Editing History of Latvia (section)

==Competing statehood movements, 1917–20==
{{see also|Iskolat|United Baltic Duchy|Latvian Provisional Government|Latvian War of Independence}}
[[File:Iskolata karogs.svg|thumbnail|right|Iskolat flag]]
[[File:Flag of Latvia.svg|thumb|Flag of the Republic of Latvia.]]
[[File:ValgaTownHall.jpg|thumbnail|right|Valka Town Hall, where December 2, 1917 Declaration of Autonomy was issued. Now [[Valga, Estonia|Valga]] in Estonia.]]
[[File:Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg (vor 1910).png|thumbnail|right|Duke [[Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg|Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg]]]]
[[File:Anerkennung Lettland 26-11-1918.png|thumbnail|right|Winnig's note of November 26, 1918]]
[[File:The British Naval Campaign in the Baltic, 1918-1919 Q19378.jpg|thumb|British Navy ships in Liepāja port, December 1918]]
[[File:PL-RU war 1919 phase I.svg|thumb|Soviet offensive, 1918–1919]]
[[File:Holiday decorations to May 1. 1919. Riga (1).jpg|thumb|right|May 1, 1919 celebrations in Soviet Riga]]
[[File:5 Latvian Roubles 1919.jpg|thumb|right|Soviet Latvia's 5 ruble note]]
[[File:PL-RU war 1919 phase II.svg|thumb|Local counteroffensives, 1919–1920]]

The course of World War I, which directly involved Latvians and Latvian territory, fostered the idea of Latvian statehood. During the summer of 1915 the [[Imperial German Army|German army]] conquered Kurzeme and Zemgale, leading to an exodus of Latvians from these two provinces. Local politicians gained experience organizing refugee relief and Latvian refugee cultural life. Caught between the attacking Germans and incompetent Russians, [[Latvian riflemen]] (''latviešu strēlnieki'') fought on the Russian side during this war and became increasingly radicalized after repeated setbacks under tsarist generals. During the [[Russian Civil War]] of 1917-1923 a significant group (known as [[Red Latvian Riflemen|Red riflemen]]) fought for the [[Bolshevik]]s. Meanwhile, German-Empire and local Baltic Germans planned to annex the ancient Livonian and Estonian lands to the German state. During the chaotic period of Russian and German empire collapses, the [[February Revolution]] of March 1917, the Bolshevik revolution of November 1917, the [[Soviet westward offensive of 1918–19]] and the onset of the Russian Civil War, Latvians made various efforts to establish a local government. Not all of these efforts aimed at establishing an independent state or even a Latvian state.

===Provisional Land Councils===
{{Main|Provisional Land Council of Courland| Provisional Land Council of Latgale| Provisional Land Council of Vidzeme}}
After the [[February Revolution]] in the [[Russian Empire]], a majority of Latvians did not expect more for their country than a federated status in a Russian state. "Free Latvia in Free Russia" was the slogan of the day. During March 12–13, 1917 in [[Valmiera]] the Vidzeme Land Congress took place, which set up the Provisional Land Council of Vidzeme. Courland was occupied by Germans, who increasingly supported idea of creating a puppet [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918)|Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]] in order to annex it to Germany. [[Latgalians (modern)|Latgalian]]-inhabited counties of the [[Vitebsk Governorate]] were demanding unity with other Latvian provinces (unification of Latgalian Latvians and Baltic Latvians), which came only after the Bolshevik revolution.

===Iskolat===
On July 5, 1917, the [[Russian Provisional Government]] recognized the elected Land councils of Vidzeme and Kurzeme. Encouraged by the liberalism of the Provisional Government, Latvians put forward proposals which envisioned a broad local autonomy. On August 12, 1917, Latvian organizations jointly asked the Provisional Government in Petrograd for autonomy and self-determination. During a Congress from August 11–12 (July 29–30, Old Style) in Riga, the left-wing Social Democrats, heavily influenced by the Bolsheviks, established the [[Iskolat]] government - named for the "Executive Committee of the Council of Workers, Soldiers and Landless Deputies of Latvia" ({{langx |ru| Исполнительный комитет совета рабочих, солдатских и безземельных депутатов Латвии | translit = Ispolnitel'nyj komitet rabochikh, soldatskikh i bezzemel'niykh deputatov Latvii}}).

When the German Army occupied Riga on September 3, 1917, Iskolat retreated to [[Vidzeme]], where it assumed executive powers. The so-called Iskolat Republic existed from November 21, 1917, until March 3, 1918. Under German attacks it evacuated to [[Cēsis]], then to [[Valka]]. It disbanded in March 1918 after the [[Brest-Litovsk treaty]] of March 3, 1918 assigned the Latvian lands (except [[Latgale]]) to Germany.

===Democratic bloc===
In German-occupied Riga, after a preliminary meeting on September 14, on September 23, 1917,  the Latvian Social Democratic party, together with the [[Latvian Farmers' Union]] and some smaller republican and socialist parties, formed the Democratic Bloc, which petitioned [[Ober Ost]] for the restoration of an elected Riga City Council, the re-opening of schools, and press freedoms. The Democratic Bloc was not a formal organization, but a coalition of politicians who shared similar political goals.

Latvian Social Democrats used their old contacts with the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|German Social Democrat Party]] to directly lobby politicians in Berlin. On October 19, 1918, Democratic Bloc representatives delivered a petition to the German Imperial chancellor [[Prince Maximilian of Baden]], in which they asked for the removal of occupational forces, the release of POWs, and recognition of an independent Latvian state.

===Latvian National Council===
In October 1917 centrist politicians met in [[Petrograd]] and agreed to create a united council of all Latvian parties, refugee-support organizations and soldiers' committees. On November 29, 1917, the [[Latvian Provisional National Council]] was established in [[Valka]]. On December 2, 1917, it proclaimed Latvia's autonomy in Latvian-inhabited lands and declared itself the only representative organ of Latvians. The council announced three main goals – convening of a Constitutional Assembly, creation of political autonomy and uniting of all ethnic Latvian-inhabited lands.

The National Council, under the chairmanship of [[Voldemārs Zāmuēls]], sent a delegation - led by the future Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics]] - to the [[Allies of World War I|Allied countries]] to get their support for an independent Latvia.

The Provisional National Council operated in the same place and at the same time as the Bolshevik-controlled Iskolat – in the small city of Valka, which is situated on the border between ethnic Estonian and ethnic Latvian lands, and which for a couple of months was the virtual capital of the Latvians. Iskolat moved to ban the Provisional Council in December 1917.

On January 5, 1918, during the only meeting of the democratically elected [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly of Russia]] (subsequently dissolved by Bolsheviks), Latvian deputy [[Jānis Goldmanis]], the initiator in 1915 of the formation of the Latvian Riflemen units, read a declaration of separation of Latvia from Russia.

At its second meeting, which took place in Petrograd, the Latvian National Council on January 30, 1918, declared that Latvia should be an independent, democratic republic, uniting the Latvian regions of Kurzeme (which includes Zemgale), Vidzeme and Latgale.

On March 3, 1918 [[RSFSR|Soviet Russia]] signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the [[Central Powers]]. In terms of the treaty Russia gave up Kurzeme and Vidzeme (but not Latgale). The National Council protested against the splitting of Latvian lands and the annexation of Kurzeme by Germany.

On November 11, 1918, the British Empire recognized the Latvian National Council as a ''de facto'' government, confirming a prior verbal communication of October 23 to [[Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics]] from the British [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]], [[Arthur Balfour|A. J. Balfour]].<ref>Laserson, Max. ''The Recognition of Latvia'', The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 37, No. 2 (April 1943), pp. 233–247</ref>

Despite these diplomatic successes, the National Council had a major problem: the Social Democrats and the Democratic Bloc refused to join it. This prevented the creation of a truly national consensus for proclaiming independence. This disunity came to an end only on November 17, 1918, when the [[People's Council of Latvia|People's Council]] (''Tautas padome'') was created.

===United Baltic Duchy===
On September 22, 1918, German Emperor [[Wilhelm II]] proclaimed the Baltic provinces to be free and on November 5 Germans proclaimed a [[United Baltic Duchy]] headed by [[Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg]]. However, this project (just like the similar [[Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)|Kingdom of Lithuania]]) collapsed together with the German Empire on [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|November 9]] and with the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]].

On November 26, 1918, the new General [[Plenipotentiary]] of Germany [[August Winnig]] recognized the [[Latvian Provisional Government]] which the People's Council had established on November 18. On November 28 the Regency Council of the United Baltic Duchy disbanded itself.

===People's Council===
After the German collapse on November 9, the National Council and the Democratic Bloc began unification talks. Social Democrats insisted that the new Latvia should be a socialistic state, which other parties found unacceptable. The Social Democrats also refused to join the National Council, instead insisting on creating a new unity organization. The unification talks were led by Farmers' Union leaders Kārlis Ulmanis and [[Miķelis Valters]], while National Council leaders [[Voldemārs Zāmuēls]], [[Arveds Bergs]] and [[Ādolfs Klīve]] were sidelined.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://m.lvportals.lv/visi/likumi-prakse?id=275241 |title=1918.gada 18.novembris – ne tik pašsaprotams |access-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106092259/http://m.lvportals.lv/visi/likumi-prakse?id=275241 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On November 17, 1918, competing Latvian factions finally united in the [[People's Council of Latvia|People's Council]], which on November 18, 1918, proclaimed the independence of the [[Republic of Latvia]] and created the [[Latvian Provisional Government]].

On November 18 Soviet Russia started a [[Soviet westward offensive of 1918–19|westward offensive]] aimed at regaining Russia's western provinces, and the [[Latvian War of Independence|War of Independence]] ensued.

The left wing of the Latvian Social Democrats had become allied with the Bolsheviks, and during its conference of November 18–19, 1918 proclaimed the Latvian commune a part of the [[RSFSR|Russian Soviet Federation]].

===War of Independence===
{{Main|Latvian War of Independence|Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic|Baltische Landeswehr|West Russian Volunteer Army|British campaign in the Baltic (1918–19)}}
On December 1, 1918 [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Soviet Russia]] invaded Latvia.
Much of the invading army in Latvia consisted of [[Red Latvian Riflemen]], which made the invasion easier. The Soviet offensive met little resistance, coming just a few weeks after the collapse of the German Empire and the proclamation of an independent Latvia. The Social Democratic party at this point decided to leave the People's Council - it rejoined it only in April 1918. On December 17, 1918, the Provisional government of Workers and Peasants, led by the veteran left-wing politician [[Pēteris Stučka]] proclaimed Soviet rule. On December 18 [[Lenin]] officially recognized the new Soviet Latvia.

The Soviet Army captured Riga on January 3, 1919. By the end of January the Provisional Government and the remaining German units had retreated all the way to [[Liepāja]], but then the Red offensive stalled along the [[Venta (river)|Venta]] river. The [[Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic]] was officially proclaimed on January 13 with the political, economic, and military backing of Soviet Russia. Stučka established a radical communist régime of nationalizations, expropriations and executions of class enemies. Revolutionary tribunals were established, condemning to death German nobles, pastors, and wealthy traders - as well as peasants who refused to surrender their grain: in total some 1000 people were executed. Due to food-supply disruptions, 8590 people starved to death in Riga.

On March 3, 1919 [[Freikorps in the Baltic|German]] and Latvian forces commenced a counterattack against the forces of Soviet Latvia.
On April 16 the [[Baltic nobility]] organized a [[coup d'état]] in Liepāja and a puppet government under the
leadership of [[Andrievs Niedra]] (in office from 26 April 1919) was established - it lasted for just two months. The provisional national government took refuge aboard the steamship ''Saratov'' under British protection
in Liepaja harbour.<ref name=parrott>{{cite journal|url= http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin/docs/bdreview/bdr-2002-8-11.pdf|title=The Baltic States from 1914 to 1923: The First World War and the Wars of Independence|author=LtCol Andrew Parrott | journal=Baltic Defence Review|volume=2/2002|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090319083729/http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin/docs/bdreview/bdr-2002-8-11.pdf|archive-date=March 19, 2009}}</ref>
On May 22, 1919, the German [[Freikorps in the Baltic|Freikorps]] under the overall command of the German Major-General [[Rüdiger von der Goltz]] recaptured Riga, and the White Terror against any suspected Soviet sympathizers began. At the same time the Estonian Army (including the North Latvian Brigade loyal to the Latvian Provisional Government headed by Ulmanis) started a major offensive against the Soviets in north Latvia. By the middle of June Soviet rule was reduced to Latgale.

In June 1919 collisions started between the {{lang | de | [[Baltische Landeswehr]]}} on one side and the [[Military of Estonia|Estonian]] 3rd division (including the 2nd Cēsis regiment of the North Latvian brigade) on the other.<ref name=maide>{{cite book|title= Ülevaade Eesti Vabadussõjast (1918–1920) (Overview on Estonian War of Independence) |language= et|author=Colonel Jaan Maide|url=http://www.ksk.edu.ee/file.php?ID=1207|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100822143207/http://www.ksk.edu.ee/file.php?ID=1207|archive-date=August 22, 2010}}</ref> The 3rd division defeated the German forces in the [[Battle of Cesis (1919)|Battle of Wenden]] on June 23. An armistice was signed at Strazdumuiža, under the terms of which the Germans had to leave Latvia.<ref name=maide/>

Instead the German forces were incorporated into the [[West Russian Volunteer Army]].<ref name=maide/> On October 5 it commenced an offensive on Riga, taking the west bank of the [[Daugava River]] - the front line split Riga in half. On November 11 the Latvian counteroffensive began and by the end of the month the West Russian Volunteer Army was driven from Latvia. During battles in Riga, Latvian forces were supported by British naval artillery.

On January 3, 1920, the united Latvian and Polish forces launched an attack on the Soviet army in Latgale, and in the [[Battle of Daugavpils]] liberated [[Daugavpils]] by January 5. By the end of January they reached the ethnographic border of Latvia, and peace negotiations with the Soviets soon began.

===Peace and international recognition===
{{wikisource|Peace Treaty between Latvia and Russia 1920}}
During the 1919 [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace conference]] Latvia had unsuccessfully lobbied for international ''de jure'' recognition of its independence by the Allied countries. The Allies still hoped for a quick end of the Bolshevik regime in Moscow and the establishment of a democratic Russian state which would grant Latvia a large degree of autonomy. The internal situation also was unstable, as during 1919 three different governments (Latvians, Germans-White Russians, and Soviets) were fighting for control.

According to Latvian diplomats, during that time the US and France opposed recognizing Latvia; Italy and Japan supported the idea; while the United Kingdom gave limited support and waited for events to play out.

On August 11, 1920, according to the terms of the [[Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty]], [[Soviet Russia]] relinquished authority over the Latvian nation and its claims to Latvian territory:
<blockquote> "Russia recognizes without objection the independence and sovereignty of the Latvian State and forever renounces all sovereign rights held by Russia in relation to the Latvian nation and land on the basis of the previous State legal regime as well as any international agreements, all of which lose their force and effect for all future time as herein provided. The Latvian nation and land shall have no obligations arising from their previous possession by Russia."<ref>Compare http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/LNTSer/1920/63.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193335/http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/LNTSer/1920/63.html |date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref></blockquote>

In 1920 Latvia, together with Lithuania and Estonia, applied to join the [[League of Nations]] but was denied membership at that time.

As the Soviet victory in the [[Russian Civil War]] became clear and after heavy lobbying by the Latvian Foreign Minister [[Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics]], the Allied [[Supreme War Council]], which included [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[Italy]] and [[Japan]], recognized Latvia's independence on January 26, 1921.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/about-the-ministry/history-of-the-foreign-service/exhibitions/90-years-since-latvia-s-international-recognition |title=90 years since Latvia's international recognition |access-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160609173015/http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/about-the-ministry/history-of-the-foreign-service/exhibitions/90-years-since-latvia-s-international-recognition |archive-date= June 9, 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Recognition from many other countries soon followed. Latvia became a member of the [[League of Nations]] on September 22, 1921. The US recognized Latvia only in July 1922. Before 1940, a total of 42 countries recognized Latvia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uzdevumi.lv/p/latvijas-vesture/9-klase/latvijas-republika-starpkaru-perioda-politika-un-saimnieciba-11787/demokratijas-posms-11788/re-1417f9c4-16e3-47e0-aa1a-bf9bcfb990e9 |title=Latvijas Republikas atzīšana de iure |access-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306181938/https://www.uzdevumi.lv/p/latvijas-vesture/9-klase/latvijas-republika-starpkaru-perioda-politika-un-saimnieciba-11787/demokratijas-posms-11788/re-1417f9c4-16e3-47e0-aa1a-bf9bcfb990e9 |url-status=live }}</ref>