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Popular Front Of Latvia
The Popular Front of Latvia () 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 Sąjūdis movement in Lithuania. Its newspaper was '' Atmoda'' ("Awakening", cf. Latvian National Awakening), printed in the Latvian and Russian languages during 1989-1992. Historic background Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940–1941, by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944 and again by the Soviet Union in 1944–1991. In 1940, almost immediately an armed resistance started, which under the name of Forest Brothers continued until 1956. A chance to regain independence came in 1980s when Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reform the Soviet Union. In particular, Gorbachev's ''glasnost'' policy allowed more freedom of speech in the Soviet Union than ever before. Beginning in 1986, Latvians began to organise aro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dainis Īvāns
Dainis Īvāns (born 25 September 1955 in Madona) is a Latvian journalist and politician. He has worked as a journalist since 1979 and gained public attention in 1986 by opposing construction of another hydro-electric dam on the Daugava river, near the city of Daugavpils. Īvāns highlighted the loss of landscapes and the relocation of numerous villages and towns required in the course of the dam's construction. As a result of the media campaign led by Īvāns, the construction of the dam was cancelled. He was awarded the title of Most Popular Journalist of 1986. In 1988, he became one of founders of the Popular Front of Latvia and its leader. After the Popular Front victory in the 1990 election, he became the deputy speaker of the Supreme Council, the transitional parliament of Latvia. He resigned from this position in 1992. He returned to politics in 1998, by joining the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party and was elected to Riga City Council A municipal council is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Secretary Of The Communist Party Of The Soviet Union
The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissolution in 1991, the officeholder was the recognized List of leaders of the Soviet Union, leader of the Soviet Union. Prior to Joseph Stalin's accession, the position was not viewed as an important role in Lenin's First and Second Government, Vladimir Lenin's government and previous occupants had been responsible for technical rather than political decisions. Officially, the General Secretary solely controlled the Communist Party directly. However, since the party had a One-party state, monopoly on political power, the General Secretary ''de facto'' had executive control of the Government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government. Because of the office's ability to direct both the foreign and domestic policies of the state and preeminence over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1990 Latvian Supreme Soviet Election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Latvian SSR on 18 March 1990.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1122 It was the first free parliamentary election in Latvia since 1931 and saw 201 deputies elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR, 170 of them in the first round. Run-off elections were held on 25 March 1 and 29 April. The Popular Front of Latvia won over two-thirds of the vote. Unlike its Estonian and Lithuanian counterparts, the Latvian Communist Party did not separate from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, on 3 May 1990, the new Supreme Soviet re-elected the Communist Party member Anatolijs Gorbunovs as its chairman, effectively the leader of Latvia. He subsequently resigned from the party, and a year later the Communist Party was banned by the parliament. The elected parliament was responsible for some of the most important decisions in modern Latvian history, such as the declaration of re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Latvian Coup D'état
The 1934 Latvian coup d'état () known in Latvia also as the 15 May Coup (''15. maija apvērsums'') or Ulmanis' Coup (''Ulmaņa apvērsums''), was a self-coup by the veteran Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis against the parliamentary system in Latvia. His regime lasted until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940. On the night of 15–16 May, Ulmanis, with the support of Minister of War Jānis Balodis and the paramilitary Aizsargi organization, took control of the main state and party offices, proclaimed a nationwide state of emergency (also referred to martial law), suspended the Constitution, dissolved all political parties and the Saeima (parliament). Ulmanis then established a non-parliamentary authoritarian regime in which he continued as Prime Minister. Laws continued to be promulgated by the acting government. The incumbent President of Latvia Alberts Kviesis, who was from Ulmanis’ Latvian Farmers' Union, accepted the coup and served out the rest of his term until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kārlis Ulmanis
Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician and a dictator. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from November 1918 to June 1940 and served as the country's first Prime Minister of Latvia, prime minister. He served four times as prime minister, the last time as the head of an authoritarian regime, during which he subsequently also adopted the title of President of Latvia. The legacy of his dictatorship continues to divide public opinion in Latvia today. Early life Born in a prosperous farming family, Ulmanis studied agriculture at the ETH Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and at Leipzig University. He then worked in Latvia as a writer, lecturer, and manager in agricultural positions. He was politically active during the 1905 Revolution, was briefly imprisoned in Pskov, and subsequently fled Latvia to avoid incarcera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Language
Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is the native language of the Russians. It was the ''de facto'' and ''de jure'' De facto#National languages, official language of the former Soviet Union.1977 Soviet Constitution, Constitution and Fundamental Law of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1977: Section II, Chapter 6, Article 36 Russian has remained an official language of the Russia, Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and is still commonly used as a lingua franca in Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Baltic states and Russian language in Israel, Israel. Russian has over 253 million total speakers worldwide. It is the List of languages by number of speakers in Europe, most spoken native language in Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvian Language
Latvian (, ), also known as Lettish, is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. It is spoken in the Baltic region, and is the language of the Latvians. It is the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 1.5 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and 100,000 abroad. Altogether, 2 million, or 80% of the population of Latvia, spoke Latvian in the 2000s, before the total number of inhabitants of Latvia slipped to 1.8 million in 2022. Of those, around 1.16 million or 62% of Latvia's population used it as their primary language at home, though excluding the Latgale Planning Region, Latgale and Riga Planning Region, Riga regions it is spoken as a native language in villages and towns by over 90% of the population. As a Baltic languages, Baltic language, Latvian is most closely related to neighboring Lithuanian language, Lithuanian (as well as Old Prussian language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatolijs Gorbunovs
Anatolijs Gorbunovs, also known as Anatoly Valeryanovich Gorbunov (; born 10 February 1942), is a Latvian politician who served as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet during the final years of the Soviet regime in Latvia and as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Latvia during the first years after the country regained its independence. In the latter capacity he was effectively the acting head of state before the election of the Fifth Saeima in 1993. He continued to serve as the Speaker of the Saeima until 1995. Political career From 1974 to 1988, he held various positions in the Communist Party of Latvia, with his highest position being the Secretary of the Central Committee. Unlike many other Communist Party members in Latvia, Gorbunovs supported the Latvian independence movement. From 1988 to 1990 he was also Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. In 1990, he presided over a session of the Supreme Soviet that declared the Soviet Union an occupying power, voide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Latvia
The national flag of Latvia () was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia, regained its independence, the Latvian government re-adopted the traditional red-white-red flag. Though officially adopted in 1921, the Latvian flag was used in as early as the 13th century, according to the ''Rhymed Chronicle of Livonia''. The red colour is sometimes described as symbolizing the readiness of the Latvians to give the blood from their hearts for freedom and their willingness to defend their sovereignty. An alternative interpretation is that a Latgalian leader was wounded in battle, and the sheet on which he was laid on was stained by his blood with only the centre stripe of the sheet being left unstained. This story is similar to the legend of the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvian SSR
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940), Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between June and August 1939, according to the agreed terms of the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In 1939, Latvia was forced to give Military base, military bases on its soil to the Soviet Union, and in 1940 the Red Army moved into Latvia, effectively annexing it into the Soviet Union. The territory changed sides during World War II, with Nazi Germany occupying a large portion of Latvian territory from 1941 until the Red Army entered Latvia in 1944 with the Courland Pocket, final territory occupied by the Germans liberated in 1945. The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states from 1939 to 1940 and then from 1944 to 1991 was widely considered illegal by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helsinki-86
The CTAG (, Human Rights Defense Group) Helsinki-86 was founded on 10 July 1986 in the Latvian port town of Liepāja by three workers: Linards Grantiņš, Raimonds Bitenieks, and Mārtiņš Bariss. Its name refers to the Helsinki Accords and the year of its founding. Helsinki-86 was the first openly anti-Communist organization, but also the first openly organized opposition to the Soviet regime, in the former Soviet Union, setting an example for other ethnic minorities' pro-independence movements. Role in the "Singing Revolution" Helsinki-86 was an important early actor during the "Singing Revolution" in Latvia, during which the country regained its independence from the USSR. By the beginning of 1988, there were nearly twenty members of Helsinki-86. The most prominent among them, aside from the founding members were Rolands Silaraups, Konstantins Pupurs, Juris Vidiņš, Juris Ziemelis, Alfreds Zariņš, Heino Lāma, and Edmunds Cirvelis. By mid-1988, some of the most active ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daugava
The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of the Volga. It is in length, of which are in Latvia and in Russia. It is a westward-flowing river, tracing out a great south-bending curve as it passes through northern Belarus. The city of Ķekava is located 6 miles south of the west bank of the river. Latvia's capital, Riga, bridges the river's estuary four times. Built on both riverbanks, the city centre is from the river's mouth and is a significant port. Etymology According to Max Vasmer's ''Etymological Dictionary'', the toponym Dvina cannot stem from a Uralic language; instead, it possibly comes from an Indo-European word which used to mean 'river' or 'stream'. The name ''Dvina'' strongly resembles '' Danuvius'' which is itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''*dānu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
