Latvia–Poland relations are foreign relations between

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 ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Both countries enjoy good relations and are close allies. There are around 57,000

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

living in Latvia. Both countries are full members of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

Bucharest Nine The Bucharest Nine or the Bucharest Format (B9 or B-9; , ) is an organization founded on 4 November 2015 in Bucharest, Romania, at the initiative of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda during a bilate ...

Three Seas Initiative The Three Seas Initiative (3SI or TSI), known also as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative or simply as the Three Seas (Latin: ''Trimarium'', ), is a forum of thirteen states, in the European Union, running along a north–south axi ...

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Council of the Baltic Sea States The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas: regional identity; regional safety and security; regional sustainability and prosperity. These three priority areas aim ...

and HELCOM.

History

Present-day Latvia was part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

in its entirety until 1621, and then partially until the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. It endured several Swedish invasions during the Polish–Swedish wars of 1600–1611, 1617–1618, 1621–1625, 1626–1629, 1655–1660 and 1700–1721. The

Battle of Kircholm The Battle of Kircholm (; Polish: ''Bitwa pod Kircholmem''; Swedish: ''Slaget vid Kirkholm''; ) was one of the major battles in the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1611. The battle was decided in 20 minutes by a devastating charge of Polish-Li ...

at modern

Salaspils Salaspils (; ; ) (literally: "island castle") is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Salaspils Municipality. The town is situated on the northern bank of the Daugava river, 18 kilometers to the south-east ...

, Latvia, in which the Poles defeated the more numerous invading Swedes in 1605, is considered one of the greatest victories in Polish military history. It is commemorated in Salaspils. In the 19th century, both

and

Latvians Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...

were subjected to

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

policies within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

20th century

After

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 ...

, both Latvia and Poland regained independence, and the nations became allies against the invading

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

ns. In January 1920 a joint Polish and Latvian force defeated the Red Army in the

Battle of Daugavpils The Battle of Daugavpils, or Battle of Dyneburg, or Operation Winter was the final battle during the Polish–Soviet War of 1919. A joint Polish and Latvian force, operating under Polish Staff orders known as "Operation Winter", attacked the Re ...

. In 1920, over 2,500 Polish soldiers of the former Polish Legion in Finland were evacuated from Finland via

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 ...

to Poland. The Polish victory in the Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, secured both Polish and Latvian independence. Both countries shared a common border in the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

In 1922, Poland, Latvia,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

were the signatories of the Warsaw Accord, which however did not enter into force, as Finland did not ratify it under pressure of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, which was hostile to Poland. Instead, in 1925, Poland, Latvia, Finland and Estonia signed a convention on

conciliation Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution process whereby the parties to a dispute rely on a neutral third-party known as the conciliator, to assist them in solving their dispute. The conciliator, who may meet with the parties both sep ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. In 1937–1938, both ethnic Poles and Latvians in the Soviet Union were subjected to

genocidal Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" b ...

campaigns carried out by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, known as the '' Polish Operation'' and the '' Latvian Operation'' respectively. Following the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, Poland and Latvia were both to be occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and 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 ...

. During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939, there were some 29,000 Polish citizens in Latvia, and soon 2,000 Polish refugees arrived to Latvia. Aleksandra Piłsudska, widow of pre-war Polish leader

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, with daughters

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

and Jadwiga fled through Latvia to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Poland was occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union since 1939, while Latvia was occupied solely by the Soviet Union since June 1940. Both nations were under common oppression, and many Poles and Latvians were forcefully deported by the Russians to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. In the course of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, from mid-1941, both countries were entirely occupied by Germany. Latvian conscripts from the Soviet

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 ...

alike Polish POWs and civilians were among the prisoners of the

Stalag II-B Stalag II-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp situated west of the town of Hammerstein, Pomerania (now Czarne, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) on the north side of the railway line. It housed Polish, French, Belgian, Serbian, Du ...

German prisoner-of-war camp in

Czarne Czarne (; ) is a town in Człuchów County of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland. As of December 2022, the town has a population of 5,368. Founded in the Middle Ages and granted town rights in 1395, Czarne is a former royal town of ...

. In 1942, Polish Prime Minister-in-Exile

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

's intervention to British and American authorities thwarted Soviet attempts to obtain Allied approval for the planned annexation of Latvia and eastern Poland. In 1944–1945, both countries were again occupied by Soviet forces. Soviet repressions and deportations of both Latvian and Polish citizens continued. Poland's formal independence was eventually restored, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, while Latvia was annexed into the Soviet Union, thus both had no relationship until the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. After the fall of the

USSR 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 ...

, both countries re-established diplomatic relations on August 30, 1991.

Modern relations

April 12, 2010, was declared a day of national mourning in Latvia to commemorate the 96 victims of the

Smolensk air disaster On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Maria ...

, including Polish President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

and his wife

Maria Kaczyńska Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński. She and her husband died in a plane crash in the Russian city of Smolensk. Early and per ...

. The

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

takes part in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to guard the airspace over the Baltic states including Latvia. Since 2017, a Polish military contingent has been stationed in Latvia as part of the

NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. This posture in Northern Europe through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and in Central Europe through ...

defense forces. In 2022, Latvian and Polish gas grids were connected, following the commissioning of the GIPL interconnection, also providing Latvia with a connection to the EU gas market.

NATO and EU

Poland joined

in 1999, whereas Latvia joined NATO in 2004. Both countries became members of the

in 2004.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Latvia has an embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. * Poland has an embassy in

Riga 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 ...

. File:Latvijas.vestnieciba.polija2.JPG, Embassy of Latvia in Warsaw File:Polish Embassy, Riga 104111.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Riga

References

External links

Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Poland

Latvian embassy in Warsaw (in Latvian and Polish only)

Polish embassy in Riga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latvia-Poland relations

Bilateral relations of Poland