Editing Latvian mythology (section)

===1944–1970s===
[[File:Memorial for Dievturi (Latvian pagan) victims of Soviet rule 1942-1952, Forest Cemetery, Riga, Latvia.jpg|thumb|Memorial stone at the [[Forest Cemetery, Riga|Forest Cemetery]] to the Latvian [[Dievturība|Dievturi]] killed by the Communists 1942–1952.]]
After the [[Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944]], research of mythology and especially religious concepts was banned in Latvia.<ref name="reshist" /> Similarly, members of neopagan groups were persecuted as paganism was considered [[Chauvinism|chauvinistic]].<ref name="neopagans" /> Despite this, research was continued by Latvians in exile, who focused on the mythology of folk songs.<ref name="scholar" /> The songs were already seen as the best source for mythology research during the interwar period. The reason was that since the need to preserve poetic metre and melody limited possible changes, it was thought that ancient notions were better preserved in them than in other genres of folklore.<ref name="par smitu" /> Accordingly, folk songs were the only source for research for a long time. This approach has been criticized by modern researchers who have proposed that themes mentioned in other genres, such as fairy tales, legends, and records of folk beliefs and magic practices, might complement folk songs as each genre contains different themes and might provide only partial insight into mythology.<ref name="reshist" /><ref name="scholar" />