History / January 3, 1919 - Soviet Russia forces enter Riga, Latvia

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January 3, 1919 - Soviet Russia forces enter Riga, Latvia

04.11.2008

Latvia's interim government finds itself in a hopeless situation in the final days of 1918, because on December 30, 1918, social democrats back out of cooperation and leave the National Council, but on January 3, 1919, Soviet Russia forces enter Riga and continue their invasion of Latvia, occupying almost the whole country.

The interim government, with Prime Minister Karlis Ulmanis and the rest of the government ministers, fled to Liepaja (southwestern Latvia). With this, the interim government remained only in control of the city of Liepaja, the adjacent town of Grobina and Aizpute County. Thus, Liepaja became independent Latvia's capital city for a short time in January 1919. On the other hand, the rest of the country was administered by the Peteris Stucka led government, called the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic.

This new state, which was proclaimed in December 1918, was intended as Soviet Russia's tactical response to the Latvian independence movement.

However, Soviet Latvia was not able to carry out its necessary functions. The politics of the P.Stucka government, which was based on Marxism and repression, turned out to be so unacceptable for residents of Latvia, that they gradually began to lose almost all interest in Soviet ideas. The people began an armed resistance, and country folk untied in the so-called ‘Green Army', which led a guerrilla war against the Soviet authorities.

Picture one:

The building of Latvia's interim government in Liepaja in 1919 - reproduction from the book "Latvijas Republika desmit pastāvēšanas gados" (The Republic of Latvia During Ten Years of Independence), Riga, 1928, page 26.

Sources:

Excerpt from the book - Fr.Zalitis, „Latvijas vēsture" (Latvian History); Riga, 1937; page 327.

Excerpt from the book „Latvijas vēsture 20.gadsimts" (Latvian history in the 20th century), Riga, publisher „Jumava", 2005, page 113.

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