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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 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 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 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 international community and human rights organizations.
Soviet instability during the 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 provided an opportunity for Latvia to restore its independence.
On 24 September 1939, USSR bombers entered the airspace of Estonia, flying numerous intelligence-gathering operations. On 25 September, Moscow demanded that Estonia sign a Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty to allow the USSR to establish military bases and station troops on its soil. Latvia was next in line, as the USSR demanded the signing of a similar treaty. The authoritarian government of Kārlis Ulmanis accepted the ultimatum, signing the Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty on 5 October 1939. On 16 June 1940, after the USSR had already invaded Lithuania, it issued an ultimatum to Latvia, followed by the Soviet occupation of Latvia on 17 June.
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov had accused Latvia and the Baltic states of forming a military conspiracy against the Soviet Union. Moscow presented ultimatums, demanding new concessions, including the replacement of governments with new ones, "determined to fulfill the treaties of friendship sincerely" and allowing an unlimited number of troops to enter the three countries. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops entered Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These additional Soviet military forces far outnumbered their individual armies.
The Ulmanis government decided that, given the conditions of international isolation and the overwhelming Soviet force both on the borders and inside the country, it was better to avoid bloodshed and an unwinnable war. The Latvian Army did not fire a shot and was quickly decimated by purges, then incorporated into the Soviet Army.
Ulmanis' government resigned and was replaced by a left-wing government created under instructions from the USSR embassy. [citation needed] Until the election of the People's Parliament on the 14/15th of July 1940, there were no public statements about governmental plans to introduce a Soviet political order or to join the Soviet Union.[citation needed] Soon after the occupation, the Communist Party of Latvia became the only legal party and presented the "Latvian Working People's Bloc" for the elections. It was the only permitted participant in the election after an attempt by other politicians to include the Democratic Bloc (an alliance of all banned Latvian parties, except the Social Democratic Workers' Party) on the ballot was prevented by the government. Its office was closed, election leaflets confiscated, and its leaders arrested.
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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 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 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 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 international community and human rights organizations.
Soviet instability during the 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 provided an opportunity for Latvia to restore its independence.
On 24 September 1939, USSR bombers entered the airspace of Estonia, flying numerous intelligence-gathering operations. On 25 September, Moscow demanded that Estonia sign a Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty to allow the USSR to establish military bases and station troops on its soil. Latvia was next in line, as the USSR demanded the signing of a similar treaty. The authoritarian government of Kārlis Ulmanis accepted the ultimatum, signing the Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty on 5 October 1939. On 16 June 1940, after the USSR had already invaded Lithuania, it issued an ultimatum to Latvia, followed by the Soviet occupation of Latvia on 17 June.
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov had accused Latvia and the Baltic states of forming a military conspiracy against the Soviet Union. Moscow presented ultimatums, demanding new concessions, including the replacement of governments with new ones, "determined to fulfill the treaties of friendship sincerely" and allowing an unlimited number of troops to enter the three countries. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops entered Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These additional Soviet military forces far outnumbered their individual armies.
The Ulmanis government decided that, given the conditions of international isolation and the overwhelming Soviet force both on the borders and inside the country, it was better to avoid bloodshed and an unwinnable war. The Latvian Army did not fire a shot and was quickly decimated by purges, then incorporated into the Soviet Army.
Ulmanis' government resigned and was replaced by a left-wing government created under instructions from the USSR embassy. [citation needed] Until the election of the People's Parliament on the 14/15th of July 1940, there were no public statements about governmental plans to introduce a Soviet political order or to join the Soviet Union.[citation needed] Soon after the occupation, the Communist Party of Latvia became the only legal party and presented the "Latvian Working People's Bloc" for the elections. It was the only permitted participant in the election after an attempt by other politicians to include the Democratic Bloc (an alliance of all banned Latvian parties, except the Social Democratic Workers' Party) on the ballot was prevented by the government. Its office was closed, election leaflets confiscated, and its leaders arrested.