Latvia

Abstract

The road to independence was less smooth in Latvia than in the other two Baltic States because about one third of the population are ethnic Russians. Thus, political conflicts between pro- and anti-Soviet Union positions were foremost in the public debate in the first years after independence. Organised Latvian opposition against the Soviet Union began in the mid- 1980s. One of the strongest opposition movements was a group of antiSoviet intellectuals known as the Latvian Writers’ Union. It was established in 1987 and put forward a resolution proposing that Latvia became an internationally recognised sovereign state. Moreover, the movement demanded complete autonomy in financial matters and in education, and an end to censorship and human rights violations in Latvia. In October 1988, the group formed the Popular Front of Latvia (PFL).