in 1582. This was advantageous to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Duke Magnus, whose kingship in Latvia had only been recognized by the tsar and had no real power, retired to his castle on a pension.

Latvia became divided between Lithuania and Poland. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was given to Lithuania, and the Duchy of Livonia became a territory of Poland. Denmark effectively withdrew from the Eastern Baltic at this time, which was almost completely dominated by Poland-Lithuania.

During this period, the Polish king supported the Counter-Reformation in Latvian lands and promoted Catholicism in Latvia. This led to a decrease in the number of Calvinists and Lutherans. Yet, Protestants remained the majority. The Polish king could not impose Catholicism on the people because he needed the support of the nobles against the Russians and Swedes. Latvia was able to secure some autonomy because of its strategic location.

Portrait of Ivan the Terrible.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=215948

The Swedish-Polish Conflict in Latvia

After the end of the Livonian War, the land was desolated, but it quickly rebounded. Throughout the centuries, the Latvians have recovered from disasters and conflicts in the most remarkable ways. Under the leadership of the dukes of Courland, trade and agriculture revived, and the population recovered. The Baltic Germans again retained their privileges and power. Riga and Reval remained important trade centers on the Baltic Sea and became prominent in the grain trade. Merchants exported grain from these cities to western Europe.

Of course, this prosperity did not benefit the Latvian peasantry. In fact, serfdom became more oppressive over time, as landowners pushed for greater profits. While serfdom had nearly disappeared in western Europe by the early 17th century, it became even more entrenched in eastern Europe, including Latvia. Serfs in Latvia were arguably worse off in the 17th century than in the 14th century. Physical punishment and other abuses became part of their daily lives.

Once again, rivalries in the Baltic brought war to the lands of what is now Latvia. The Swedish throne was contested between Charles IX of Sweden and Sigismund III of Poland. Sigismund had briefly been king of Sweden, but his attempt to reimpose Catholicism led to revolt and his removal. He tried to reclaim the Swedish crown, and this, along with Sweden’s ambitions to control old Livonia—including Latvia—led to renewed conflict.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden fought a war from 1600 to 1611. In 1605, at the Battle of Kircholm, the Polish-Lithuanian army routed a numerically superior Swedish force. In this battle, the famous Winged Hussars of the Polish king smashed the Swedish lines. Despite the Polish-Lithuanian victory, the war ended without major territorial changes.

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia entered a period of crisis and nearly collapsed. The Swedes fought against Russia, and the Poles and Lithuanians invaded. For a time, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces even occupied Moscow. In 1621, another war broke out between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth because the Polish-Lithuanian ruler claimed the crown of Sweden.

In 1620, Gustavus Adolphus became the king of Sweden. He would become one of the greatest military commanders of the early modern era; some historians even call him one of the fathers of modern warfare. The Polish–Swedish War (1621–1625) began with a Swedish invasion of southern Estonia that took the defenders by surprise. The Polish king was preoccupied with a war against the Ottoman Turks, so most of his army was committed elsewhere. Gustavus Adolphus was able to besiege Riga, and the city eventually capitulated.

Poland-Lithuania was forced to agree to a truce that was unfavorable. It had to surrender northern Latvia and effectively lost control over Riga. This truce expired in 1625, and the war resumed.

In 1626, Swedish forces landed in Prussia—then a vassal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—and launched a new offensive into Polish lands. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been weakened by years of war and by the power of the nobility, which made it hard to govern effectively. In 1629, the Swedes won a major victory over the commonwealth at the Battle of Górzno. They occupied parts of core Polish territories. Even the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Honigfelde (Trzciana) later that year, where Gustavus Adolphus barely escaped capture, did not reverse Sweden’s gains.

A peace was agreed upon, and Sweden was granted most of Livonia, including modern northern Latvia. The Polish king also renounced any claim to the Swedish crown. Gustavus Adolphus had secured a major victory. As a result, Latvia was divided. The Duchy of Courland remained a vassal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while the Duchy of Livonia fell under Swedish control.

Duchy of Livonia

The Swedes conquered northern Latvia in the early 1600s, but they were met with resistance from the local elites, who generally stayed loyal to the Polish king. Gustavus Adolphus wanted to bring the region firmly under Swedish control, so he introduced Swedish laws and ways of governance. One of the major changes was the abolition of serfdom on land owned by the Crown, which meant that peasants could now join the army or the Lutheran Church—something that hadn’t really been possible before.

Swedish rule was welcomed by Lutherans and other Protestants, as they had felt sidelined during the years under Polish-Lithuanian Catholic rule. Gustavus Adolphus also founded the University at Dorpat (now in Estonia). Quite a few Latvians ended up studying there.

In Sweden, the monarchy held most of the power, and the nobility didn’t have the same kind of independence that the nobles did in Latvia. The Swedish kings tried to bring that same structure to Livonia. They weren’t fans of the local nobility—namely the Baltic Germans—since they had traditionally held a lot of autonomy. During the Great Reduction in 1680, the Crown took back a lot of land from the nobility and reduced their control over their tenants, which really weakened their grip on the countryside and their ability to control the peasantry.

The Swedes also encouraged education, especially for children in rural areas. Peasant kids were expected to go to school, and Protestant teachings were a big part of that. The Swedes didn’t trust the local Catholics and wanted to strengthen Lutheranism. In 1685, they paid for the Bible to be translated into Latvian. This was a pretty big moment, not just for religion but also for the development of the Latvian language and national identity.

Riga became the second-largest city in the Swedish Empire, and its merchants made the most of their chance to trade. Agriculture in northern Latvia did well under Swedish rule, and the region became one of the main suppliers of food for the Swedish Empire. Holding onto Riga also helped Sweden maintain its control of the Baltic Sea.

This time in Latvian history is still remembered positively today and is often called the “good Swedish times.” Russia was engulfed by chaos and religious disputes. This allowed the Swedes and the Latvians some respite, and Latvia, for the most part, prospered. In the mid-1600s, the region became a place of refuge for Old Believers—followers of traditional Russian Orthodox practices—who were escaping persecution back in Russia after the tsar imposed reforms on the church.

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia covered what is today the south of Latvia. In 1569, it became part of the Polish Crown lands. It was ruled by members of the Kettler family, descendants of the last grand master of the Livonian Order. They were Baltic Germans and sought to run their duchy on German economic and social lines. Courland and Semigallia had been spared the worst of the fighting in the various Polish-Swedish wars (1611–1629). The dukes of Courland developed shipbuilding and supported merchants, which led to economic growth.

Unlike in northern Latvia, the dukes of Courland reduced the free peasants to the status of serfs. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia continued the policy of exploiting the Latvian peasantry.

Duke Jacob Kettler (r. 1642–1682) was a reformer and did much to boost manufacturing in his lands. He also encouraged more Germans to settle there. In 1655, the First Northern War broke out. This conflict involved Sweden and its Prussian allies fighting Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. In 1658, the Swedes invaded the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and captured Jacob Kettler. They went on to occupy southern Latvia. From there, they invaded Poland-Lithuania and eventually captured Warsaw. In the east, the Russians took advantage of the situation and occupied much of the east of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Latvia was spared devastation because most of the fighting took place in Poland and Lithuania.

This series of wars is known as the Deluge in Poland, a series of invasions and rebellions that devastated the Polish Kingdom and the Duchy of Lithuania. The Poles were able to regain their strength and, with the help of the Austrians, pushed the Swedes and Russians out of their lands. The cataclysmic war concluded in 1660. The Swedes did not gain land, but their sovereignty of the Duchy of Livonia was confirmed. The Duchy of Courland remained part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

After 1660, the two Latvian duchies remained at peace and were generally prosperous. There was also part of what is now Latvia that was known as the Inflanty Voivodeship. It was directly ruled by Warsaw. This area was inhabited by Latgalians who belonged to the Catholic Church, and they spoke Latgalian, which is considered to be a dialect of Latvian. The political divisions in Latvia reinforced old linguistic and regional identities, and this continues to this day.

A Latvian Empire?

The Duchy of Courland was a vassal of Poland. However, the Kettlers were aware of the trade benefits of colonization. They developed ambitious plans to found Courland colonies in Africa and the West Indies. By the 1650s, the duchy had one of the largest merchant fleets in the north of Europe. Its vessels began trading in the West Indies, and in 1637, the duchy attempted and failed to establish a colony in modern Tobago. The Spanish blockaded the Courlanders, so the project failed. In the 1640s, another colonial enterprise was defeated by a rebellion of the indigenous Caribs in Tobago. In 1654, a small colony was eventually established in Tobago by the duke of Courland, which flourished for a while. In 1659, it was taken by the Dutch, who later returned it to Courland. The dukes of Courland received the backing of other Protestant powers and regained Tobago in the 1660s, only to be finally driven out by pirates after a few years. There were attempts to revive the colony, but it was finally abandoned in 1690 and sold to the Dutch.

The West Indies was not the only area that was colonized by the dukes of Courland. On the west coast of Africa, the dukes of Courland established a small fort on Saint Andrew’s Island in what is now The Gambia in 1651. Colonists built a fort called Fort Jacob (named after Duke Jacob Kettler). Alarmed by the prospect of competitors, the Dutch took over the island in 1660 when Sweden occupied Courland during the First Northern War. The Duchy of Courland tried to reclaim the fort in 1668 but was defeated by the Dutch.

The Second Great Northern War

Charles XI of Sweden (1655–1697) died relatively young and left his throne to his heir, Charles XII, who was crowned monarch of the Swedish Empire at the age of fifteen. The enemies of the Nordic kingdom believed it had been weakened. Poland, Saxony, Denmark, and Russia entered a coalition to partition the Swedish Empire between themselves. Charles XII would prove to be a military genius, though, and a worthy successor to Gustavus Adolphus. In 1700, he launched a preemptive attack on Denmark, forcing it out of the war.​

While Charles XII was in Denmark, the Saxons invaded his client state, the Duchy of Livonia. The local Swedish army was forced to fall back and became besieged in Riga, but the Saxons withdrew in February 1700. In June of the same year, the Saxons again invaded the Duchy of Livonia and besieged Riga. The Swedish garrison was outnumbered and on the verge of surrender when Charles XII arrived with a large army and defeated the Saxons, securing Swedish Livonia for a decade.​

Saxon siege of Riga (1700).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10848150

From his base in the Duchy of Livonia, Charles XII marched to meet the Russians at Narva (Estonia). There, he won a significant victory over Tsar Peter I, who would later be known as Peter the Great (1672–1725). Following this victory, Charles XII invaded Poland-Lithuania and later Saxony.

Swedish Livonia was restive, as many local nobles were still angered by their land being seized under the Act of Revocation in 1680, a continuation of the policy introduced by the Great Reduction. The Act of Revocation was a Swedish attempt to further centralize power by seizing the lands of nobles who had taken them illegally from smaller landowners. As a result, many Baltic German nobles began to plot against the Swedes.

By 1709, Charles XII had become master of northern and much of eastern Europe. However, like other great conquerors, he overextended himself. In 1709, he unwisely invaded Russia, suffering a total defeat at Poltava at the hands of Peter the Great. This defeat doomed the Swedish Empire.​

Under Peter the Great’s leadership, the anti-Swedish alliance was revived and went on the offensive. Charles XII escaped the disaster at Poltava by fleeing to Ottoman lands, but he became virtually a prisoner of the sultan. In 1709, a large Russian army advanced on the city of Riga, which was garrisoned by a Swedish force of twelve thousand soldiers. The Swedes had to defend the city because of its economic and strategic importance. An outbreak of plague spared the city from a prolonged Russian siege; however, many inside the city died of disease and hunger.​

In 1710, a huge Russian army personally led by Peter the Great invaded the Baltic lands and quickly overran Swedish Estonia before turning its attention to Swedish Latvian lands. Once again, Riga was besieged, and this time, the garrisons, weakened by plague, could not resist and capitulated. Many Swedes left Riga, and the rest of what is now Latvia was annexed to the Russian Empire. The plague in Riga spread throughout its hinterland, and thousands died in what is known as the Great Northern War Plague.​

After the Battle of Poltava, the Swedes gallantly fought on, but when Charles XII was killed in Norway in 1718, they were forced to surrender. Russia took over old Swedish Livonia, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth retained control of southern Latvia. It is believed that up to half of the population of what is now Latvia died because of the Great Northern War and the plague. The once prosperous Latvian lands went into decline and became a depopulated wasteland.

Chapter 6 – Russian Oppression and Resistance (1710–1914)

The Russian Yoke

Russia directly ruled the north of Latvia, but it was also immensely influential in the south in the Duchy of Courland once the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth went into dramatic decline. In 1721, the Swedes abandoned all claims to lands in Estonia and Latvia, and from then on, the East Baltic was dominated by the Russian Empire.

Peter the Great, with his usual energy and thirst for reform, had established the Riga Governorate in 1713. This included northern Latvia, parts of the Smolensk province, and parts of Estonia. The tsar, who was deeply impressed by Western models of government, appears to have appreciated the government of his new possessions in Latvia, which had been influenced by the Swedish, German, and Polish models.

Tsar Peter the Great left many of the old institutions, dating back to the Livonian Order, untouched. The old Baltic German aristocracy retained their privileges and continued to own much of the land of what is now Latvia. These Baltic Germans, descendants of the Northern Crusaders, still owned large manors and estates worked by Latvian peasants. The German elite spoke German and remained culturally German, unlike the Latvians. They dominated the Landtag, or Diet, which continued to meet and had considerable influence over the region’s administration. Local Latvians, apart from a few groups like the old Curonian elite, had no political or economic power.

Under the Swedes, the institution of serfdom had been all but abolished, and the peasants were technically free. But when northern Latvia (former Swedish Livonia) was incorporated into the Russian Empire, the practice of serfdom was reimposed. Many peasants and small farmers lost many of their personal freedoms and were reduced to the status of their medieval forebears. Serfs in northern Latvia had to pay feudal dues and receive the permission of their masters’ for basic things we take for granted, such as the right to travel or marry. In some cases, they might have had fewer rights than their fellow peasants in the south in the Duchy of Courland. The tsar also kept in place the old German legal system, which did much to reinforce the power and influence of the Baltic German elite.

As a result, the Governorate of Riga—or Livonia, as the Russians continued to call it—was something of an outlier in the Russian Empire. It was dominated by the Baltic Germans, who lorded over the Latvian peasantry, and it was practically autonomous. The Baltic Germans controlled the Lutheran Church, and Latvians had little say in it despite being overwhelmingly Lutheran themselves. Once more, we see how the fact that Latvia lay on the borderlands allowed it a degree of freedom.

In the mid-18th century, numerous Latvians joined the Moravian Brethren Christian sect, which flourished despite opposition from the German elite, who tried to repress the group. This was an early example of cultural resistance by the Latvians.

Duchy of Courland: Polish Rule in Latvia

The parts of Latvia not ruled by the Russians were officially administered by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Russians had growing influence in the duchy, and Polish authority only really extended into the Inflanty Voivodeship. The Kettler family, descendants of the last grand master of the Livonian Order, continued as dukes of Courland, and the local Baltic Germans continued to retain their privileges.

Peter the Great, looking to entrench Moscow’s influence in Courland, persuaded Duke Friedrich Wilhelm (Frederick William) to marry his niece Anna of Russia in 1710. The unfortunate duke died shortly after the wedding, and Anna of Russia (1693–1740) became regent of the Duchy of Courland. She ruled from the duchy’s capital, Jelgava, with the aid of Russian advisors. In 1730, Anna became tsarina of Russia and largely continued the policies of Peter the Great. She never remarried, and it was widely believed that she was under the influence of Ernst Johann von Biron (1690–1772). He was the lover and confidant of Anna, which made him immensely powerful in her court. During Anna’s time in Moscow, he was arguably the de facto ruler of Russia. Upon the death of the last member of the Kettler family, Anna made von Biron the duke of Courland.

Anna, Duchess of Courland and Empress of Russia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36855377

After the death of Anna, von Biron became regent to the young tsar but was overthrown in a palace coup and exiled to Siberia in 1741. Despite his exile, Russian influence in Courland remained. Peter von Biron (1724–1800) became the duke in 1769. He was a great patron of the arts and beautified the city of Jelgava. He also established the oldest institution of higher education in Latvia, the Academia Petrina.

Academia Petrina.

Nataliza01, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51778752

From the 1760s onward, the Russian Empire, along with its allies Prussia and Austria, annexed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth piece by piece. After the first two partitions, all that was left of what had once been the largest state in eastern Europe was central Poland and the Duchy of Courland, which was a de facto part of Russia. In the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the Duchy of Courland and the Inflanty Voivodeship were incorporated into the Russian Empire, and the last duke was pensioned off. The Governorate of Livonia was established to govern the former lands of the dukes. This governorate, along with the Governorate of Riga, contained most of the Latvian population.

A Changing Latvia

The first Jews settled in what was then the Duchy of Courland in the late 16th century, with the first community forming in Piltene in 1571. They were culturally German, spoke Yiddish, and had their own self-governing communities. They faced discrimination, such as being unable to live permanently in Riga. During the catastrophe of the Great Northern War (1700–1721), the Jewish community was decimated by soldiers from both sides because of their religion. Jews returned to what is now Latvia in the wake of the war and played a key role in helping the region recover after the conflict and plagues that devastated the population. Many Jews acted as bankers and entrepreneurs and were protected by the dukes of Courland, who recognized their expertise and usefulness. Conservatives wanted to expel the Jews because they feared their influence, but each time they tried, the reigning duke of Courland vetoed their proposals.

In the 18th century, many Jews from Ukraine and Belarus were drawn to the east of what is now Latvia. This was because Latvia was one of the wealthiest parts of the Russian Empire, thanks to trade, manufacturing, and its rich agricultural land. The city of Riga grew rich, and this is evident in the spectacular architecture that can still be seen today. By 1800, there was a significant Jewish population in what is now Latvia. Jews were not the only ethnic minority in the old Livonian lands; there was also a large Baltic German population, as well as Lithuanians, Poles, and Russians.​

The Enlightenment was a cultural movement that held that reason was more important than faith and that rationality would lead to human progress and happiness. The ideas of the Enlightenment were first introduced into Latvia by the Baltic Germans. Enlightenment ideas influenced many Baltic Germans and encouraged them to become interested in the native Latvian culture. Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796) published a German-Latvian dictionary and composed poems and other works in Latvian. He played a very important role in the development of Latvian literature.

The Latvian peasantry continued to suffer terrible conditions. Garlieb Merkel (1769–1850) authored a book, The Latvians, which described the brutal treatment of the Latvian peasants by their German masters. In it, Merkel called on Russia to end the atrocities committed against the peasants. There was so much outcry among the aristocracy and elite that Merkel was forced to go into exile.

Traditional and regional identities continued to be important in Latvia. The Livonians still spoke their ancient tongue, which was related to Finnish, but they were in decline. By the late 19th century, they had all but disappeared, apart from a few families. In Latgalia, the locals remained Catholic and spoke their own dialect. The resilient Baltic Germans thrived in the Russian Empire, and many became leading figures in business, the government, and the army.

Revolution, War, and Serfdom

In 1789, the French Revolution shocked all of Europe. Its ideas challenged the old feudal order and threatened to sweep it aside. The French Revolution also led to a series of continental wars and, ultimately, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1805, Napoleon won a brilliant victory over the combined Austrian and Russian armies at Austerlitz. Later, he defeated the Prussians and the Russians again and drove the latter out of Germany. By 1810, Napoleon had become the master of Europe. In many countries, the French Revolution inspired oppressed people to seek their independence. This was not the case in Latvia, as the local people had no real leadership, and the poor were so pitifully oppressed that they could do nothing to better their conditions.

Napoleon, like Charles XII, overextended himself. In 1812, his Grande Armée crossed the River Niemen and entered the Russian Empire. The massive French army and its allied contingents initially swept the Russian forces from the field. The Latvian regions were bypassed by the French as they headed for Moscow. In September 1812, a large force of Prussian auxiliaries entered what is now central Latvia. To counter this and presumably to protect St. Petersburg, a full Russian corps redirected from Finland was sent to the area under the command of a Baltic German, General Fabian Steinheil.

The Battle of Mesoten was the most important battle of the Napoleonic Wars that was fought in Latvia. It began when the Russians entered Jelgava (then known as Mitau) and seized it. The Prussian allies of the French under Field Marshal Yorck pounded the city with artillery and forded the Lielupe River, virtually surrounding the forces of Steinheil. There was an intense night-long battle, and the Russians, who were outnumbered, had to fall back to Riga. It appeared that Riga would fall to the French, so the governor of the city ordered the suburbs to be burned.

The Prussians did not advance, possibly because they were not enthusiastic about their alliance with Napoleon, who had reduced their kingdom to a client state. Napoleon captured Moscow but was forced to retreat in December 1812, during which his army crumbled due to the harsh winter conditions. Riga was able to hold out.

The Abolition of Serfdom in Latvia

Enlightenment ideas began to shape Russian policy during the reign of Catherine the Great, which eventually led to changed attitudes toward the serfs. There was a growing understanding in progressive elite circles that serfdom had to be reformed, as it was preventing the modernization of the economy. In 1802, there was a peasant revolt in Kauguri, which was suppressed by the army. This led to the Livonian Peasant Law of 1804, which gave the peasants more rights, such as fixed obligations and protection from eviction. However, this law was later weakened, as the nobles were able to persuade the government to reimpose many of the old restrictions.

In 1816, serfdom was abolished in the Governorate of Estonia, followed by Courland in 1817 and Livonia in 1819. Tsar Alexander I, who had defeated Napoleon, supported these reforms. However, in reality, these were only piecemeal measures. The peasants were freed personally, but they did not receive land, and the aristocracy retained great control over them.

Beginning in the 1830s, former serfs were allowed to move to and live in the cities. For the first time, they could even assume surnames. This had a dramatic impact on the cities and towns. Previously, Jews and Germans inhabited Riga and other urban centers. The new urban population soon became educated and came into contact with new Western ideas.

Tsar Alexander I (1771–1825)

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Serfdom gradually died out as a result of the growing commercialization of society. By the 1850s, many Latvian farmers were paying their rent in the form of labor rather than cash. New laws allowed Latvian farmers to buy land, and they began to take out loans from early credit unions to buy out their German landlords. The emancipation of the serfs by Alexander II in 1861 freed the remaining serfs across the Russian Empire, helping to create an important farmer class in Latvia.

In general, Latvian regions remained more prosperous than much of the rest of the Russian Empire. There was even some industrialization in the cities and towns, and a poor, mainly Latvian-speaking working class began to emerge. Others sought a better life, and thousands moved to Siberia, where land was free. Latvians who had to serve in the Russian army or who wanted to escape poverty emigrated to North America. Thousands settled in Boston.

The National Awakening

The abolition of serfdom and socioeconomic changes broke the control of the Germans over the Latvian peasantry. Prior to the emancipation of the serfs, educated Latvians adopted the German language and culture, which often allowed them economic and social opportunities otherwise denied to them. After 1863, this changed, as educated Latvians became interested in their own culture. The Latvian language became part of the school curriculum, and newspapers in the language appeared. Young writers began to write about local folklore, and they became popular. Song and dance festivals became widespread throughout the Latvian lands. Soon, the renewed interest in their culture encouraged many young people to seek independence for a united nation. They took the name of the Young Latvians, inspired by similar nationalist groups in Europe, such as the Young Italians. Nationalist Latvians began to agitate for more rights and called for an end to the privileges of the Baltic Germans.

In Russia, increasing social unrest and terrorism, such as political assassinations, led Alexander III to adopt many repressive policies. To ensure greater control over his diverse and sprawling empire, he introduced the policy of Russification. This was also imposed in Latvia despite its stability. Previously, the German language had been the official language of the Governorates of Riga and Livonia. Russian became the new official language. Latvian was banned from schools, and newspapers written in that language were shut down. The Russification policy threatened the newly emerging cultural identity of the Latvians, but it could be argued that it had the opposite effect. By the end of the 19th century, more people had become keenly aware of their native culture and language than before because of Russification.

The 1905 Revolution

By the start of the 20th century, it appeared that the Russian Empire was invincible. In reality, the empire was divided by religion, class, ideology, and ethnicity. While Latvia was more developed than much of the empire, this did not mean it was more content or tranquil. On the contrary, increasingly educated Latvians, exposed to Western ideas, sought greater freedom and rights. Left-wing ideas, often social democratic in nature, gained popularity in urban areas. The “New Current” movement emerged in the 1880s with a broadly leftist outlook; among its leaders was the national poet of Latvia, Rainis (Jānis Pliekšāns, 1865–1929).

By the 1890s, growing inequality led to large numbers of landless peasants and poor industrial workers. Marxist ideas found fertile ground in Latvia as a result. Despite the emancipation of the serfs, the Baltic Germans still dominated the economy and often exploited native Latvian peasants. Arguably, nationalists were angrier at the Baltic Germans than at the Russians. The Latvian Social Democratic Workers’ Party was established to advocate for better workers’ rights, increased social spending, and an end to German supremacy in the country.​

In 1905, the Russians suffered a disastrous military defeat to Japan in the Far East. The tsarist system’s loss of prestige prompted many to seek more rights and systemic reform. In Riga and other cities, a general strike was called, which proved highly successful. People took to the streets, but the Russian army and Cossacks massacred them, killing seventy-three strikers on January 13th, 1905. This did not end the revolt, though. In the countryside, many rural communities formed parish councils and took control of local areas, leading to violent clashes with the Baltic Germans.

By mid-1905, it seemed that Latvia might break away from the empire. The tsar managed to regain some control of St. Petersburg and sent a large detachment of Cossacks to suppress the revolt. They joined the Baltic Germans and executed many Latvians, burning down villages. This effectively ended the 1905 Revolution in Latvia.

Many rebels continued to attack the Russian occupiers or their agents for years, and some Latvian revolutionaries became active abroad. Despite the suppression of the revolt, it was clear that the old order was on the verge of collapse.​

Chapter 7 – WWI, the War of Independence, and Dictatorship

Latvia and WWI

In August 1914, European governments plunged the continent into its greatest war in a century. The Russian Empire, allied with Britain and France, invaded German territory in the East. The Allies designed this strategy to distract the Germans from attacking France. After the initial advance, the Russian army was virtually annihilated at the Battle of Tannenberg by a German force. This transformed the situation on the Eastern Front, and the Russians were mostly on the defensive for the rest of the war. Many Latvians fought in the first battles as conscripts. At the great Battle of Tannenberg, thousands of Latvians perished.

In the spring of 1915, the Germans advanced into Lithuania and captured most of the area. Then, they turned their attention to Latvia. This understandably created panic among the native Latvians since they were traditionally anti-German because of the Baltic Germans’ domination of their nation for centuries. While they resented Russian rule, they hated the Germans more. With the support of the Tsarist High Command, the Latvians began to form new military units, which became known as the Latvian Riflemen. Ironically, many of these riflemen were former revolutionaries who disliked the tsar but saw the Germans as the greater threat. The first Latvian Riflemen regiments were all volunteers, but men were later conscripted into the units. They were one of the national units in the Imperial Russian Army and widely recognized as some of the best in the Imperial Army.

Latvian soldiers in the Imperial Russian Army.

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By April 1915, the Germans had seized a large part of what is now Latvia south of the Daugava River. They occupied all of ancient Courland. St. Petersburg ordered the evacuation of the area, and some fifty thousand people moved into the interior of Russia, where they endured terrible conditions. The Latvian Riflemen, along with Russian units, fought the Germans to a standstill.

Riga was crucial to the Russians; if it fell, then the Germans could besiege St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. During the naval battle of the Gulf of Riga, the Russian navy defeated the Germans, which probably saved St. Petersburg from being blockaded.

During the Christmas Battles of the winter of 1916-17, the Latvian Riflemen launched a surprise attack on the Germans and broke through their front line. It seemed that this would cause a general retreat from the Baltic region. However, the Russian General Staff did not follow up, and the Latvians suffered appalling casualties. This led to increasingly nationalist sentiments in Latvia, which was only exacerbated by food shortages. There were more and more calls for Latvians to have their own nation.

In February 1917, the February Revolution overthrew the tsar and ended the Romanov dynasty. The Russian Empire was now a federation and, in theory, a parliamentary democracy. The Provisional Government was sympathetic to the aspirations of the many nationalities in the Russian Empire. Many Latvians hoped for a great deal of autonomy and freedom under the Russian Federation. Local land councils emerged that soon called for more self-determination. Many Latvians were dispersed in different governorates and wanted to be unified. For example, the Latgalians wanted to be part of a greater Latvian political entity.

The Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky continued to fight the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). In September 1917, the Germans inflicted a heavy defeat on the Russian army and forced it to fall back to Riga. Soon, the Germans were threatening to encircle the Russian army. The Latvian Riflemen fought outside the city and prevented it from being encircled. They probably saved an entire Russian army and possibly saved St. Petersburg.

Soviets, or workers’ and farmers’ councils, sprang up in those areas not occupied by the Germans. These were inspired by communist (Bolshevik) ideas.

The Communist Revolution and Latvia

Bolshevism became popular, and units of the Latvian Riflemen began supporting it. They and other Communists formed the Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers, Soldiers, and the Landless in Latvia (Iskolat). In July, it started acting as a local authority and is arguably the first communist government in what was to become the Soviet Union.

However, in German-occupied Riga, the Latvian Social Democrats formed a government and sought full independence from Russia and the removal of all German soldiers. The Social Democrats distrusted the Communists on ideological grounds. In October 1917, in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg), Latvian parties agreed to come together to form a national government. That same month, the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, seized power. It must be remembered that, at first, the Bolsheviks moved carefully, and political parties continued to operate. In January 1918, the Latvians called for the independence of their country.

However, events on the ground started moving fast. The Bolsheviks, or Soviets (the name for local councils), agreed to a ceasefire with the Germans after their seizure of power. Peace negotiations took place. In the spring of 1918, the Germans grew impatient and launched an offensive. In eleven days, they took large swathes of the former Russian Empire. Latvia was fully occupied, and the Latvian Riflemen were driven into Russia. Lenin had no choice but to sign the Brest-Litovsk Treaty in March 1918. In this treaty, all of Latvia, apart from Latgalia, was surrendered to the Germans. Many Latvians felt that the Bolsheviks had betrayed them.

The Fight for Independence

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s government decided to create a protectorate in Latvia, one that served German interests and which continued to be dominated by the Baltic Germans. Without consultation, the Germans created a new Duchy of Courland. A German aristocrat, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, was appointed to the dukedom. It appeared that Latvia had exchanged one foreign master for another. The Germans had, it appeared, regained their old status and continued to dominate the Latvians.

Yet, events on the Western Front were to change the situation on the ground. In the summer of 1918, the Germans, reinforced by units from the Eastern Front after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, launched an offensive on the Western Front. This, despite their initial success, was defeated, and an Allied counterattack drove the Germans back. By November 1918, the Imperial German Army was on the verge of collapse, and the old order was swept away by a revolution led by the left-wing Social Democrats. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the Germans surrendered and agreed to withdraw from all occupied land on both the Western and Eastern Fronts.

The War of Independence

Despite the proclamation of independence, the Latvians were divided among themselves. The left, especially the Communists, wanted to be part of the emerging Soviet Union since they believed that nationalism only benefited the elite. The Provisional Government of Latvia consisted of conservative nationalists and some Social Democrats. Latvia’s proximity to Petrograd, the new name for St. Petersburg, meant that the Soviets aimed to occupy it. In December 1918, Lenin ordered the Latvian Riflemen and other communist units to retake Latvia. The German forces continued to occupy most of Latvia, and the Provisional Government had some militia units. Allied naval units, led by the British, patrolled the coasts as part of their campaign to contain the Bolsheviks.

On December 17th, 1918, the Provisional Government of Workers and Peasants, under the Communist hardliner Pēteris Stučka, proclaimed the Latvian Socialist Republic, which was an autonomous republic within the Soviet Union. The main resistance to the Soviets came from the remnants of the German occupying forces, who also hated the Communists. Stučka and his henchmen launched a reign of terror. They nationalized businesses, seized land, and closed religious institutions. The Latvian Communists were the willing puppets of Lenin. Revolutionary tribunals were set up, and they sentenced many so-called enemies of the state to death. They especially targeted religious leaders and Baltic Germans; over one thousand people were sentenced to death.

The Provisional Government of Latvia retreated to the south of the country, and its leadership was forced to seek sanctuary in the Port of Liepāja on a British warship. British ships began to clash with the Soviets in the Baltic, which contributed to the Soviets’ failure to reoccupy all of the Baltic states, including Latvia.

Latvian soldiers of the Provisional Government (1919).

Limbaži Museum via Europeana, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=120859879

Some Reds (the Soviet Army) continued to occupy the ethnically Latvian region of Latgalia. The Germans in Latvia were able to regroup and became a formidable force under the command of Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz (1865–1946). The Allies demanded that the Germans withdraw and retreat into East Prussia to prevent them from turning Latvia into their de facto colony and becoming too powerful in the Baltic. The Weimar democratically elected government persuaded the Allies to allow the Germans to remain to fight the Bolsheviks.

The Germans formed a Freikorps, a right-wing paramilitary unit known as the Iron Division, which was virulently anti-communist. This was later joined by Baltic Germans and some Latvians to form the Baltische Landeswehr. While the Germans used the Red Terror, a communist campaign of violence, to justify staying in Latvia, they secretly wanted to create a German protectorate in the area to make up for their many territorial losses under the Treaty of Versailles. After recapturing the port of Windau, the Germans went on the offensive and won several battles against the Reds. Latvian formations loyal to the Provisional Government joined the Germans.

The war was a brutal one, and there were many atrocities committed by both sides. Estonia had secured its independence by this time, and it sent detachments against the Reds in the north of Latvia. German and Latvian units advanced on Riga and captured it in May 1919. Their entry into the city was followed by mass human rights abuses, such as summary public executions. In April 1919, the Germans, along with the Baltic Germans, staged a coup d’état and set up a government in Liepāja.

The Western Allies were no doubt pleased to see the end of the Latvian Socialist Republic and the expulsion of the Reds. They did not want to see the Germans controlling—even indirectly—the region. The Freikorps and the Baltic Germans suffered a defeat when they tried to annex Estonia. Berlin was forced by the Allies to disband the German Baltic Army and its units, and its commander was recalled.

Nevertheless, many of the hardliners wanted to fight on and establish a German colony in Latvia. Many of the Freikorps units, along with former Russian prisoners of war, formed the West Russian Volunteer Army. This “army” was anti-communist, allied with the White Russians (anti-Bolshevik forces), and decidedly pro-German. Under the command of a Cossack general, it attacked both Latvia and Lithuania. The West Russian Volunteer Army, also known as the White Russian Volunteer Army, really wanted to reimpose German rule on the Baltic states and can be seen as the successor of the Baltische Landeswehr, which had sought to reduce Latvia and the other Baltic states to the status of puppet states of Berlin.

By November 1919, the Latvians had formed their own army and controlled most of the country, but parts were still occupied by communists, White Russians, and some Germans. They had the support of the British Royal Navy off their coast. The National Provisional Government of Latvia began an offensive, which was led by Jānis Balodis (1881–1965). He was backed by two armored trains sent from Estonia. Latvia was able to drive the White Russian Volunteer Army back and forced them into Lithuanian territory, where they suffered further defeat at the hands of the Lithuanian army. With the help of the guns of British battleships, the Latvians were able to retake Riga.

By November 1919, the vast majority of Latvia was controlled by the National Provisional Government, and the remaining Freikorps evacuated to Germany. In early 1920, they received assistance from the Polish army as they drove the remaining Reds out of Latgalia. A Soviet-Latvian treaty was signed in August 1920, which is seen as the end of the Latvian War of Independence,

A member of the Baltische Landeswehr (c. 1919).

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The Birth of a Free Latvia

The new state received the backing of the Western powers, which saw it as a bulwark against the Bolsheviks. Some called for a union of the Baltic states with Finland, but this never materialized. In 1920, elections for the Latvian Constituent Assembly were held, and they were won by the Social Democratic Workers’ Party. They did not participate in the government because they did not have an outright majority. Instead, a coalition of smaller parties dominated the governments of democratic Latvia, including the Farmers’ Union Party. Latvian democracy was highly fractured, and small parties represented special interests, ethnic groups, and regions.

The first democratic government of Latvia scored a number of foreign policy wins, such as securing membership in the League of Nations and peacefully ending border disputes with its neighbors, including the Soviet Union. Latvia’s first constitution was modeled on the Swiss one, and it was liberal and protected the rights of minorities. The first president was Jānis Čakste (1859–1927) in 1922, and the prime minister was Kārlis Ulmanis (1877–1942) of the conservative Latvian Farmers’ Union.

Latvia faced a host of political and economic problems after winning independence. The new nation had been devastated by World War I, and the population had fallen to 1.7 million in 1920; previously, in 1914, the population had numbered over 2 million. Agriculture had been devastated, and most of the factories had closed. There was a great deal of political instability, and there was a total of twelve governments between 1922 and 1934. In total, the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, elected nine different prime ministers, but Ulmanis was re-elected several times.

Moreover, the various ethnicities in Latvia, such as Jews, Baltic Germans, Poles, and others, often clashed. Each group had their own parties to represent their own interests. Many Latvians wanted minorities to speak Latvian and show more loyalty to the new state. In 1925, the artist Ernests Brastiņš founded the Latvian neo-pagan movement, the Dievturība, which became influential in some circles.

There was a degree of anti-Semitism in the Baltic nation, and the far-right National Union Party published propaganda targeting Jews. Many Latvians who had lived in or had fled to Russia returned to Latvia to escape the Bolsheviks. Many of these were Jews, which inflamed the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the right.

Despite the instability, the Latvian Saeima managed to pass crucial land reform laws. This helped to unleash the potential of the rural economy, and agricultural exports surged. The land reform laws also started a social revolution since they deprived many of the old German elite of their economic power. Many Baltic Germans became alienated from the new state as a result.

Latvia’s trade was buoyant, as it benefited from a series of free trade agreements signed by Riga with other countries. The Baltic nations during the inter-war period were all on friendly terms and developed strong relationships with Sweden and Finland. In 1934, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia signed the Baltic Entente, which was a loose military and political alliance. Latvia and the other Baltic states signed the Baltic Entente to avoid being dominated by either the Soviet Union or Poland.

Latvia and the Ulmanis Dictatorship

By 1934, the situation in Europe was worrying. Adolf Hitler had come to power in Germany, and a military dictator ruled in Poland. Joseph Stalin controlled the Soviet Union from the Kremlin. This alarmed many Latvians, who feared that their newly independent state could be snuffed out. The various political parties had failed to create a stable political environment, and each party was only promoting its own special interest group or ethnicity. The economic situation in Latvia was dire; the Great Depression had devastated the economy, and many farmers faced bankruptcy. Like many other countries in the 1930s, the Pērkonkrusts, a party of Latvian fascists, became very prominent. They espoused anti-German and anti-Jewish views.

Due to this chaotic situation, there were fears for the safety of the nation. Prime Minister Ulmanis conspired with the army, especially the paramilitary reservists, the Aizsargi, to seize power. This was seen as necessary to provide the people with a strong government at a time of national emergency. On the night of May 15th, 1934, Prime Minister Ulmanis, along with the Aizsargi, seized key buildings in the country and had the military arrest leading members of the Social Democrats, the Pērkonkrusts, and others. Political opponents of Ulmanis were interned without trial.

Ulmanis ruled the country without parliament, suspended the constitution, and established an authoritarian regime. Influenced by Benito Mussolini and other fascist dictators of the 1930s, he created a corporatist system, which is where economic groups collaborate and negotiate in their members’ interests.

Ulmanis was a hardline Latvian nationalist and introduced policies to promote native culture. Learning the Latvian language became compulsory in schools and for public servants. Ulmanis launched a number of policies to rescue the agricultural sector. Loans were given to bankrupt farmers, and many Jewish and Baltic German companies were nationalized. These policies made the dictator, who held both the offices of prime minister and president, popular among ethnic Latvians, some of whom still respect his memory to this day. Unlike other dictators of the 1930s, he did not kill his enemies, but he did imprison many and imposed a harsh regime of censorship on the country.

In 1938, the Munich Agreement, which gave Nazi Germany much of Czechoslovakia, frightened many in Riga. It was clear that there was no collective security in Europe. Latvia was on its own and could not expect the help of Britain or France. The country was now threatened from the east by the Soviet Union and from the west by Germany. By the start of 1939, many Latvians feared for their new nation’s future, but few of them could have anticipated the cataclysm that was about to befall them.

Chapter 8 – World War II, Communist Terror, and the Holocaust

Latvia between Hitler and Stalin

In 1939, Latvia was nominally a neutral country, and this should have protected it from its enemies. But in a Europe overshadowed by Stalin and Hitler, it meant nothing. These powers believed that all small countries like Latvia needed to be integrated into larger ones. Ulmanis knew he could not rely on the Western powers. In June 1939, Riga signed a non-aggression pact with Berlin, but this did not provide any real security.

On August 23rd, 1939, one of the most notorious treaties in all history was signed. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact, was a non-aggression agreement whereby Moscow and Berlin declared that they would not attack each other. Contained in the pact was a secret protocol that was only officially confirmed after the end of WWII. Under this agreement, Stalin and Hitler partitioned much of eastern Europe between them. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany agreed to divide Poland, which led to Hitler’s invasion of Poland and the start of WWII. The Baltic states were assigned to Moscow’s sphere of influence.

The Soviets forced the Baltic states to sign treaties, such as the Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty, which allowed Moscow to station troops in their territories. The Soviets began to dictate to the Baltic governments and even influenced who could serve in their cabinets. Latvia had essentially become a client state of the Soviet Union. The Latvians accepted Soviet hegemony and cooperated with Moscow.

Finland refused to sign a similar agreement with the Soviets, which led to the Winter War (November 1939–March 1940). After this conflict ended, the Soviets again turned their attention to the Baltic states. In June 1940, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov accused them of engaging in a conspiracy, which was a fabrication. Soviet units entered Lithuania and soon after crossed into Latvia. There was no large-scale fighting. Ulmanis urged his fellow citizens to accept Soviet rule. He was forced to appoint a communist-dominated government, and after rigged elections, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was established. After this, Latvia became another Soviet republic. The secretary general of the Latvian Communist Party became the most powerful person in the state, though he ultimately answered to Stalin.

Under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, all Baltic Germans were to be repatriated to the “Fatherland.” Tens of thousands of Baltic Germans left Latvia and emigrated mostly to Prussia. This was effectively the end of the Baltic German community; after this, they no longer played a role in Latvian history.

The Terrible Year (1940–1941)

The new Latvian Soviet Republic began a reign of communist terror even more brutal than the one in 1919. The period of the first Soviet occupation of the country (June 1940–June 1941) is known to the Latvians as the Terrible Year. It saw a series of policies aimed at transforming Latvia into a socialist republic and eradicating all vestiges of capitalism and national identity. Plans were made to collectivize farms across the country, even though most of the land was owned by small farmers. Censorship was introduced, and other political parties were banned. In the second half of 1940, the Soviets began arresting leading political and cultural figures, deporting many to Siberia in an effort to leave the Latvian people leaderless.

This was not enough for Stalin, and in the summer of 1941, he ordered mass deportations of Latvians deemed to be anti-Soviet. On the night of June 14th, over fifteen thousand men, women, and children were ordered to assemble at train stations. Families were broken up, and they were loaded onto cattle trucks. The Latvians were sent to Siberia or Kazakhstan, and many died on the journey or endured great hardship upon reaching their destination.

Anyone seen as a threat to the regime was summarily executed. Unknown hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD. Soviet documents suggest that broader deportation plans might have included up to 700,000 people, roughly half the total population of Latvia. The communist authorities also targeted religious minorities, such as the Old Believers (the Orthodox Christian sect), whose communities faced persecution and deportation.

Operation Barbarossa—the codename for the German invasion of the Soviet Union—began on June 22nd, 1941, and prevented further deportations. German Army Group North invaded the Baltic states with the goal of capturing Leningrad. Upon hearing of the German invasion, many Latvian soldiers deserted the Red Army and began to fight the Soviets. This, combined with the shock of the German attack, meant there was little organized Soviet resistance. By July 1st, Riga had fallen, and the Germans were welcomed by some residents. By July 10th, the entirety of Latvia was under German occupation. One dictatorship had replaced another. Many Latvians who had been persecuted by the Soviets chose to collaborate with the Nazis.

The Holocaust in Latvia

Latvia, along with the other Baltic states, became part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland under the Third Reich. Hitler’s long-term plan for Latvia was that its population would be cut by half, and only those considered racially pure would be allowed to live there. This meant that Latvia’s many Jews, Roma, and others were to be deported or executed.

Anti-Semitism had been growing in Latvia throughout the 1930s. Previously, the Jews in the Baltic nation had enjoyed relative tolerance. However, many nationalists believed they were all communist sympathizers. At the start of the war, there were some seventy thousand Jews in the country, but around ten thousand were able to escape during the Soviet occupation.

As the Germans entered Latvian towns, they encouraged local sympathizers and criminals to take part in pogroms against the local Jews. Many of these were members of the notorious Arajs Kommando, a local paramilitary force that worked with the SS. Synagogues and Jewish homes were burned, and Jews were beaten to death. When the Germans entered Riga on July 4th, 1941, there was a massacre of Jews by local Latvians. Some of the victims were burned alive in synagogues.

Following the German Panzers came the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD), who began organizing the situation. They recruited local collaborators and helped form killing squads under Einsatzgruppe A. These units were made up of SS men, police, and sometimes regular soldiers. Their job was to kill the enemies of the Third Reich, including Communists, Roma, homosexuals, and especially Jews. During the summer of 1941, the first mass executions of Jews and others began. Latvian militia and the Arajs Kommando often helped in these killings or carried them out themselves.

The Einsatzgruppen formed firing squads and shot Jews, often into graves they had been forced to dig. On August 2nd, 1941, two thousand Jews in Jelgava were taken to a shooting range and murdered. All across Latvia, in any town or village with a Jewish population, there were mass shootings with the help of local collaborators. Throughout the autumn and early winter, Jews and Roma were taken to forests and shot. Those who survived were forced into ghettoes and made to work as slaves. Many died from starvation and disease. There were three main ghettoes in Latvia, which could be found in Riga, Daugavpils, and Liepāja. Some local Latvians tried to hide Jews.

One of the worst mass killings in Latvia during the Holocaust was the Rumbula massacre. In December 1941, most of the Jews left in the Riga Ghetto were rounded up and taken to Rumbula, near a railway line, and murdered. Around thirty thousand Jews were killed there over two days. After that, the ghetto was used to house Jews deported from Germany, Austria, and the Czech lands. These people were later held in Kaiserwald, a concentration camp that was set up in late 1943. This was not a death camp like Auschwitz, but it was a labor camp where people were worked to death.

When the Soviets started advancing in early 1944, the Germans began to evacuate the Jews, forcing them to go on death marches toward camps in Germany. Those seen as too weak to survive the journey—like the old or very young—were executed. It is estimated that around sixty thousand Latvian Jews and about one thousand Roma died during the Holocaust. Also, around twenty thousand German, Austrian, and Czech Jews were killed in Latvia at this time.

Latvian militiamen rounding up Jews.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B11441 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5360739

Latvian Resistance and Collaboration

The history of Latvia during WWII is particularly complex. We can speak of three main types of resistance fighters. There was a small number of Jewish resistance fighters in the ghettos, especially in Riga. They helped victims escape, committed acts of sabotage, and, in rare cases, targeted collaborators. Many Latvian nationalists took to the forests and marshes to fight the Soviets. They often welcomed the Nazis at first and even helped them during the early weeks of the war. Some continued to collaborate, but more and more nationalist partisans later turned against the German occupiers. In early 1943, the Nazis launched an anti-partisan offensive in eastern Latvia. They burned villages and deported civilians they accused of helping the partisans. Any display of nationalism was brutally suppressed by the Germans. The third main group of resistance fighters were the communists, who took orders from Moscow. They launched attacks and sabotaged the railway system in Latvia. These fighters included local party members and former Red Army soldiers. They often clashed with nationalist guerrillas. All the partisans depended on the support of the local people.

The Germans demanded more support from Latvians, who feared that the occupiers would introduce conscription. It must be remembered that many Latvians sympathized with the Germans—just as others did with the Soviet Union—and they served in both armies. In general, more Latvians served with the Germans than with the Soviets, largely as a reaction to the events of the Terrible Year, with its murders and deportations. In 1943, the Germans officially formed the Latvian Legion due to their heavy losses on the Eastern Front. This included two SS divisions that were initially made up mostly of Latvian volunteers and conscripts. These were the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division and the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. They were part of Army Group North and served in and around Leningrad during its long and brutal siege.

The Latvian divisions were largely made up of conscripts, many of whom were given a choice between joining or being sent to a labor camp. In general, these soldiers fought well and were driven by strong anti-communist sentiments rather than loyalty to Hitler. Many even expressed anti-German views. After the war, at the Nuremberg Trials, this motivation was recognized, and the tribunal ruled that conscripted members of the Latvian Legion and other Baltic units were not considered part of the criminal SS organization. The Soviets, however, did not agree with this and treated all former members of the Latvian Legion as war criminals.

Latvian Legion marching through Riga (1943).

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J16133 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5665339

The Soviet Reoccupation of Latvia

Soviet forces managed to break the siege of Leningrad in January 1944, which immediately changed the strategic situation on the Baltic front. Suddenly, the Baltic states became vulnerable to a counterattack, and by February 1944, the Red Army had entered Estonia. In response to the weakening of the Germans, who were starting to suffer regular defeats, the communist and nationalist partisans began to step up their attacks. In June 1944, the Soviets launched one of the biggest military offensives in history, Operation Bagration. This targeted German-occupied Belorussia (Belarus), and the Soviets managed to drive the Nazis back hundreds of miles. In September 1944, they were once again able to enter Latvia. However, the Baltic states were not a top priority for the Soviets, who continued to advance west.

On September 4th, the Latvian Central Council, which represented the nationalists, declared the independence of the country in a bid to regain sovereignty or at least win some backing from the West. Little did they know that British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden had already told Stalin earlier in 1944 that Britain would not oppose the annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union.

The 15th Waffen Latvian Division helped to defend Riga, which was coming under heavy artillery fire. On September 14th, the Soviet high commander ordered an attack on Riga. It was defended by German, Estonian, and Latvian divisions that were part of Army Group North, though they were outnumbered and outgunned. The Latvian Rifleman Corps, which included some communist Latvians, fought in the vanguard of the Red Army. The fighting was intense, and some of the German divisions suffered such heavy losses that they were basically reduced to the size of regiments. The 19th SS Division of the Latvian Legion also fought the Soviets as they approached Riga.

Then, the Soviets paused their attack. Instead of taking Riga right away, some Red Army units were sent toward Memel in Lithuania. They broke through German lines and reached the Baltic coast. In doing so, they cut off Army Group North. Riga was abandoned by its defenders around October 15th, and they fell back into Courland. By late October, almost all of Latvia was under Soviet control except for the Courland Peninsula.

The “Courland Pocket” and the Red Terror

The remnants of Army Group North, along with thousands of soldiers of the Latvian Legion, formed a defensive line in Courland, west of the Gulf of Riga. Hitler ordered them to hold the line and refused to allow the evacuation of the army in the region by sea or air. A massive Soviet offensive in November 1944 tried to break this line and capture Courland, or the Courland Pocket as it became known. Despite being cut off, the Germans largely contained this attack. The Courland area is marshy and has several rivers, such as the Barta, which can make offensive operations difficult. In October and November 1944, the Soviets pushed the Germans and Latvian units further back.

During Christmas 1944, the Soviets launched another offensive, this time centered on the town of Saldus. Latvian Riflemen units that fought for the Soviet Union clashed with elements of the Latvian Legion, such as those from the 19th SS Latvian Division, in a massive battle, even by Eastern Front standards. Up to 200,000 men fought in the battle on both sides. The Germans halted the Soviets, mostly due to the ferocity of their Latvian allies. By Christmas 1944, the Courland Pocket had been stabilized and had become a thorn in Stalin’s side since it was taking forces away from his planned offensives farther west.

In January 1945, the Germans withdrew seven divisions from the Courland Pocket to reinforce the front in Germany. The remaining units continued to fight on, and later that month, they even managed to repel another Soviet assault. On February 12th, 1945, the Red Army attacked again, south of Liepāja, and captured the key town of Džūkste. The earlier withdrawal had greatly weakened the defenders, but they, including many from the Latvian Legion, continued to resist with fanatical determination. They managed to halt the Soviet February offensive. After this, the terrain turned muddy, and the Red Army could not advance. It was only with the collapse of the Third Reich that the Germans in Courland finally surrendered, bringing an end to WWII in Latvia. Many Latvians who had served with the Germans were captured, and thousands were executed as war criminals or suffered in the terrible gulag prison camps.

During the Russian advances in 1944 and the battles for Courland, many Latvians fled westward. Many of them never returned because they faced persecution from the Soviets if they went back home. Among those who fled were some units of the Latvian Legion. Near the end of the war, they disobeyed orders to fight the Soviets and instead surrendered to the Western Allies. Some later served with the Allied occupation forces and even helped guard Nazi war criminals on trial at Nuremberg in 1946.

After the war, a large Latvian diaspora spread across the world. The combination of deaths and emigration caused a catastrophic decline in Latvia’s population. By 1945, the country lay in ruins, and it is estimated that around one in three people from the 1939 population had died or left.

Chapter 9 – Communist Tyranny and Rebellion in Latvia (1944–1991)

Soviet Terror Resumed

The Soviets claimed to have “liberated” the Latvians after the defeat of the Germans. In reality, very few people wanted the return of the communists. The communists used terror, murder, and intimidation to dominate Latvia. During the so-called “liberation” of the Baltic state, there were countless atrocities committed between 1944 and 1945. The Soviets tried Germans and Latvians in military tribunals for war crimes. Many innocent people were accused of collaborating with the Germans during the war in order to silence any opposition.

Soviet troops in Riga (1944).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48079395

Stalin signed the Atlantic Charter in 1941, which stated that great powers such as the Soviet Union would respect the sovereignty of smaller nations like the Baltic states. In practice, Stalin wanted to reoccupy the Baltic region, as it was of great strategic importance. Nationalists in the Baltic states hoped for Western intervention, but this never came. In effect, the Western Allies accepted the Soviet control of the territory first gained under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Even before the final collapse of the Courland Pocket, the communists had already revived the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic. Unlike in 1941, there was no pretense of independence; Latvia was a firm part of the Soviet Union. After their entry into Riga, the communists immediately reimposed the Soviet system. Rigged elections were held to give a false sense of democratic legitimacy. The Latvian Communist Party dominated all levels of government and was fully under Moscow’s control. Political opponents were arrested and persecuted. Special attention was paid to punishing Latvians accused of collaborating with the Nazis. Thousands of people continued to flee from the country. Under Soviet pressure, Sweden returned some former soldiers of the Latvian Legion, who were then deported to Siberia.

The communists arrested and deported anyone suspected of being a nationalist. There were regular deportations from 1945 to 1948, with Latvians being sent to Kazakhstan and Siberia. Many others were arrested or killed by the NKVD. The communists once again collectivized the farms, which was resisted by independent-minded farmers. Many chose to slaughter their livestock and flee to the cities or abroad rather than be forced onto collective farms.

Operation Priboi, which was carried out in March 1949, was one of the largest deportations in the Baltic states. On March 25th, 1949, about forty-three thousand Latvians—mostly farmers labeled as kulaks (rich peasants) who allegedly exploited others—were deported, mainly to the Soviet Far East. Many died on the way to Siberia and Kazakhstan due to poor conditions. The deportations allowed the Soviets to enforce collectivization more easily, but they caused agriculture to collapse, and people across Latvia struggled to find enough to eat. It is estimated that the Soviets deported around 120,000 Latvians to various locations in the Soviet Union.

The Forest Brothers: Rebels against Communism

The Latvian nationalists remained defiant. They believed that they could expel the Soviet occupiers. With the reestablishment of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, they took up arms against the Reds and their local surrogates. Latvian nationalist guerillas became known as the Forest Brothers. They collected stockpiles of weapons and had the support of many local people. The nationalists claimed that they were fighting for the country’s legitimate government.

Unable to fight the Soviets in a direct battle, they launched many hit-and-run attacks and assassinations. The NKVD and Red Army units launched brutal anti-partisan campaigns in the forests to destroy them. Civilians suspected of supporting the nationalist partisans faced deportation. The partisans were divided into regional lines, and their units acted autonomously. It is estimated that between ten thousand and twelve thousand Latvian nationalist partisans were active around 1949. In 1945, the British and the Americans sent agents to help the Latvian freedom fighters, but they were all arrested by the NKVD. Many of these, it was later established, were betrayed by the British traitor Kim Philby.

Following the mass deportations of civilians from rural areas, the guerrillas found it increasingly hard to get support and supplies. They began to withdraw farther and farther into the forests near the borders of Lithuania and Estonia. In 1952, the NKVD, backed by elements of the Red Army, launched a series of offensive operations targeting the strongholds of the rebels. Many died. The NKVD infiltrated the Latvian nationalist ranks, which compromised the entire resistance movement. In 1954, amnesty was given to those who left the forest and surrendered. By 1957, the resistance movement had been destroyed, but some lone individuals continued to remarkably defy the Soviets until the 1980s.

Stalin, Khrushchev, and Russian Mass Migration (1953–1962)

The death of Stalin brought dramatic changes to the Soviet Union. His successor as the secretary of the Communist Party was Nikita Khrushchev, and he ended many of the more brutal policies of the Soviet Union, such as forced deportations. This was the period of the so-called national communism, where local parties received more powers. Latvia’s Communist Party, however, remained dominated by Russians and Latvians who had lived in the Soviet Union. When there was discussion about promoting more use of the Latvian language, there was pushback from within the party leadership.

Despite Khrushchev’s reforms, there was an increased effort at Russification, and Latvians had to learn Russian for work and in schools. Censors suppressed any hint of Latvian nationalism. The local elites and bureaucracies were largely Russian, leading many Latvians to feel marginalized in their own land.

The communists had deported Latvians during Stalin’s time, but during Khrushchev’s time, they were encouraging Russians and others to move to the Baltic nation. This changed the demographic profile of the country. Some 350,000 Russians and others settled in Latvia during the postwar decades, and many were given better jobs and housing than the local people. A large number of the new arrivals were military personnel and their families stationed in Riga, which hosted the headquarters of the Baltic military district. A new Russian minority emerged in the country, and by 1960, they made up nearly one in five of the population. The Russian community grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s. By 1980, many Latvian nationalists were worried that their country would be completely Russified and disappear as a nation.

The Communist Party in Latvia was dominated by hardliners like Arvīds Pelše, who believed the republic had to be tightly controlled to prevent the rise of nationalism. Pelše purged the Communist Party of anyone who showed sympathy for any kind of nationalist sentiment.

Life in Communist Latvia

The years after the Soviet reoccupation were marked by terror and fear. After the death of Stalin in 1953, the situation improved somewhat, partly due to the decline of the Latvian nationalist partisan movement in the mid-1950s. The living conditions for ordinary Latvians got better, and the mass deportations ended for good. Nevertheless, the Latvian people still longed for independence and wanted to preserve their language and culture. Any expression of national identity could be seen as anti-Soviet and punished. All political opposition was banned, and those who defied the Soviets could be sent to the gulag in Siberia or incarcerated in a mental hospital. Latvian cultural events were often prohibited because of fears that they might incite nationalism.

Modern Russian historians often point to the economic progress Latvia made after World War II. The Soviets did embark on an ambitious industrialization plan for the republic. Since the communist system was centrally planned, Moscow decided that Latvia was suitable for industrial development. Radios, electronics, and other factories were built in the Baltic state, along with several large hydroelectric projects. These required a large workforce, which was mostly supplied by Russian and other migrants from the Soviet Union. Many Soviet soldiers also retired in the republic. Non-Latvians began to form large communities in newly built apartment blocks.

By 1970, Russians made up one-third of the population of Riga and a majority in Daugavpils. They were different in language and religion from the Latvians. Due to the influx of Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, the Orthodox Church grew despite the official atheist stance of the Soviet state. The local Communist Party was still dominated by Russians as late as 1989.

Before the war, Latvia had been relatively developed and modeled its system on Western democracies. During the Soviet era, living standards in the Republic of Latvia were among the highest in the USSR. This partly explains why so many migrated there. However, the Latvian economy could not truly flourish because of rigid central planning and the financial contributions Riga had to send to Moscow. Some have argued that although Latvia was relatively prosperous, it was economically exploited by the Soviet Union.

By the 1970s, structural problems in the communist system were becoming obvious. The Soviet economy stagnated, and living standards stopped improving. Even basic foodstuffs were rationed. Many workers did the bare minimum, and absenteeism became widespread. Long lines for food were a daily reality. Local elites in Latvia often falsified statistics to make things seem better than they were, and corruption spread across all levels of society. The local Communist Party was run by apparatchiks—functionaries who saw their positions as opportunities to enrich themselves, not promote socialist ideals. By 1980, almost no one truly believed in communism, and people only paid lip service to its ideology.

Still, any expression of Latvian nationalism was harshly repressed. Although Latvia was officially a Soviet republic, it was ruled from Moscow. Political and religious freedoms were restricted. Many Latvians felt cut off from Europe and deeply resented the Soviet system.

Gorbachev and Reforms in Latvia

Mikhail Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party in 1985 and the leader of the Soviet Union. He was faced with deepening economic problems, corruption, and the need to compete with the West during the Cold War. Gorbachev wanted to reform communism. He introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika, which sought to liberalize the Soviet system and make it more efficient. These policies were welcomed in Latvia and other republics, which craved change. The old Soviet system of repression and censorship was relaxed. People began to enjoy more freedom and could even express their opinions. Soon, Latvians at home and abroad began to dream of more freedom and even autonomy.

By the late 1980s, Gorbachev’s economic reforms were faltering, and inflation was rampant. However, because of glasnost (“openness”), Latvians could now challenge the Communist Party over economic and environmental issues, and they successfully influenced several policies. Nationalists began cautiously demonstrating for more autonomy, though these gatherings were sometimes broken up. Latvian nationalists often cooperated with groups in Lithuania and Estonia, who had also suffered under Soviet rule. Many Latvians were motivated by memories of deportations and Stalin’s terror. Cultural events grew in popularity and soon became expressions of national identity.

In 1988, the Latvian Popular Front was founded and began to demand more political autonomy. Moscow under Gorbachev was initially sympathetic, believing that limited reforms would calm nationalist sentiment and help preserve the Soviet Union. However, the policy backfired. The Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK), which was founded in 1988, went further and called for outright independence. It was the first group in the USSR to publicly demand full sovereignty for a republic.

In 1989, things accelerated. The Soviet economy entered a freefall, and Gorbachev pulled the Red Army out of Afghanistan. Communist control over Eastern Europe was weakening. On August 23rd, 1989—the fiftieth anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact—hundreds of thousands of people in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania joined hands to form the Baltic Way, a human chain stretching over six hundred kilometers. The peaceful protest captured global attention.

Later that year, Communist parties in Eastern Europe began collapsing, starting with Poland and Hungary. In November, East Germany’s regime collapsed, and the Berlin Wall fell. This inspired Latvia. In early 1990, Latvia held free elections, and on May 4th, 1990, a majority of deputies voted for a declaration of independence, launching a transitional process. Gorbachev rejected it, insisting the USSR still had a future.

By early 1991, Latvia was a de facto independent state, but Soviet troops and installations remained. Tensions exploded in January 1991. Local pro-Soviet forces, backed by elements in Moscow, tried to regain control. The KGB was suspected of orchestrating efforts to discredit the independence movement. On January 13th, 1991, Soviet KGB units entered Riga and surrounded key sites. The Latvian government had no military of its own and called on civilians to resist peacefully. Thousands responded, building barricades around TV towers, government buildings, and bridges. The confrontation lasted several days and resulted in at least six deaths. Under pressure from the West, Moscow pulled the KGB units back. It was a clear win for the pro-independence side.

A barricade erected by pro-independence demonstrators (1991).

Apdency, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7107310

Still, Latvia remained occupied by Soviet troops, and two rival governments existed. In August 1991, Soviet hardliners attempted a coup against Gorbachev in Moscow. The coup failed after three days, but it accelerated the breakup of the USSR. On August 21st, 1991, Latvia formally declared full independence. The Red Army began withdrawing soon afterward.

Chapter 10 – Independence, Crisis, and Putin’s Threat

The Challenges of Independence

Soon after Latvia proclaimed its independence, it received recognition from many Western countries. The new government quickly applied to join international institutions such as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. Riga was eager to join the Western world and distance itself from the Soviet successor state, the Russian Federation. The new republic restored the 1922 constitution, and Latvia once again became a parliamentary democracy with a president. In 1993, the liberal Latvian Way Union won the most seats, and Valdis Birkavs formed a government as prime minister.

The government faced two major challenges. The first was the economy. Latvia lost its main market with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unemployment and poverty rose sharply, and public services came under pressure. Living standards, which were already low by Western standards, fell further. Like other former Soviet republics, Latvia experienced a deep economic crisis throughout the 1990s.

After the withdrawal of the Red Army, most Russians living in Latvia remained. Many had spent their entire lives in the country and considered it home. Ethnic Latvians made up about 52 percent of the population in 1990, with the rest being mainly Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. Many Latvians feared becoming a minority in their own country.

The government, supported primarily by ethnic Latvians, introduced a controversial citizenship law. Only Russians who could prove descent from residents before the 1940 Soviet occupation were granted automatic citizenship. Others had to undergo naturalization. The European Union urged the government not to deny residence or rights to Russian-speaking non-citizens. Moscow was angered, but in the chaos following the Soviet collapse, it could do little. Despite the tensions, Riga and Moscow managed to negotiate the withdrawal of the last Russian troops by 1995.

In 1995, the Latvian Parliament passed a law requiring knowledge of Latvian for citizenship. This provoked strong protests from many in the Russian-speaking community, who had been educated in Russian and used it in daily life. The law was widely seen as discriminatory. European organizations raised concerns, and the Council of Europe, an international human rights organization, began to monitor Latvia’s treatment of minorities starting in 1997. In 1998, Latvia eased the path to citizenship for non-citizens.

During the 1990s, Latvia transitioned to a free market economy. This caused major economic and social issues. Many uncompetitive businesses and factories closed, and unemployment surged. Ordinary Latvians faced real hardship. Emigration increased, with many Russians returning to their homeland and younger Latvians leaving to seek work in western Europe. The population declined, and there were fewer people living in Latvia in 2000 than in 1991. The transition was difficult. Many people struggled to adjust, and the country saw high levels of suicide, alcoholism, and mental health issues. Latvia still has one of the world’s highest suicide rates, although it has improved in recent years.

The social dislocation was also accompanied by a wave of crime. Corruption and organized crime became widespread. By the late 1990s, criminal gangs had gained considerable power. In 2008, some media even referred to Latvia as the “crime capital of Europe.” Many feared that the gangs had become untouchable, and organized crime remains a problem in the Baltic state to this day.

Latvian Spring

As Latvia entered the 2000s, the situation began to improve. The electoral system had proven resilient, and coalition governments provided a measure of stability. All major parties were committed to economic reforms. After 2001, its economy became one of the fastest growing in Europe, and by 2006, it grew at nearly 12 percent a year. Industry, services, and forestry became important sectors. Direct foreign investment from western Europe also helped to drive the economy.

Yet, the growing economy did not benefit everyone. Many young Latvians continued to emigrate to Europe for better opportunities. The Russian-speaking minority did not benefit to the same extent as ethnic Latvians. They had higher levels of unemployment and hardships than other groups. Some Russian-speaking neighborhoods in Riga and other urban centers faced growing social issues, including drugs and crime.

In 2003, Latvia held a referendum on joining the European Union, the transnational political and economic organization. The nation voted overwhelmingly to join, with 67 percent in favor. This was seen as an important step away from the Russian sphere of influence. Latvians had long looked westward and were eager to rejoin Europe. After EU membership was ratified in 2004, young people could travel freely, work, and study in any of the member states. By the 2000s, there were Latvian communities across Europe. Ironically, however, EU membership also worsened the demographic crisis in the country. While the economy grew, the population continued to decline. In 1989, the population was around 2.7 million, and by 2011, it had fallen to just over 2.1 million.

The 2008 financial crisis devastated the Latvian economy. Like elsewhere, banks failed, and there was a sharp recession. The gross domestic product fell by nearly 20 percent in a single year, making it one of the worst-hit countries globally. The recovery was slow and uneven but was eventually helped by the adoption of the euro, the common currency of the Eurozone, in 2014. By 2015, the economy was once again growing steadily. Despite joining the EU and adopting the euro, the Baltic nation remained reliant on trade with Russia, particularly in the energy sector.

While Latvia is a fully functioning democracy, there have been ongoing complaints that the Russians and other minorities have been marginalized. Many Russians still do not hold Latvian citizenship and instead have the status of non-citizens, with rights similar to foreign residents. This has angered parts of the local Russian-speaking community. Some foreign observers have referred to Latvia as a flawed democracy, pointing to the tendency of the political establishment to prioritize the interests of ethnic Latvians, particularly in language and education policies. Since 1990, the population of ethnic Russians has almost halved, largely due to emigration. As of 2020, just under a quarter of Latvia’s population identified as ethnically Russian.

Latvia and the Russian Bear

Despite ongoing controversies regarding the treatment of the Russian-speaking minority, relations between Riga and Moscow experienced periods of improvement following Vladimir Putin’s election as president of the Russian Federation in 2000. Notably, in 2005, Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga attended the Victory Day Parade in the Red Square, which marked the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II—a symbolic gesture that suggested a thaw in bilateral relations.

Latvia’s energy dependence on Russia, especially in natural gas, gave Moscow considerable leverage. Until 2014, Latvia imported nearly all of its natural gas from Russia, which made the country vulnerable to potential supply cuts. To reduce this dependency, Latvia began diversifying its energy sources. EU-funded renewable energy projects, especially biomass plants, played a key role in this effort. Despite these initiatives, Latvia remained heavily reliant on Russian gas throughout this period.

The government had to navigate the energy relationship carefully, knowing that Russia had previously cut off gas supplies to countries such as Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus to exert political pressure. Between 2000 and 2014, Latvia and Russia maintained a working relationship that included diplomatic cooperation and economic ties.

Latvia shares close cultural, historical, and economic connections with its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania. The three nations frequently collaborate on regional issues and joined NATO together in 2004. Membership in NATO meant that Latvia, if attacked, would receive support from other members of the world’s most powerful military alliance.

As part of its contribution to international security efforts, Latvia deployed troops alongside NATO coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan during the War on Terror.

Latvian military advisor on patrol with US and Afghan soldiers.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24564689

The New Cold War with Russia

In 2014, Ukrainian demonstrators in Kyiv forced the resignation of the pro-Russian and corrupt president. This event, known as the Maidan Revolution, was to have profound geo-political consequences for all of Europe and especially for Latvia. Moscow had long looked at Ukraine as essential for its defense and prosperity. After Ukraine secured independence, Russia had been able to treat it as a client state. The Maidan Revolution was seen by Putin as a direct threat to Russia. Using existing naval bases in Crimea, Russian special forces swiftly occupied it. This was followed by Moscow-backed separatists seizing key points with Russian majorities in the Donbas and elsewhere in Ukraine. Kyiv was forced to fight a war with Russian proxies.

The 2014 occupation of Crimea changed things for Latvia. Suddenly, it appeared that Moscow was once more committed to the expansion of its territories and that the Kremlin had imperial ambitions. Given the history of Latvia, whole swathes of the population feared an invasion. Minor Russian parties in the country backed Putin’s actions, which exacerbated tensions.

Latvia, along with the other Eastern European countries, wanted to adopt a harder line with Putin. They were consistently overruled by Western nations such as Germany, which had become dependent on Russian energy. For supporting sanctions, many Latvian exports were banned from the Russian market. The crisis of 2014 prompted Latvia to once more increase defense spending and to work with other Baltic nations on their mutual defense. Given the large Russian minority in the country, there were fears in Riga that Putin could use their presence and complaints to justify an intervention of some sort or even outright invasion.

Many in Latvia became wary of the activities of the Russian intelligence services in their country. In particular, they were concerned about the links between Moscow and the small ethnic Russian and left-wing parties. This has led, in turn, to a rise in anti-Russian feelings in some sectors of society and a corresponding rise in the appeal of right-wing populists.

During the economic crisis of 2008, the number of Latvians leaving the country had fallen. By the start of 2020, more Latvians were returning rather than leaving the country. The COVID-19 epidemic hit the country hard. The economy contracted, and deaths from the disease were high. This was because the country has an aging population.

Latvia is still considered one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, but there are persistent problems with unemployment. Corruption remains a problem as well, and Latvian banks have been implicated in money-laundering scandals, especially of Russian money. Even after 2014, many Latvian financial institutions facilitated Russian money laundering. This shows the continuing and complex relationship between Russia and the Baltic nation, even after its independence and Riga’s membership in the European Union.

During 2020, President Lukashenko of Belarus, often referred to as the last dictator in Europe, tried to remain in power by rigging an election. This prompted mass demonstrations, and it appeared that Lukashenko’s regime would collapse. In desperation, the Belarusian dictator repressed the demonstrators and turned to Putin for help. The dictator was able to remain in power but was almost completely dependent on Putin.

The repression prompted the West, including Latvia, to impose sanctions on Belarus, especially after Lukashenko ordered the hijacking of an airplane in order to apprehend a political enemy in 2021. Later that same year, inspired by the disruption caused by the European Migration Crisis of 2015, Lukashenko and his new ally, Putin, decided to weaponize vulnerable migrants and refugees. Belarus allowed migrants from all over the Middle East and Africa to enter its territory, and from here, they were guided to the border. Soon, massive numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa were trying to enter Poland and the Baltic states. On the Latvian-Belarusian border, thousands of desperate people tried to enter Latvia. Riga, in response, erected barriers and deployed police and army units to the border, which led to clashes between the security forces and migrants. The Latvian migrant crisis convinced many in the Baltic state that their country was under siege and at risk of invasion from their old enemy, Russia.

A Latvian M109 howitzer.

Gatis Indrēvics, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58337572

The Invasion of Ukraine and the Future of Latvia

After 2014, Latvia, along with the other Baltic states, believed they were on the front line of a new cold war with Moscow. This concern was dramatically confirmed in February 2022 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine, initiating the largest war in Europe since World War II. As a NATO member, Latvia was considered secure from direct attack. However, there were fears that if Kyiv fell, the Baltic states could be next or that Latvia might be cut off from Europe if Russian forces occupied the Suwałki Gap—a strategic area in Lithuania connecting the Baltic states to Poland and the rest of Europe.​

Riga offered as much support to Kyiv as possible. Putin’s failure to seize Kyiv was met with jubilation in Latvia, as it was believed that a preoccupied Russia would reduce the immediate threat to the Baltic nation. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees were welcomed into the country. During the war, some ethnic Russians supported the invasion and fought alongside Russian forces, leading ethnic Latvians to become increasingly suspicious of their Russian neighbors.

Despite more than a generation passing since independence, ethnic Latvians and Russians often lived in separate communities, spoke different languages, and consumed different media. Populist politicians urged a de-Russification campaign. In 2023, the government introduced policies to phase out the teaching of Russian in schools and to censor certain Russian-language media linked to Moscow. While many in the Russian community deplored the invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s dictatorship—evidenced by a growing number identifying as Latvian first instead of Russian—others felt more alienated than ever, raising concerns about potential unrest. As part of the de-Russification process, individuals holding Russian passports were required to pass a Latvian language test to remain in the country, even if they had lived there for decades.​

Since 2016, Latvia has been reinforced by NATO battalions as part of the Enhanced Forward Presence, a battle group set up to deal with any threat from Russia. Following the Ukrainian invasion, this force was expanded. Latvia now plays a crucial role in NATO’s defense against potential Russian aggression. The country continued to collaborate closely with Lithuania and Estonia. In 2023, they agreed to construct a series of defensive lines along their eastern borders consisting of bunkers and fortifications, reminiscent of France’s Maginot Line during World War II. Latvia reintroduced conscription and pledged to spend 3 percent of its GDP on defense. An international brigade numbering three thousand soldiers from NATO members was stationed in the Baltic republic in 2025 to help defend it.

Riga has been praised for its solidarity with Ukraine. In the face of the Russian threat, Latvians have demonstrated their commitment to maintaining their freedom and supporting those fighting for their liberty.​

Conclusion

Latvia has had a long, dramatic, and often tragic history. Despite its small size, it has played an important role in European history. From its early days, when the region was inhabited by proto-Latvian tribes and shaped by interactions with the Vikings, the Baltic lands were drawn into wider networks. The early history of Latvia is dominated by the arrival of German Crusaders, who conquered the tribes and introduced Christianity. This helped align the Baltic peoples with western Europe rather than the Eastern Orthodox world.

The Livonian Wars of the 16th century were crucial, as it marked the first time a Russian power threatened the Latvians. The wars also brought an end to the German military orders and bishoprics that had controlled the region. Peace did not follow. Latvia became a battleground for over a century, suffering a massive loss of life. It was successively ruled by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden before ultimately being absorbed into the Russian Empire.

Despite changes in overlords, the Baltic German elite continued to govern in the name of foreign powers, marginalizing and oppressing the ethnic Latvians. This long-standing oppression played a key role in shaping a shared Latvian national identity. During the Russian occupation, most Latvians lived as serfs without political or economic rights. Only in the 19th century did a national awakening begin to emerge, with increasing resistance to Russian and German dominance.

World War I brought great suffering to the country, as it lay on the Eastern Front. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Latvians began fighting for independence, battling both German forces and Soviet Bolsheviks. Latvia finally emerged as a free nation. However, this independence was short-lived. It was first undermined by authoritarian rule and later destroyed entirely by occupation—first by the Soviets, then the Nazis, and again by the Soviets.

During World War II, Latvia’s Jewish population was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust, and many ethnic Latvians also perished due to war, forced conscription, and repression. Under Stalin, the country suffered deeply from mass deportations and purges. The migration of ethnic Russians into Latvia during the Soviet period altered the demographic makeup so drastically that, by 1990, Latvians were barely a majority in their own land.

Latvia played a leading role in the peaceful movement that helped bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet, even after gaining independence, the country has faced new challenges, particularly the continuing threat from Russia under Vladimir Putin. Despite these pressures, Latvia has become a moderately prosperous democracy. Its history is defined by struggle and a profound love of freedom. The suffering of its people has instilled a deep commitment to liberty. That freedom, however, remains under threat in the 21st century.

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