History / April 16, 1919 - Coup against the interim government in Liepaja

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April 16, 1919 - Coup against the interim government in Liepaja

04.11.2008

During the time when Latvia's interim government was fighting against the Bolsheviks in Latvia, which had formed the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic in the country, the interim government received help from Great Britain, France and Germany. However, Germany had its own interests, and it attempted to keep Latvia and Estonia under its government control at all costs, which was the reason of a coup by German soldiers to overthrow the interim government.

The coup was carried out by Baltic-German officers, who arrested two ministers from the Latvian interim government, but the rest of the ministers, including President Karlis Ulmanis, took refuge in the British military mission's building. Several days after the coup, the members of the interim government boarded the steamboat ‘Saratov', which was docked at Liepaja Port.

Protected by British and French navy squadrons, the ship spent the next two months at sea. On April 26, a new Latvian Cabinet of Minister was declared, and priest Andrievs Niedra became Prime Minster of the German puppet government in Latvia.

Thus, Latvia simultaneously had two interim governments - one located at sea, the so-called Ulmanis government, which did not have much power in influencing events, but had control over the newly formed Northern Latvia Division, whilst the second was located in Liepaja, which was prevented by influencing events by the leaders of the German-Baltic Baltische Landeswehr ("Baltic Land Defence") army, the Southern Latvian Divisions and the German Iron Mercenary Divisions.

Surprisingly, the feeling of the people changed rapidly in support of the previously unloved Ulmanis government, and there was a rapid increase in the number of volunteers signing up at recruiting stations, even though before the coup, local people reluctantly complied with the mobilization in Latvia.

However, the situation was changed by the battle of Wenden (also called the battle of Cesis) on June 27, which resulted in the defeat of the German armies and the fall of the Niedra government. That same day, the Karlis Ulmanis government disembarked the ‘Saratov' and returned to Liepaja, but on July 7, returned to the already liberated Riga.

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