The International Front of the Working People of the Latvian SSR or Interfront (, ) was a pro-Soviet socialist organization in the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

, which during the years 1989–1991, supported

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

remaining part of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Interfront was founded in January 1989 as a reaction to the creation of the pro-independence

Popular Front of Latvia The Popular Front of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Tautas fronte) was a political organisation in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the ...

. In 1989 it took part in forming the ''United Front of Workers of the USSR'' (Объединенный фронт трудящихся СССР). Its membership consisted almost entirely of Soviet military members and Communist Party officials. The Interfront central leadership published a newspaper ''Yedinstvo'' (russian: Единство, 'Unity'). Local sections of the organisation, for example in

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

, published their own information bulletins. Interfront also made radio broadcasts. Among the leaders of Interfront were Igor Lopatin, Anatoly Alekseyev, and

Tatjana Ždanoka Tatjana Ždanoka or Tatyana Zhdanok (russian: Татья́на Арка́дьевна Ждано́к, ''Tatyana Arkadyevna Zhdanok''; born Tatyana Khesin (''Хесин'') on May 8, 1950 in Riga) is a Latvian politician and a Member of the Europ ...

. Interfront was particularly active during the

January 1991 events in Latvia The Barricades ( lv, Barikādes) were a series of confrontations between the Republic of Latvia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in January 1991 which took place mainly in Riga. The events are named for the popular effort of building ...

, during which several civilians and law enforcement officers were killed in clashes with

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

units loyal to the central government in Moscow. In September 1991, following the failed

August Coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

attempt and the restoration of Latvian independence from the USSR, the transitional parliament, the Supreme Council passed a law banning Interfront and the

Communist Party of Latvia The Communist Party of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Komunistiskā partija, LKP) was a political party in Latvia. History Latvian Social-Democracy prior to 1919 The party was founded at a congress in June 1904. Initially the party was known as the Latvia ...

. As a result of the ban, those known to have been members in Interfront after 13 January 1991 have faced restrictions on

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

as citizens of Latvia. Former Interfront activists who hold citizenship of Latvia have been prohibited from standing as candidates for election to the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

(parliament) or municipal councils.

References

* {{Authority control Communist parties in the Soviet Union Organizations of the Revolutions of 1989 Political history of Latvia Communist parties in Latvia Defunct political parties in Latvia Political parties established in 1989 Political parties disestablished in 1991 Soviet internal politics 1989 in the Soviet Union Singing Revolution Dissolution of the Soviet Union

See also

References