Augusts Kirhenšteins, formerly spelt Kirchenšteins (18 September 1872 – 3 November 1963), 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 par ...

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

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of Latvia from 20 June 1940 to 25 August 1940 and Acting ''de facto'' President of Latvia from 21 July 1940 to 25 August 1940. It was Kirhenšteins' Soviet puppet government that requested the incorporation 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, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

after the occupation of the country in 1940. He became a member of the Communist Party 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 Mazsalaca, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

. He was the eldest son of the tenant Mārtiņš Kirhenšteins and his wife Baba, in a family of eleven children. Augusts Kirhenšteins' younger brother, Rūdolfs Kirhenšteins (1891–1938), went on to become a Soviet intelligence officer who was arrested and shot during the Great Terror. In 1888, Augusts Kirhenšteins attended school at the Riga Alexander Boys Gymnasium. He then studied at the Tartu 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 and Limbaži. Kirhenšteins was involved in revolutionary anti-Tsarist activity in this period and after the 1905 revolution was defeated in Latvia, Kirhenšteins emigrated to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he lived for a while in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. In 1911, he began work in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

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 bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

Carl Spengler. During

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 ...

, Kirhenšteins served in the Serbian army 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 (), 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 ...

. In 1919, he was elected as an associate professor at the University of Latvia, 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 mi ...

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 Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. 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 Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

. After the occupation of Latvia, Kirhenšteins was invited to the USSR Embassy and offered to become the head of the new Soviet puppet government 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 (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between J ...

(1940–52), and vice-president of the

Latvian Academy of Sciences The Latvian Academy of Sciences (, ) is the official science academy of Latvia and is an association of the country's foremost scientists. The academy was founded as the ''Latvian SSR Academy of Sciences'' (). It is located in Riga. The curren ...

(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 () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

– 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 *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

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

References

External links

"Augusts Kirhenšteins"
at the Latvian Education Informatization System (LIIS). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirhensteins, Augusts 1872 births 1963 deaths People from Mazsalaca People from Valmiera county 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 Academic staff of the University of Latvia 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 Latvian biologists Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Latvian revolutionaries Serbian military personnel of World War I Soviet microbiologists