Ludvigs Bolšteins (February 5, 1888 – June 21, 1940) was a Latvian general. From 1925 to 1928 Bolšteins was commander of the

Aizsargi Aizsargi (; officially – , or LAO) was a volunteer paramilitary organization, militia with some characteristics of a military reserve force in Latvia during the interbellum period (1918–1939). The Aizsargi was created on March 30, 1919, b ...

home guard, from 1928 to 1940 commander of the Latvian

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

. He killed himself following the Soviet occupation of Latvia.

Biography

Ludvigs Bolšteins was born on February 5, 1888, in Sesavas parish. In 1907 Bolšteins graduated from

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

, where he studied in the physics-mathematics faculty. In 1912 he joined the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

, and was decommissioned at the end of 1913.''Biography in Order of Lāčplēsis home page''
/ref> When the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out, he was mobilised and initially he served in Daugavgrīvas fortress, later assisting in the formation of

Latvian riflemen The Latvian Riflemen (; ) were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic governorates against the German Empire in World War I. Initially, the battalions were forme ...

battalions. He served in the 1st Daugavgrīvas Latvian riflemen battalion, where he started his service as

praporshchik (, , ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...

, but by the end of his service in the Russian army he had risen to the rank of stabskapitan. During World War I was awarded Order of St. Stanislaus (III class (with lances)) and Order of St. Anna (III and IV (with lances) classes). After the Bolshevik rise to power, he was arrested in

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

, but managed to escape. Subsequently he travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he along with those who refused to join the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, like his former commander

Frīdrihs Briedis Frīdrihs Briedis (June 23, 1888 – August 28, 1918) was a Latvian colonel and one of the most famous Latvian Riflemen commanders. He was posthumously the recipient of all classes of the Order of Lāčplēsis. Early life To escape dishonest ...

, took part in Savinkov's anti-Bolshevik organisation. After the collapse of this organisation Bolšteins returned to Latvia on December 28, 1918. There he joined Latvian army. Initially he aided the formation of new units in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

, and would later also serve at the front lines as a member of Kalpaks battalion. On July 12, 1919 Bolšteins obtained the rank of lieutenant colonel. On August 9 he was appointed the commander of the 9th Rēzeknes Infantry Regiment. After the liberation of

Rīga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

he was made a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. For the remnant of the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

he served on the

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

front. After being

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

on September 15, 1920, Bolšteins took to farming at his estate in

Līvbērze parish Līvbērze parish () is an administrative unit of Jelgava Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states ...

. In 1925 he became the head of the

home guard, and in 1928 became the commander of the Latvian Border guards. In 1935 he received the rank of general. During his service in the Latvian army he was awarded the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during the Latvian War of Independ ...

(II, III classes),

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

(II, III classes) and other Latvian and foreign decorations. After the occupation of Latvia by the USSR, he killed himself in his office. Ludvigs Bolšteins was buried at the

Brothers' Cemetery Brothers' Cemetery or Cemetery of the Brethren (), also sometimes referred to in English as the Common Graves or simply as the Military Cemetery, is a military cemetery and national monument in Riga, capital of Latvia. The cemetery is a memori ...

. Before taking his life, Bolšteins left a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...

directed to his superiors. In his letter he wrote:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolsteins, Ludvigs 1888 births 1940 suicides 1940 deaths People from Jelgava Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian generals Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commander's Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel who died by suicide White movement people Suicides by firearm in Latvia

Biography

See also

References