BY
WAY OF BACKGROUND
The history of
Latvia is a tale of oppression, injustice, and defeat. It is a tale, as
well, of stubborn resistance and determination in the face of overwhelming
force.
Traces of human culture in the Baltic Sea region date back to 10,000 BC.
“Farmers living on the coasts of the Amber Sea” are first
mentioned in written records of Cornelius Tacitus, compiled in approximately
100 BC. The early settlers were nomads from what is now Germany. Lettish
people, the ancestors of present-day Latvians, settled in the Baltic area
in the 9th century AD. The Latvian or Lettish language is somewhat similar
to Lithuanian. Both are branches of Indo-European languages descended
from Sanskrit.
The early Balts built a trade culture centered around amber, plentiful
on the coasts of the Baltic Sea. Prosperity had its dark side. Because
they were situated on the crossroads between Scandinavia and Byzantium,
Balts became vulnerable to robbery and extortion. In addition, the port
of Riga does not freeze over, despite its northern latitude, and is thus
a coveted opening to the West for the huge continent. So, for various
historical and geographical reasons, Latvia has been repeatedly overrun
by Germans, Russians, Poles, and Swedes. In the 13th century, Latvia became
a domain of the Teutonic Knights, who gave the area the name of Livonia
and subjugated the population in the name of Christianity. In 1561, under
Polish domination, parts of present-day Latvia were absorbed into Poland,
while Courland became an independent duchy of Poland. Sweden conquered
Riga and Vidzeme in 1621, heralding almost two centuries of prosperity
and progress, including the translation of the Bible into Latvian.
This era, referred
to forever after as “Swedish Times,” came to an end in 1795,
when Peter the Great defeated the Swedish king. In 1860, Latvia was divided
into the governorships of Courland, Liveland, and Latgalia, the latter
being divided into Vitebsk and Pskov. The national monument in downtown
Riga still carries three stars, representing the three governorships,
held high up in the hands of Mother Latvia. It took years of fighting
to obtain independence. Russians occupied half of the country, and various
German barons’ military units in Courland provided another form
of servitude for the Latvian people. As province of Imperial Russia, Latvia
was used by Russia as currency in political trade-offs with the continent.
German barons secured special privileges from the Russian Empire and were
de facto rulers in the land, a respite from rapacious Russian domination
and an opening to European culture and education in the Baltics.
Latvia first saw an opportunity for freedom from the Russian bear during
the Russo-Japanese war of 1905, then again twelve years later, in the
aftermath of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The Baltics had
been pawned off to Germany in exchange for cessation of hostilities against
Russia, at Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. With the end of the war, German
occupation came to an end as well, and Latvia rushed to proclaim its independence
on November 19 of that year.
However, Latvia was no match for Russian power. It lacked an organized
military establishment to support its claim to independence, and in the
community of nations it was regarded as part of Russia anyway. The indifference
of the Western powers remains a source of bitterness for Latvians. Its
application for membership in the League of Nations was voted down, and
foreign aid came in the form of surplus, ill-conceived tools that neither
the West nor Latvia could use. Red troops captured Riga, as well as the
whole of Liveland and Vidzeme, and installed a Soviet-sponsored regime
with the first major Bolshevik terror. The population declined in total
numbers, from 2.55 million in 1913, to 1.84 million in 1925. Karlis Tarziers,
my grandfather, was executed like so many, as part of the wings of blood
over Latvia.
In 1920, with some Allied coaxing, Russia signed the Riga Peace Treaty,
pledging eternal respect for Latvian sovereignty. Latvia was independent
at last, or so it seemed. Independence ushered in the prosperity and freedom
the country had desired throughout history. However, not everybody believed
in the permanence of peace. Prophecies of the coming Anti-Christ urged
the people to seek safety, Brazil being the chosen place of refuge. Choosing
to ignore a greatly improved political situation, 2,500 Latvians sold
their possessions and left their native land for good. My father Peteris
and my mother Emilija Zeltin were among those sailing to Brazil in search
of lasting peace. Unable to take leave from the Latvian armed forces,
Uncle Robert Tarziers stayed behind and eventually consolidated his position
as respected pastor of the Golgotha Church in Riga, before leaving the
country for good in 1944.
Germany’s invasion of Poland, September 1, 1939, marked the end
of two decades of freedom for the Baltics. It also spelled the destruction
of all that Robert and his wife Olga had built over two decades. Latvia
initially sought to maintain neutrality, but following the fall of France,
the USSR accused Latvia of forming a secret anti-Soviet military alliance
with Estonia. Whether this accusation was founded or not, Bolshevik tanks
rolled into Latvia and rigged elections to install a communist regime.
1940 became known as the “horrible year,” when at least 130,000
Latvians, including my uncle Janis and his family, and most males in my
mother’s family, were killed outright or worked to death in the
Gulags. On August 5, 1940, Latvia was formally annexed as the 15th constituent
republic of the USSR.
German troops were briefly welcomed as liberators in 1941, though jubilation
quickly died down when the occupying Nazis expanded the Holocaust to include
Latvian Jews. Able-bodied men were recruited to fight in the German as
well as the Red Army, and Latvians found themselves fighting fellow Latvians.
In the last days of the war, the the 17th Division of the Latvian Army
put up a valiant struggle defending the Bastion of Kurzeme, not so much
for Germany, as against the Red Army. When Germany surrendered, the survivors
of the 17th Division were sent to labor camps to die from cold or starvation.
Janits Ozolins, eldest son of Aunt Anna-Otilija, died defending the Bastion
of Kurzeme. A guerrilla movement in the forests west of Riga, called the
“Green Resistance,” continued to undermine Russian rule until
the 1950’s. The body of one of our relatives was displayed in Gulbene,
his mouth stuffed with green pine needles, as a warning to those who dared
to defy Russia.
The cost of World War II and Stalinist rule has never been accurately
assessed. It is safe to say that one-third of the Latvian population fled
into exile, perished in the war, or were deported to near-certain death
in Siberia. Latvia holds the dubious honor of being the only European
country in which the population count declined between 1900 and 1950.
Our own Tarzier family was decimated by at least one-third. The annexation
of Latvia was never overtly condoned by the international community, but
Western powers chose to look the other way while Stalin swallowed up the
Baltic states. 1944 and 1945 summit talks with the USSR, at that time
an ally of the West, never brought up the issue. Latvia remained the 15th
republic of the Soviet Union until the disintegration of the Communist
regime in 1991. It reapplied for admission into the United Nations shortly
thereafter, with better luck this time. The last Russian troops left Latvia
in August, 1994.
Chronology
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