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New Latvians ( lv, jaunlatvieši) is the term most often applied to the intellectuals of the First Latvian National Awakening ( lv, Tautas atmoda), active from the 1850s to the 1880s. The movement was modeled on the Young Germany (german: Junges Deutschland) movement led by
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of ''Lied ...
. Originally a derogatory epithet applied to these
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
intellectuals by their mostly
Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
opponents, the term "Young
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 ...
" (german: "ein junges Lettland") was first used by Gustav Wilhelm Sigmund Brasche, the pastor of Nīca, in a review of Juris Alunāns' ''Dziesmiņas latviešu valodai pārtulkotas'' ("Little Songs Translated for the Latvian Language") in the newspaper ''Das Inland'' in 1856. Asking who could appreciate such literature in Latvian (Alunāns' book was the first major translation of classic foreign poetry into Latvian), Brasche warned that those daring to dream of "a Young Latvia" would meet the tragic fate of the boatman in Heine's poe
"Die Lorelei,"
a translation of which appeared in Alunāns' anthology. The New Latvians were also sometimes known as "Lettophiles" or ''"tautībnieki"'' ("ethnicists").


Beginnings

Though the New Latvians can be seen as part of a primarily cultural and literary movement, their cause had significant political ramifications due to the socio-economic conditions then prevailing in Latvia (part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...
, it was nonetheless dominated by the Baltic German
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...
). 1856 is usually given as the date of the movement's beginning because of the publication of Alunāns' book and the founding of the major Latvian language newspaper ''Mājas Viesis'' which provided a counterpoint to the pro-German newspaper ''Latviešu Avīzes''. Another contemporary and seminal event was the public declaration of nationality by a leader of the movement,
Krišjānis Valdemārs Krišjānis Valdemārs (in Germanized spelling as Christian Waldemar or Woldemar) (2 December 1825 at Vecjunkuri in Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia) – 7 December 1891 in Moscow, Russia) was a writer, editor, Education, educ ...
; a student at the
University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
(then Dorpat) from 1854 to 1858, Valdemārs affixed a ''carte de visite'' to his door that read "C. Woldemar stud. cam. Latweetis." At the time, it was almost unheard of for an educated person to call himself a Latvian; education meant
Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
, and Valdemārs' act has been compared to
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
's posting of the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...
in its importance for Latvian
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
. Just as some scholars consider the posting of the 95 Theses to be apocryphal, Valdemārs' notice can be seen as less dramatic if taken in context. The historian Arveds Švābe noted that Valdemārs denied being a radical in his own writings; the New Latvians had no political program threatening the Baltic Germans until the 1860s; according to Švābe, their political opposition to the prevailing order was crystallized under the influence of the
Slavophiles Slavophilia (russian: Славянофильство) was an intellectual movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavop ...
in connection to the reforms of
Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finlan ...
.


Leaders

Valdemārs is seen as the spiritual father of the Awakening. With Alunāns, he led student gatherings while at Tartu and advocated the study of
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fr ...
and the founding of marine academies to turn the Latvians and Estonians into seafaring peoples.
Krišjānis Barons Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the dainas" ( lv, "Dainu Tēvs") thanks largely to his systematization of the Latvian folk songs and his labour in preparing their tex ...
began collecting dainas under Valdemārs' direct influence, and in 1862 Valdemārs, Alunāns and Barons collaborated in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to publish ''Pēterburgas Avīzes''. The most radical newspaper hitherto published in Latvian, it was closed by the authorities in 1865. From 1867 to 1873, Atis Kronvalds (often known as Kronvaldu Atis) renewed the "Latvian evenings" begun by Valdemārs at Tartu. His ''Nationale Bestrebungen'' (1872) can be seen as the manifesto of the New Latvians. Two of their older colleagues included Kaspars Biezbārdis, the first ethnic Latvian philologist, who helped draft petitions to the tsar on the harsh conditions among the Latvian peasantry (for which he was exiled to
Kaluga Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...
in 1863), and Andrejs Spāģis, the first writer to draw western European attention to the Baltic problem. Fricis Brīvzemnieks (Treuland) is considered the father of Latvian folkloristics; Barons later made the collection of ''dainas'' his life's work. The poet
Auseklis Auseklis is a Latvian god, a stellar deityLurker, Manfred (2004). ''The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons''. Routledge. p. 25. . that represents a celestial body, but possibly not the same as Venus (Rīta zvaigzne) - ...
(the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
of Miķelis Krogzemis), in the diplomat and scholar Arnolds Spekke's words, represented "the romantic and mystic search for the nation's soul." The Young Latvian Andrejs Pumpurs later penned the national epic Lāčplēsis, "The Bear Slayer."


Directions and divisions

Defining the movement in retrospect in 1889, Pumpurs wrote: "Those in the grouping that for twenty-five years fought for freedom were called the New Latvians. Their fate was almost always the same. Without a homeland, their people devoid of rights, without goods or sustenance, often without lodging and without bread, they were doomed to wandering. All doors were locked before them, and they were prevented from finding residences or jobs. With a heavy heart they left their beloved homeland and went abroad, into the interior of Russia, searching for sustenance and at the same time gathering knowledge." In fact, close to half of the ethnic Latvians who received a higher education were forced to seek work in Russia. As Švābe saw it: "With their selfish and shortsighted politics, the alticGerman aristocracy and bourgeoisie pressure Latvians into
Russophilia Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Cent ...
." Even Baltic German intellectuals devoted to the study of the Latvian culture and language, like August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein (the editor of ''Latviešu Avīzes''), opposed the New Latvians -- whilst the editor of ''Die Zeitung für Stadt und Land'' declared that "to be educated and Latvian is impossible -- an educated Latvian is a nothing" (''"sei ein Unding"''). Pastor Brasche, writing that there is no Latvian nation and that the Latvian people have no past, suggested replacing "New Latvians" with the term "New Peasants" (''"Jung-Bauernstand"''). The foremost
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
publication declared that Latvians had been a nation in the 13th century but had since been reduced to a peasant class; did every class require its own language? "The Latvian must die." Ethnic Latvian supporters of the Baltic Germans came to be known as "Old Latvians"; partly because many of the New Latvians' opponents were associated with the Lutheran church, the movement also had a pronounced
anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
character. Though one stream of the National Awakening was at first centered in
Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast ...
, moved to St. Petersburg, and later shifted to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, in the late 1860s Lettophiles finally succeeded in establishing themselves in Latvia, by founding a relief fund for victims of the famine in
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, sea across from Sweden, to ...
and
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
in 1867 and receiving permission to establish the
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 B ...
Latvian Association a year later. Similar associations followed in other towns, the Rīga original receiving the hypocorisma "mommy" ("māmuļa"). The Rīga Latvian Association staged the first Latvian play, held the first conference of Latvian teachers, and organized the first Latvian song festival in 1873. Valdemārs engaged in polemics with Keuchel (the author of ''"sei ein Unding"''), penning ''Nationale Bestrebungen'' in German as a response to his critics. A pragmatist and materialist, Valdemārs -- in exile and under police supervision in Moscow -- came further under the influence of the Slavophiles, working for the publisher Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov. To Valdemārs, "the
kulak Kulak (; russian: кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈlak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned ov ...
could never be as dangerous as the German's nails of flint."


Legacy

The efforts by Barons and other Young Latvians to collect folklore and dainas became vital for the forming of the Baltic neopagan movement Dievturība, which was created in the 1920s by Ernests Brastiņš and Kārlis Marovskis-Bregžis.


See also

* Young Latvia (disambiguation) * Latvian literature * New Current


References


Sources

* Anderson, Edgar. "Arveds Svabe, 1888-1959". ''Journal of Central European Affairs'' (1960), Vol. 20 Issue 1, pp 84-90. *Arnolds Spekke: ''History of Latvia: An Outline.'' Stockholm: M. Goppers/ Zelta Ābele, 1951. *Alfred Bilmanis: ''A History of Latvia.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951. *Arveds Švābe: ''Latvijas vēsture 1800-1914''. Uppsala: Daugava, 1958. *Arveds Švābe, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija''. Stockholm: Trīs Zvaigznes, 1952-1953. * Uldis Ģērmanis: ''Latviešu tautas piedzīvojumi''. Ann Arbor: Ceļinieks, 1974. *Agnis Balodis: ''Latvijas un latviešu tautas vēsture''. Rīga: Kabata, 1991. *Teodors Zeiferts: ''Latviešu rakstniecības vēsture''. Rīga: 1922 -- available at http://www.ailab.lv/Teksti/Senie/Zeiferts/zeifsat.htm * Ernests Blanks: ''Latvju tautas ceļš uz neatkarīgu valsti''. Västerås: Ziemeļbāzma, 1970. *Ilga Apine
Latvija 19. gadsimta otrajā pusē
Retrieved 23. VI. 2005. (archived a

*Maksim Kirčanov, Zemnieki, latvieši, pilsoņi: identičnost, nacionalizm i modernizacija v Latvii (Voronezh, 2009. 204 s.) // http://ejournals.pp.net.ua/_ld/1/135_kirchanavs_book.pdf *Jānis A. Krēsliņš

Retrieved 23. VI. 2005. *Arturs Priedītis: ''Latvijas kultūras vēsture.'' Daugavpils: A.K.A., 2000. (Includes summaries in Russian and English.) *Viktors Hausmanis, ed.: ''Latviešu rakstniecība biogrāfijās''. Rīga: LZA, 1992. *Jānis Rozenbergs

(Includes a brief summary in English.) Retrieved 25. VI. 2005.

offers extensive information on the Young Latvians and their contributions to linguistics, e.g

("The Young Latvians and the Development of the Latvian Language"). Retrieved 25. VI. 2005.


External links



Retrieved 23. VI. 2005. {{Young Europe Latvian nationalism 19th century in Latvia