Jānis Balodis (20 February 1881 – 8 August 1965) was an army general, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Latvia (1919–1921), Minister of War (1931–1940), and a politician who was one of the principal figures during the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), 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 proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

and the dictatorship of

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician and a dictator. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from N ...

, when he was officially the number two of the regime as the Minister of War, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President.

Early life and education

Jānis Balodis father was historian and teacher Voldemārs Balodis. In 1898, he joined the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and served in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. From 1900 until 1902 he studied at the Vilnius War School.

Military service

Russo-Japanese War and World War I

From November 1904 until July 1905, he participated in the Russo–Japanese War and was seriously wounded in the arm. From 1906 until 1914, Balodis served in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. At the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was lightly wounded during the battles in East Prussia, for which he received a number of decorations. On 20 February 1915, while recuperating in hospital, he was captured by the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

and spent the rest of the war in a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

camp in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Latvian partisan

Balodis returned to Latvia immediately after the end of World War I in November 1918, and joined the first armed units of the newly established

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

on 18 December 1918. When Riga was threatened by the advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, Balodis retreated from Riga together with the army and the government on 3 January 1919. On 26 February 1919, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the death of Oskars Kalpaks on 6 March 1919, he was further promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and took control of the few Latvian soldiers in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

. During the spring of 1919, after a string of victories over the Red Army, Balodis was given command over larger units and eventually over the Southern Group of the armed forces. In this role he was forced into an uneasy alliance with German troops. In the second half of 1919, Balodis led the 1st Courland division in battles against the Red Army in

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

. During the panic that followed the sudden attack of the

West Russian Volunteer Army The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German White Russian military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War from November 1918 to December 1919. History The , unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army ...

(Bermontians), Balodis was appointed the Commander-in-Chief on 16 October 1919. After the victory over the Bermontians, Balodis was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

status on 23 January 1920.

Political and agricultural career

After the conclusion of the

, the post of Commander-in-Chief was abolished in February 1921 and in July of the same year, Balodis asked to be discharged from the army. By a special law of the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, 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 p ...

, he was presented with 100 hectares of land and a manor house. He joined the Latvian Farmers Union, the largest party at the time, which was led by Kārlis Ulmanis. Balodis was elected to the Saeima in 1925, but played only a secondary role in politics. On 7 December 1931, he became the Minister of War, a post he held until 5 April 1940. Beginning in July 1933, Balodis held frequent talks with Kārlis Ulmanis about the need for the end of the

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

in Latvia. As the Minister of War, he played a crucial role in organizing the Latvian coup d'état on 15 May 1934, and together with Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis, was one of two signatories of the proclamation by which

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was declared and the Saeima dissolved. During the following years of authoritarian, corporatist rule, Balodis could always be found next to Ulmanis, creating a perception of duumvirate, while in reality, his role was limited to military matters. On 12 March 1936, he became Vice President, and on 11 February 1938, became Deputy Prime Minister. After the signing of the Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty on 5 October 1939, Latvia became a virtual protectorate of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

without a shot being fired. Tensions within the ruling circles increased to the point where on 5 April 1940, Balodis was relieved of all his posts without a clear official explanation.

Soviet occupation of Latvia, imprisonment

Shortly after 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 i ...

, Balodis was arrested on 31 July 1940 together with his wife and deported to Syzran, where they were kept under house arrest. After the start of German–Soviet war in 1941, they were deported to Kuibishev. Only in 1952 was he formally tried and sentenced to a prison sentence of 25 years to be served in a jail in Vladimir.

Release, retirement, and death

With the beginning of the

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

in 1956, he was released and allowed to return to Latvia. He and his wife received a small apartment in Riga and spent some time living in a summer house in

Saulkrasti Saulkrasti (; ) (literally ''Sun shores'' in Latvian) is a town in Saulkrasti Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the east coast of the Gulf of Riga. It is the administrative centre of Saulkrasti Municipality. Made up of a number o ...

. In early August 1965, his health failed and he died on 8 August. General Balodis was buried in Riga. His widow managed to install a tombstone with a sword and the inscription "General Balodis" which was removed by

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

Medals and awards

* Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class with swords, 1914. * Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class with swords, 1915. * Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with swords. * Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd, 2nd and 1st class. *

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

, 1st class, 1929. * Order of Viesturs, 1st class with swords, 1938. * Aizsargi Cross of Merit. *Commandeur of France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. *Britain's

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

. *

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

, 1st class. *Estonia's Cross of Liberty, 1st class of Grade 1, 1921. *Estonia's Order of the Cross of the Eagle, 1st class, 1932. *Poland's

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

, 5th class. *Lithuania's

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

. *Italy's

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

, 1st class.

References

Sources

Encyclopædia Britannica

Vilis Lācis handwritten note (facsimile and translation) deporting Balodis and his family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balodis, Janis 1881 births 1965 deaths People from Valmiera Municipality People from Valka county Latvian Farmers' Union politicians Vice presidents of Latvia Ministers of defence of Latvia Deputies of the 2nd Saeima Deputies of the 3rd Saeima Deputies of the 4th Saeima Latvian generals Imperial Russian Army officers Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class World War I prisoners of war held by Germany Inmates of Vladimir Central Prison