The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic ( lv, Latvijas Sociālistiskā Padomju Republika, LSPR) was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), 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 proclaim ...

. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and his

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

government in the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. The head of government was

Pēteris Stučka Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka (russian: Пётр Ива́нович Сту́чка, german: Peter Stutschka (in contemporary writings); – 25 January 1932), was a Latvian jurist and communist politician who served a ...

with Jūlijs Daniševskis as his deputy.

History

The LSPR armed forces, which consisted of the Red Latvian Riflemen and other units of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

, quickly captured most of the territory of present-day Latvia, forcing Kārlis Ulmanis's

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

into a small pocket of territory around the city 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 ...

. Stučka's government introduced sweeping communist reforms, resuming the radical policy direction from the abortive Iskolat government. Some reforms were initially popular, such as the expropriation of property from the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

. The decision to unilaterally nationalise all agrarian land, however, had dire economic consequences for the cities, as rural support for the regime declined drastically. The peasants no longer agreed to supply the townsfolk with foodstuffs on the government's terms, and shortages became critical. When the people in

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 ...

and other cities began to starve, contributing to widespread discontent among the proletariat as well, a wave of terror swept both rural and urban areas, seeking out alleged counter-revolutionaries supposedly responsible for the failures of the regime. Arbitrary

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (french: Tribunal révolutionnaire; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. It eventually became one of the ...

s and the so-called ''Flintenweiber'' ("Gun-Women") were memorable components of this wave of terror. When the Entente-backed Ulmanis government counter-attacked with the backing of German

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

units in the spring of 1919, they quickly regained the lost territory. The capital,

, was recaptured on 22 May 1919, and the territory of the LSPR was reduced to a part of

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While ...

in eastern Latvia, until the final defeat in the

Battle of Daugavpils The Battle of Daugavpils, or Battle of Dyneburg, 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 Red Army garrison in Du ...

by combined Latvian and Polish forces in early 1920. Historians in the USSR viewed 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 ...

as reestablishing of power, and the 1920–1940 period of Independence was viewed just as a temporary break in Soviet-Latvian history. Holiday decorations to May 1. 1919. Riga (1).jpg, May 1, 1919 celebrations in Riga Holiday decorations to May 1. 1919. Riga (3).jpg, May 1, 1919 decorations in Riga 5 Latvian Roubles 1919.jpg, 5 ruble note Latvian ruble 1919.jpg, 1 ruble note

Government

The formation of the Soviet Latvian government was initiated by the Central Committee of the Latvian Social Democracy (LSD) in Moscow on

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

's proposal at an extraordinary meeting of the party's Russian bureau on November 23, 1918. Special meetings were created Latvian revolutionary composition of the provisional Soviet Government. In 1919 The 1st Joint Congress of Workers', Landless and Riflemen's Councils was held in Riga on 1 January, announcing the establishment of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, the establishment of a

dictatorship of the proletariat In Marxist philosophy, the dictatorship of the proletariat is a condition in which the proletariat holds state power. The dictatorship of the proletariat is the intermediate stage between a capitalist economy and a communist economy, whereby the ...

, and electing the Latvian Central Executive Committee (LCIK) with 60 members and 20 candidates. LCIK appointed 11 members of the Soviet Latvian Government or Council of Commissars: * Chiraman of the Council —

* Deputy Chairman — Jūlijs Daniševskis, Jānis Lencmanis, Oto Kārkliņš * People's Commissar of the Interior — Jānis Lencmanis * Commissar of Justice — Pēteris Stučka * Commissar of War — Kārlis Pētersons * Commissar of Agriculture — Fricis Roziņš *Commissar of Finance — Rūdolfs Endrups * Commissar of Industry — Dāvids Beika (Deputy Kārlis Pečaks) * Secretary of the Council — Jānis Šilfs (Jaunzems) * Commissar of Construction and Public Building — Eduards Zandreiters. In April 1919, Kārlis Ziediņš, a member of the Revolutionary War Council of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

, was appointed the head of the LSPR Maritime administration. Jānis Bērziņš (Ziemelis) was the Commissioner of Education and Augusts Sukuts was the Commissioner of State Control. All members of the government were also members of the LCIK presidium and the Central committee of the Latvian Social Democracy (later the

Communist Party of Latvia The Communist Party of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Komunistiskā partija, LKP) was a political party in Latvia. History Latvian Social-Democracy prior to 1919 The party was founded at a congress in June 1904. Initially the party was known as the Latvia ...

). As a result, political power in Soviet Latvia was concentrated in the hands of a narrow circle of people. Eight economic commissions were merged into the Economic Council, while the war, home affairs and justice commissions were merged into the Revolutionary Struggle Council.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Latvia in the Soviet Union (early flags)
at www.worldstatesmen.org.

at historia.lv. {{Authority control Political history of Latvia 1918 establishments in Latvia Early Soviet republics Russian-speaking countries and territories States and territories established in 1918 1920 disestablishments Former countries of the interwar period Former socialist republics

History

Government

See also

References

Bibliography

External links