The CTAG ( lv, Cilvēktiesību aizstāvības grupa, Human Rights Defense Group) Helsinki-86 was founded in July, 1986 in the

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n port town of

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

by three workers:

Linards Grantiņš Linards Grantiņš (born 1950) is a Latvian former human rights activist who was among the founders of the Latvian human rights activist group Helsinki-86 in 1986. He later established the hate site Tautastribunals.eu ( Latvian for "People's ...

, Raimonds Bitenieks, and Mārtiņš Bariss. Its name refers to the

Helsinki Accords The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, betwee ...

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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, 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 Konstantīns Pupurs (March 5, 1964 in Riga, – September 10, 2017 in Riga) was a Latvian political scientist, historian, linguist and human rights group "Helsinki-86" activist during the Latvian Third Awakening, also known as the Singing Revolu ...

, Juris Vidiņš, Juris Ziemelis, Alfreds Zariņš, Heino Lāma, and Edmunds Cirvelis. By mid-1988, some of the most active members had been expelled from the USSR by the Soviet authorities. On June 14, 1987, the group organised the first peaceful anti-Communist demonstration with a customary placing of flowers at the base of the

Freedom Monument The Freedom Monument ( lv, Brīvības piemineklis, ) is located in Riga, Latvia, honouring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920). It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty ...

( lv, Brīvības piemineklis) in the Latvian capital,

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

. This event marked a turning point the rebirth of national courage and self-confidence in Latvia. On August 23, 1987, the group organized a protest demonstration against the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, which among numerous other historical events resulted in the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in ...

, during the administration of Latvian President and Prime Minister

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician. 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 ...

. Historically, on November 18, 1987, Latvian Independence Day was celebrated for the first time since 1940. On March 25, 1988 the group called for the Latvian people to gather by the Freedom Monument in Riga to commemorate the victims of Soviet terror. On that particular day, it became evident that the pro-independence leadership began a gradual transition of influence from Helsinki-86 to moderate

Latvian Communists Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Easter ...

and nationally prominent figures, who openly invited Latvian citizens for the first time to come ''en masse'' to a different Riga location: the Cemetery of Fallen Soldiers. On June 14, 1988, for the first time since the Soviet occupation, the group openly carried the Latvian national maroon-white-maroon flag through the streets of Riga.

Since independence

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

based on the Helsinki-86 organization was officially registered in 1998. It was unsuccessful in the elections for Latvia's

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular v ...

(parliament) later that year, as well as in the 2001 municipal elections.

References

External links

Documents about Helsinki-86 at Historia.lv
* http://www.gramata21.lv/users/pupurs_konstantins/ {{Authority control Organizations established in 1986 Political parties established in 1986 1986 establishments in the Soviet Union 1986 establishments in Latvia Political parties in Latvia Human rights organizations based in the Soviet Union Organizations based in the Soviet Union Non-profit organizations based in the Soviet Union Singing Revolution Defunct political parties in Latvia Anti-communism in Latvia Legal history of Latvia Anti-communist organizations

Role in the "Singing Revolution"

Since independence

See also

References

External links