Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990.
"Latvian SSR" redirects here. For the short-lived Soviet republic proclaimed in 1918, see Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic.
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Internationally unrecognized territory occupied by the Soviet Union
(1940–1941, 1944–1990)
52% Latvians
42% East Slavs
2% Poles
1% Lithuanians
1% Jews
2% Others
Unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party soviet socialist republic (1940–1989)
Unitary multi-party parliamentary republic (1989–1991)
17 June 1940
21 July 1940
5 August 1940
1941–1945
1944/1945
28 July 1989
4 May 1990
6 September 1991
Soviet rouble (Rbl) (SUR)
+7 013
The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia took place in June and August 1939, according to the agreed terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol. In 1939, Latvia was forced to grant military bases on its soil to the Soviet Union, and in 1940 the Red Army moved into Latvia, effectively annexing it into the Soviet Union.[1]
The territory changed hands during World War II with Nazi Germany occupying a large portion of Latvian territory from 1941 to 1944/1945, before the Soviet Union re-occupied it in 1944 and 1945. The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states from 1939 to 1940 and 1944–1991 is widely considered illegal by the international community and human rights organizations.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Soviet instability in the 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union provided an opportunity for Latvia to restore its independence.
Soviet stamp in honour of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, 1967
Soviet stamp celebrating 40 years of the Latvian SSR
A train built in RVR
The iconic RAF minibus
Monument to the Red Latvian Riflemen in Riga
The abandoned House of Press
Since there were not enough people to operate the newly built factories and expand industrial production, workers outside the Latvian SSR (mainly Russians) were transferred into the country, noticeably decreasing the proportion of ethnic Latvians. The speed of Russification was also influenced by the fact that Riga was the HQ of the Baltic Military District, with active and retired Soviet officers moving there.
Increased investments and subsidies for collective farms greatly increased the living standards of the rural population without much increase in production output. Much of the farm produce was still grown on small private plots. To improve rural living standards, a mass campaign was started to liquidate individual family farms and to move people into smaller agricultural towns where they were given apartments. Farmers became paid workers in collective farms.[29]
While the early Voss era continued with the modernizing impulse of the 1960s, a visible stagnation began by the mid-1970s. Prestige high-rise projects in Riga, such as the Hotel Latvija and the Ministry of Agriculture building, took many years to complete. A new international airport and the Vanšu Bridge over Daugava were built.
An ideological model of "live and let live" came into place. The black market, absenteeism, and alcoholism became widespread. Consumer goods shortages were a norm. Latvians turned to escapism: the music of Raimonds Pauls, the historic comedies of Riga Film Studio and even Poetry Days became hugely popular.
Economy[edit]
The Soviet period saw rebuilding and increase of the industrial capacity, including the automobile (RAF) and electrotechnic (VEF) factories, food processing industry, oil pipelines, and the bulk-oil port Ventspils.
Part of the incorporation of the Latvian SSR into the Soviet Union was the introduction of the Russian language into all spheres of public life. Russian became a prerequisite for admission to higher education and better job occupations. It was also made a compulsory subject in all Latvian schools. Vast numbers of people were needed for the new factories, and they were purposefully sent there from different parts of Russia, thus creating a situation wherein bigger towns became increasingly Russified until the 1980s.
National income per capita was higher in Latvia than elsewhere in the USSR (42% above the Soviet average in 1968);[32] however, Latvia was at the same time a relative contributor to the Federation's center with an estimated 0.5% of the Latvian GDP going to Moscow.[33]
After the Soviet Union's collapse, all economic branches associated with it also collapsed. While a significant Russian presence in Latgale predated the Soviet Union (~30%), the intense industrialization and the heavy importation of labor from the Soviet Union to support it led to significant increases in the Russian minority in Riga, even forming a majority in Latvian urban centers such as Daugavpils, Rēzekne, and Ogre. Those areas were also hardest hit economically when the Soviet Union collapsed, leading to massive unemployment. Sharp disagreement with Russia over the legacy of the Soviet era has led to punitive economic measures by Russia, including the demise of transit trade as Russia cut off petroleum exports through Ventspils in 2003 (eliminating 99% of its shipments) after the government of Latvia refused to sell the oil port to the Russian state oil company, Transneft.[34] The result is that only a fraction of Latvia's economy is connected with Russia, especially after it joined the European Union.
In 2016, a committee of historians and economists published a report, "Latvian Industry Before and After Restoration of Independence," estimating the overall cost of Soviet occupation in the years 1940–1990 at 185 billion euros, not counting the intangible costs of "deportations and imprisonment policy" of the Soviet authorities.[35]