Augusts Kirhenšteins, formerly spelt Kirchenšteins (18 September 1872 in

Mazsalaca Mazsalaca (; liv, Piškisalāts, et, Väike-Salatsi, german: Salisburg) is a town in Valmiera Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It has 1269 inhabitants. History The area includes the largest known Stone Age burial site in Northern E ...

– 3 November 1963 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

), was a Latvian and Soviet

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of para ...

, politician and educator. He was the ''de facto''

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of Latvia from 20 June 1940 to 25 August 1940 and Acting ''de facto''

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be ...

from 21 July 1940 to 25 August 1940. It was Kirhenšteins' Soviet puppet government that requested the incorporation of

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 ...

into the

Soviet Union 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 ...

after the occupation of the country in 1940. He became a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

in 1941. He was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940–1952.

Biography

Augusts Kirhenšteins was born on 18 September 1872 on the estate of Valtenberg Manor in

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

. He was the eldest son of the tenant Mārtiņš Kirhenšteins and his wife Baba, in a family of eleven children. Augusts Kirhenšteins' brother, Rūdolfs Kirhenšteins (1891-1938), went on to become a Soviet intelligence officer who was arrested and shot during the

Great Terror The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

. In 1888, Augusts Kirhenšteins attended school at the Riga Alexander Boys Gymnasium. He then studied at the

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

Veterinary Institute (1893-1901), publishing his first scientific work while still pursuing his studies. He joined the student fraternity Selonija, later switching to the fraternity Zemgalija. In 1901, he graduated from the institute and worked as a veterinarian in

Valmiera Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state cit ...

and

Limbaži Limbaži (, et, Lemsalu, german: Lemsal, liv, Limbaž) is a town in the Vidzeme region of northern Latvia. Limbaži is located 90 km northeast of the capital Riga. The population is 6888 people. During the Middle Ages, as part of Livonia, L ...

. Kirhenšteins was involved in revolutionary anti-Tsarist activity in this period and after the

1905 revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

was defeated in Latvia, Kirhenšteins emigrated to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he lived for a while in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

. In 1911, he began work in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alps, Alpine resort town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, muni ...

at the Institute for Tuberculosis Research as an assistant to the

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

Carl Spengler. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Kirhenšteins served in the

Serbian army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

as a military veterinarian. He returned home to Latvia in 1917, later becoming a captain in veterinary units of the Latvian National Armed Forces during the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), 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 proclaim ...

. In 1919, he was elected as an associate professor at the

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

, where he established a Microbiology Institute in the Faculty of Agriculture. In 1923, he defended his doctoral thesis, "On the Internal Structure and Development of Bacteria", writing his dissertation in French—this was the first doctoral thesis defended in Latvia. In 1923, he established a

serological Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given mic ...

laboratory (Serum Station) at the University of Latvia. Working as its director, he made a major contribution to the development of science in Latvia, especially in the fields of microbiology, immunology, dairy farming and biotechnology. In 1934, he married Olga Jansone in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. In addition to his scientific activities, Kirhenšteins was involved in social and political matters, in which he was a supporter of

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

After the

occupation of Latvia Latvia has been occupied by military forces from other nations from time to time. Military occupations of Latvia have included: * Livonian Crusade (13th century) * Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 * Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany (1941� ...

, Kirhenšteins was invited to the USSR Embassy and offered to become the head of the new Soviet

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...

in Latvia, whose primary task was to formally ask for Latvia to be admitted to the Soviet Union, which was finalized in August 1940. He was then made chairman of the Presidium of the

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 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 ...

(1940–52), and vice-president of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (1951-1958). He died on 3 November 1963 in Riga and was buried at the Rainis Cemetery.

Awards

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

– by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet dated September 17, 1957 ''"for outstanding services in the field of biological science and social and political activity"'' * 6

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st degree (03/02/1944) * 3 Orders of the Red Banner of Labour * Honored Scientist of the Latvian SSR (1945)

External links

"Augusts Kirhenšteins"
at the Latvian Education Informatization System (LIIS). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirhensteins, Augusts 1872 births 1963 deaths People from Mazsalaca People from Kreis Wolmar Academicians of the Latvian SSR Academy of Sciences Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Deputies of the People's Saeima Heads of state of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Prime Ministers of Latvia University of Latvia faculty University of Tartu alumni Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Second convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Third convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Latvian biologists Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Latvian revolutionaries Serbian military personnel of World War I Soviet microbiologists