Editing History of Latvia (section)

===Latvian National Awakening===
{{Main|Latvian Song and Dance Festival|Lāčplēsis|Latvian mythology}}
[[File:Krišjānis Barons 1910.gads.jpg|thumb|right|Krišjānis Barons, 1910]]
[[File:Latvian Song festival 2008.jpg|thumb|right|Latvian Song Festival, 2008]]
Latvian national awakening could start after the emancipation of serfs and growth in literacy and education rates. Educated Latvians no longer wanted to be Germanized.

In 1822 ''Latviešu avīzes'' the first weekly in Latvian began publishing. In 1832 weekly ''Tas Latviešu Ļaužu Draugs'' began publishing. The first Latvian writers who wrote in Latvian appeared – Ansis Liventāls (1803–77), Jānis Ruģēns (1817–76) and others. In 1839 institute for the elementary school teachers led by [[Jānis Cimze]] opened in [[Valmiera]].

By the middle of 19th century, [[the First Latvian National Awakening]] began among ethnic Latvian intellectuals, a movement that partly reflected similar [[nationalist]] trends elsewhere in Europe. This revival was led by the "[[Young Latvians]]" (in Latvian: ''jaunlatvieši'') from the 1850s to the 1880s. Primarily a literary and cultural movement with significant political implications, the Young Latvians soon came into severe conflict with the [[Baltic Germans]]. During this time the notion of a united Latvian nation was born. Young Latvians also began to research Latvian folklore (See:[[Daina (Latvia)|Latvian dainas]]) and ancient beliefs.

In the 1880s and 1890s the [[russification]] policy was begun by [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] aimed at reducing German autonomy in the [[Baltic governorates|Baltic provinces]]. Introduction of the Russian language in administration, court and education was meant to reduce predominance of German language. At the same time these policies banned Latvian language from public sphere, especially schools, which was a heavy blow to the new Latvian culture.

With increasing poverty in many rural areas and growing urbanization and industrialization (especially of Riga), a loose but broad leftist movement called the "[[New Current]]" arose in the late 1880s. It was led by the future National poet [[Rainis]] and his brother-in-law [[Pēteris Stučka]], editors of the newspaper ''[[Dienas Lapa]]''. This movement was soon influenced by [[Marxism]] and led to the creation of the [[Latvian Social Democratic Labour Party]]. While Rainis remained a social democrat until his death, Stučka become allied with Lenin, established the first [[Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic|Bolshevik state in Latvia]] and died in Moscow.