Timeline Latvia / Livonija
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Remnants of the Liv tribe (Livonians), a coastal
Finno-Ugric group, live in Mazirbe, Latvia.
(CNT, 3/04, p.145)(www.virmus.com)
365Mil BC In
2008 scientists unearthed a skull, dating to about this time, of the
most primitive four-legged creature in Earth's history, which should
help them better understand the evolution of fish to advanced animals
that walk on land. The fossil skull, shoulders and part of the pelvis
of the water-dweller, Ventastega curonica, were found in Latvia.
(AP, 6/25/08)
1190s After trade was established
between Germany and Livonia the German missionary Meingard, later made
bishop, preached among the Livonians and converted a good number.
(H of L, 1931, p.25)
1198 A German Bishop shipped up
the Baltic with armed forces and attacked the native people of Livonia.
The attack was repulsed.
(Ist. L.H., 1948, p.39-40)
1200 Bishop Albert was selected
leader of the Knights of the Cross. He led 23 ships of armed soldiers
up the Baltic to Livonian lands at the mouth of the Dauguva River.
(Ist. L.H., 1948, p.39-40)
1201 The Germans founded the city
of Riga in Livonia, now Latvia, and built a castle under the
direction of Bishop Albert, leader of the Knights of the Cross.
(Ist. L.H., 1948, p.39-40)
1211 In Latvia construction began
on Riga’s Lutheran Cathedral.
(SSFC, 7/22/07, p.G5)
1249 Feb 7, The Christburg Peace
Treaty forced the Prussians to recognize the rule of the Teutonic
Knights. Within about 50 years the Teutonic Knights and Knights of the
Cross had overcome most of Prussia and established German as the
dominant culture and language. The German orders then turned to
Lithuania.
(H of L, 1931, p.25)(LHC, 2/7/03)
1261 Feb 3, Samogitian fighters
defeated the Livonian Knights of the Cross at Lielvarde.
(LHC, 2/3/03)
1263 Feb 9, A Lithuania army under
Treniota defeated the Livonian Knights of the Cross.
(LHC, 2/9/03)
1270 Feb 16, In the Karusa Ice war
in Estonia, Lithuanian forces defeated the Livonian Knights of the
Cross.
(LHC, 2/16/03)
1279 Mar 5, Lithuanians
overcame Livonian forces at Aizkraukle.
(LHC, 3/5/03)
1297 The people of Riga rose
against the Teutonic Knights. The local Bishop asked Vytenis of
Lithuania to help and the Knights were pushed back. This opened a
northern trade route for Vytenis for weapons and supplies.
(Ist. L.H., 1948, p. 50)
1298 Mar 30, Duke Vytenis joined
with Riga and its archbishop against the Livonian order.
(LHC, 3/30/03)
1324 Feb 10, The pope officially
chastised the Knights of the Cross for ill treatment of Catholics and
for pushing pagans away from Christianity.
(LHC, 2/10/03)
1330 Mar 23, Riga surrendered to
the Livonian Order.
(LHC, 3/23/03)
1336 Feb 25, The Knights of
the Cross sieged the Pilenai Castle in Samogitia. The defenders burned
all their goods and committed suicide.
(LHC, 2/25/03)
1361 Mar 21, Grand duke Kestutis
was captured by the Knights of the Cross.
(LHC, 3/21/03)
1402 Mar 2, In Marienburg
Svitrigaila crossed over to the Knights of the Cross and promised to
uphold the Salyn treaty that was broken by Vytautas.
(LHC, 3/1/03)
1416 Feb 6, A Samogitian complaint
against the Knights of the Cross was read at the Catholic Church
Council at Constance.
(LHC, 2/6/03)
1416 Feb 13, A Lithuanian and
Polish delegation read their grievances against the Teutonic Knights at
the Church Council at Constance.
(LHC, 2/13/03)
1501 Mar 1, Lithuania and
Livonia established a 10-year union for protection against Russia.
(LHC, 3/1/03)
1561 Poland-Lithuania gaining
control over Livonia. In response Sweden seized the territory of
Estonia with the major port of Reval. Denmark, also invested in
the war, seized the Livonian Islands.
(http://tinyurl.com/bngyy)
1562 Mar 4,The Archdiocese of
Riga was attached to Lithuania.
(LHC, 3/4/03)
1569 Jul 1, Latvia Parliament
accepted the Union of Lublin and was incorporated into Poland.
(MC, 7/1/02)
1581 Jan 14, The city of Riga
joined the Polish-Lithuanian union.
(LHC, 1/14/03)
1582 Jan 15, Russia ceded Livonia
and Estonia to Poland, and lost access to Baltic.
(MC, 1/15/02)
1651 Oct 26, Courlander Gambia was
established as a Latvian colony.
(http://www.vdiest.nl/gambia.htm)
1700 Feb 22, Augustus II
(the Strong), elector of Saxony (1694-1733) and King of Poland
(1697-1706, 1709-1733), with the help of the Saxon army attacked
Swedish controlled Riga. This began the Northern War (1700-1721).
(LHC,
2/22/03)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_II_the_Strong)
1840 Cheap land in Russia, Siberia
and the far East promoted Latvian immigration and by WW I some 500
ethnic colonies were established. Half of these were in Bashkiria and
Siberia.
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1877 The 1st passenger train from
Riga, Latvia, reached the beach town of Jurmala. By 1911 a direct route
reached to Moscow.
(CNT, 3/04, p.150)
1898 Jan 10, Sergei M. Eisenstein
(d.1948), Russian director (Alexandr Nevski) [OS], was born in Riga,
Latvia. He became a renowned film director in Russia. In 1999 Ronald
Bergan published the biography: "Sergei Eisenstein: A Life In Conflict."
(SFEC, 5/2/99, BR p.1,10)(MC, 1/10/02)
1899 Rudolf Heinrich Zirkwitz
designed a building in Riga in the Art Nouveau style that in 1997
housed the Latvian insurance firm Riga-Phoenix.
(BN, 7/97, p.6)
1901-1912 George Armistead (1847-1912), a British
citizen, served as mayor of Riga, Latvia.
(www.riga-cd.infolatvia.com/notes/note0505.html)
1903 Sep 25, Mark Rothko (d.1970),
[Marcus Rothkovich] US émigré painter (Green on Blue),
was born in Dvinsk, Russia, later Daugavpils, Latvia. His family moved
to Portland, Ore. in 1913. His work included "Subway" (1936/1939),
"Street Scene" (1936/1938), "Untitled" (1942), "Untitled" (1942/1943),
"Phalanx of the Mind" (1945), "The Source" (1946), "Sacrificial Moment"
(1946), "Number 18" (1948), and "Untitled" (1945-1946).
(V.D.-H.K.p.362)(SFC,1/21/97, p.B1,2)(AP,
11/11/03)
1904 Abram Games (1914-1996),
master of graphic arts, received the Order of the British Empire in
1958 for his WW II posters. His parents were Latvian immigrants from
1904.
(SFC, 9/27/96, p.A24)
1905 Walter Zapp (d.2003) was born
in 1905 in Riga, Latvia. He later invented the Minox mini camera which
was featured in spy movies. Zapp died in Switzerland.
(AP, 7/28/03)
1905 Mihails Eizensteins, the
premier Art Nouveau architect of Latvia, built a mansion in Riga. In
1997 it housed the Latvian campus of the Stockholm School of Economics.
(BN, 7/97, p.6)
1905 Peteris Kuzis (aka Janis
Berzins) was active in the Communist Revolution in Latvia. He was
caught by the czarist police but spared due to being under 18.
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1909 Jun 6, Isaiah Berlin (d.1997)
was born in Riga. He became a professor at Oxford and wrote numerous
essays on the history of political ideas and concepts of liberty. The
family moved to Britain in 1919.
(SFC,11/6/97, p.C14)
1914-1919 Some 850,000 Latvians moved to Russia to
escape the war zone. In the ensuing war some 300,000 Latvians died.
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1917 Sep 3, German troops overran
Riga Latvia.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1917 Sep 17, The German Army
recaptured the Russian [Latvian] Port of Riga from Russian forces.
(HN, 9/17/98)
1917 Karlis Ulmanis founded the
Farmer’s Party. He later became president and is considered by many as
the “father of independent Latvia.”
(BN, 10/97, p.1)
1918 Feb 15, Estonia, Latvia &
Lithuania adopted the Gregorian calendar.
(440 Int’l., 2/15/99)
1918 Feb 22, Germany claimed the
Baltic states, Finland and Ukraine from Russia.
(MC, 2/22/02)
1918 Mar 3, Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Russia signed the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War
I. Germany and Austria forced Soviet Russia to sign the Peace of Brest,
which called for the establishment of 5 independent countries: Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
which ended Russian participation in World War I, was annulled by the
November 1918 armistice. The treaty deprived the Soviets of White
Russia.
(HN, 3/3/99)(LHC, 3/1/03)(AP, 3/3/08)
1918 Dec 11, Latvia proclaimed
independence.
(LC, 1998, p.30)
1918-1939 During the period of Baltic independence
some 236,000 Latvians returned from Russia.
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1919 Jan 5, British ships shelled
the Bolshevik headquarters in Riga.
(HN, 1/5/99)
1921 Apr 9, Russo-Polish conflict
ended with the signing of the Riga Treaty.
(HN, 4/9/98)
1926 A Soviet census indicated
that 202,000 persons living in the USSR called themselves “Latvians.”
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1933-1945 In 2008 Latvian filmmaker Edvins Snore,
directed “Soviet Story.” It shows the close connections—philosophical,
political and organizational—between the Nazi and Soviet systems
beginning in 1933 thru WWII.
(www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11401983)
1934 Sep 12, Estonia, Latvia &
Lithuania signed the Baltic Entente in Geneva against the USSR.
(LC, 1998, p.24)(MC, 9/12/01)
1935 Latvia erected its Freedom
Monument, a 42-metre (138 ft) high structure in Riga, as a symbol
of resistance to foreign rule.
(Reuters, 2/19/08)
1936 Peteris Kuzis led a volunteer
battalion against fascism in Spain.
(BN, 10/96, p.2)
1937 Jan, Peteris Kuzis received
an “Order of Lenin” medal for his service in Spain.
(BN, 10/96, p.2)
1937 Nov, Peteris Kuzis was called
to the Kremlin and denounced as a spy. He was arrested and executed.
(BN, 10/96, p.2)
1939 Mar 22, Germany marched into
Klaipeda (Memel), Lithuania. The Lithuanian warship Prezidentas Smetona
was left without a harbor. The ship soon settled at Latvia’s port of
Liepaja. In December Ltn. P. Labanauskas was named captain. In 1940
Soviet occupiers called for the ship to raise the Soviet flag, but
Captain Labanauskas sailed the ship out of Soviet territory. The ship
was later handed over to the Soviet Baltic fleet. On Jan 11, 1945, it
hit a mine and sank off the coast of
Finland.
(Voruta #27-28, Jul 1996,
p.2)(http://tinyurl.com/cs545k)
1939 Aug 23, German Foreign
Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Commissar for Foreign
Affairs Vyacheslav M. Molotov signed a Treaty of Non-Aggression, the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact freeing Hitler to invade Poland and Stalin to
invade Finland. Secret protocols, made public years later, were added
that assigned Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia to be within the
Soviet sphere of influence. Poland was partitioned along the rivers
Narev, Vistula and San. Germany retained Lithuania enlarged by the
inclusion of Vilnius. Just days after the signing, Germany invaded
Poland, and by the end of September, both powers had claimed sections
of Poland.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A16)(AP, 8/23/97) (HNPD,
8/22/98)(HN, 8/23/98)
1939 Oct 5, The Soviets signed a
mutual defense pact with Latvia that allowed 30,000 troops to be
stationed there.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1939 The USSR census indicated
126,000 Latvians.
(BN, 10/96, p.1)
1940 Jun 17, The Soviet Union
occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
(HN, 6/17/98)
1940 Jun 18, Soviet occupation was
completed.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1940 Jul 21, The new
USSR-organized parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania held
simultaneous sessions. They declared their countries to be soviet
socialist republics and applied for admission to the USSR.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Aug 3, The Supreme Soviet
officially registered the acceptance of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
into the USSR.
(SC,
8/3/02)(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Aug 25, The ‘parliaments’ of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves ‘provisional Supreme
Soviets’ and adopted new constitutions that were composed according to
the example of the constitutions of already existing union republics of
the USSR.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Aug, The Armies of Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania were reorganized as territorial rifle corps of the
Red Army and placed under the control of the political leaders of the
Red Army.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1941 Apr 18, In the village of
Audrini, Latvia, Boleslavs Maikovskis, chief of police for the second
precinct of Rezekne, ordered the arrest of all the 200-300 people in
the village after Soviet partisans shot and killed several policemen.
He also ordered every house to be burned down. 200 villagers were then
executed, but he claimed to have nothing to do with the slaughter. He
was charged with mass murder in Germany and his trial began in 1988 but
in Feb 1994 the court ruled that he was too frail to continue.
(SFC, 5/8/96, p.C-2)
1941 Jun 14, The Russian secret
police gathered up some 40,000 men, women and children and exiled them
to Siberia in cattle cars. This was the first of many shipments. Some
10,000 Estonians, more than 15,000 Latvians and between 16,000 and
18,000 Lithuanians were herded onto cattle trains and transported to
the far eastern reaches of the Soviet Union, where many of them died.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A16)(http://tinyurl.com/5jxmas)
1941 Jul 4, Latvia partisans shot
416 Jews dead.
(Maggio)
1941 Jul 8, All Jews living in
Baltic States were obligated to wear Star of David.
(MC, 7/8/02)
1941 Oct 14, The 1st mass
deportations took place at Kovno, Lodz, Minsk & Riga.
(MC, 10/14/01)
1941 Nov 29, In Riga the Nazis
separated the men over 16 from their families. That night half the
ghetto population were massacred.
(SFEC, 11/1/98, p.A15)
1941 Dec 1-7, During the first
week of the month some 20-30,000 Jews were taken by the Nazis from the
Riga ghetto to nearby Rumbuli forest, shot and buried in mass graves.
In 2000 Konrad Kalejs (86) fled Britain to Australia under allegations
that he was linked to the murder of over 30,000 people, mostly Jews, in
Latvia. In 2000 Latvia and Australia signed an extradition treaty.
(SFEC, 11/1/98, p.A14)(SFC, 1/7/00, p.D3)(SFC,
7/15/00, p.A13)
1941 Dec 8-9, A final sweep of the
Jewish ghetto in Riga resulted in over 800 bodies burned and thrown
into a mass grave at a cemetery next to the ghetto. These events were
later recalled in the book “Endless Miracles,” by survivor Jack Ratz,
who was 14 at the time, but went with the men on Nov 29.
(SFEC, 11/1/98, p.A15)
1941 The Germans seized Latvia and
many Latvians joined the Nazi ranks. The Latvian Legion was formed
under the German Waffen SS and its 2 divisions helped prolong the war
by defeating the Soviet Army in several battles. Viktors Arajs headed
the feared Kommando unit that was responsible for war crimes against
Jews.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1943 Nov 2, Jewish ghetto of Riga,
Latvia, was destroyed.
(MC, 11/2/01)
1944 Mar 27, Forty Jewish
policemen were shot in the Riga Latvia ghetto by the Gestapo.
(HN, 3/27/98)
1944 Oct 13, Riga, Latvia, was
freed.
(MC, 10/13/01)
1944 The Communists regained
control of Latvia. They sent the captured members of the Latvian
Legion, who had fought under the German Waffen SS, to prison camps in
Siberia.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1944 Vasily Kononov (21) led a
small band of pro-Soviet partisans. He was arrested in 1998 for
ordering the execution of 9 civilians in 1944, whom he suspected of
pro-Nazi sympathies, but maintained his innocence. In 2000 he was
sentenced to 6 years in prison but was soon freed pending further
investigation.
(SFC, 4/26/00, p.A16)
1944-1956 Some 180,000 Latvians were sent to Siberia
in the years immediately following the war. Some deportees were allowed
to filter back after the death of Stalin and the beginning of
Khrushchev’s “thaw.”
(BN, 10/96, p.2)
1947 Feb 27, Gidon Kremer,
violinist (Tchaikovsky Prize 1970), was born in Riga, Latvia.
(MC, 2/27/02)
1948 Jan 16, Anatoli Yakovlevich
Solovyov, cosmonaut (TM-5,9,15,26, STS 71), was born in Riga, Latvia.
(MC, 1/16/02)
1948 Jan 27, Mikhail Baryshnikov,
ballet dancer, was born in Riga, Latvia.
(MC, 1/27/02)
1950 Apr 8, A US Navy Privateer
airplane flew from Wiesbaden, West Germany, to spy over the Soviet
Union with 10 people on board. Soviet reconnaissance spotted the plane
over Latvia and shot it down.
(SFEC,12/21/97,
p.A26)(www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/baltic_incident.html)
1958 Ludmilla Chiriaeff
(1924-1996), Latvian-born dance pioneer, founded the Les Grandes
Ballets Canadians.
(SFC, 9/24/96, p.B2)
1961 An experimental nuclear
reactor was built at Salapilis. It was closed in 1998.
(BN, 10/98, p.6)
1971 The top secret Russian
Skrunda radar station was opened.
(BN, 10/98, p.1)
1986 Einars Repse graduated from
Latvia State Univ. in physics and became a founding member of the
Latvian Popular Front.
(WSJ, 12/11/02, p.B5B)
1986 A citizen’s forum was
organized by Mikhail Gorbachev in Jurmala, Latvia. 2,000 handpicked
Communists faced 220 Americans on televised debates shown to the Soviet
public.
(SFEC, 9/15/96, Parade p.22)
1988 The mass production of kvass,
a popular traditional drink made of stale rye, sugar and yeast, ceased.
Popularity of the drink made a comeback in 1997.
(WSJ, 9/8/00, p.A17)
1989 Aug 23, Approximately two
million people joined their hands to form an over 600 km (373 mi) long
human chain across the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania. This original demonstration was organized to draw the
world's attention to the common historical fate which these three
countries suffered. It marked the 50th anniversary of August 23, 1939,
when the Soviet Union and Germany in the secret protocol of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact divided spheres of interest in Eastern Europe,
which led to the occupation of these three states.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Way)
1990 Mar 19, Latvia's political
opposition claimed victory in the republic's first free elections in 50
years, and reformers also claimed victories in crucial runoffs held in
Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine.
(AP, 3/19/00)
1990 May 4, Latvia's parliament
voted 138-0 (1 abstention) for Independence. The Russophone
Ravnopraviye (Equal Rights Movement) boycotted this resolution by
walking out of parliament.
(http://countrystudies.us/latvia/20.htm)
1990 May 12, The presidents of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania forged a united front by reviving a 1934
political alliance in hopes of enhancing their drive for independence
from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 5/12/00)
1990 May 14, In separate decrees,
Soviet President Gorbachev declared that the republics of Estonia and
Latvia had no legal basis for moving toward independence.
(AP, 5/14/00)
1991 Jan 8, Pro Soviet
demonstrators protested price rises and surrounded the parliament in
Vilnius. Fresh Soviet troops began rolling across Baltic borders from
Pskov, Russia, allegedly to deal with Baltic youth who have been
evading the Soviet draft.
(www.balticsww.com/news/features/crackdown.htm)
1991 Jan 20, In Latvia, “black
beret” commandos of the Soviet Interior Ministry attacked the
republic’s Interior Ministry headquarters, killing five people.
Communist leader Alfred Rubiks supported a Soviet crackdown against a
move by his countrymen for independence.
(SFC,11/6/97, p.C3)(AP, 1/20/01)
1991 Mar 3, Latvia and Estonia
voted to become independent of the USSR.
(SC, 3/3/02)
1991 Aug, Alfred Rubiks was jailed
for his support of the Soviet crackdown against independence in Jan. He
was released in 1997 for good behavior.
(SFC,11/6/97, p.C3)
1991 Sep 6, In the Soviet Union,
the State Council, a new executive body composed of President Mikhail
S. Gorbachev and republic leaders, recognized the independence of the
Baltic states. All three were admitted into the United Nations later
this month.
(AP,
9/6/01)(http://countrystudies.us/lithuania/25.htm)
1991 Sep 14, US Secretary of State
James A. Baker III met with leaders of the Baltic nations, which had
declared independence from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 9/14/01)
1991 Sep 17, The U.N. General
Assembly opened its 46th session, welcoming new members Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, North and South Korea, the Marshall Islands and
Micronesia.
(AP, 9/17/01)
1991 Independent Latvia recognized
only the citizens of the pre-1940 Latvian state and their descendants.
Some 740,000 Russian-speaking residents were made aliens and barred
from voting and government sector employment.
(WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A9)
1992 Mar 5, In Copenhagen the
Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany,
Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden, in the presence
of the representative from the European Commission, opened a 2-day
meeting and decided to establish a Council of the Baltic Sea States to
serve as a forum for guidance and overall coordination among the
participating states. Iceland joined the CBSS in 1995
(Econ, 6/7/08,
p.63)(www.bmwi.de/English/Navigation/European-policy/baltic-market.html)
1993 Jul 8, Guntis Ulmanis was
sworn in as president.
(BN, 10/97, p.3)
1993 The Latvian Government
Training Center opened. It was funded by the US Baltic Foundation
DemNet program.
(USBF, V.7, #2, p.5)
1994 Jul 6, President Clinton
stopped by Latvia, then traveled to Poland as part of a four-nation
European tour.
(AP, 7/6/04)
1994 Aug 31, Russia officially
ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics
after a half-century.
(AP, 8/31/99)
1994 Estonia became the 1st
European country to introduce a flat tax (26%) on personal and
corporate income. Latvia and Lithuania soon followed suit.
(Econ, 3/5/05, p.54)
1995 The only Jewish synagogue in
Riga was bombed and caused $300,000 in damages.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1996 Sep 27, US Defense Sec.
William Perry said the 3 Baltic nations would not be among the first
new NATO members drawn from Eastern Europe.
(SFC, 9/28/96, p.A8)
1996 Agate Nesaule won an American
Book Award for her memoir: "A Woman in Amber--Healing the Trauma of War
and Exile."
(BN, V.15, No.55, p.1)
1996 A coalition government was
formed under Prime Minister Andris Skele. It was noted that the Russian
language was still the primary school language and the language of
communication between all non-Latvians.
(BN, V.15, No.55, p.1)
1997 Jun, Terms of the Baltnet
Group, an Air Surveillance System for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,
were established in Oslo, Norway.
(http://tinyurl.com/a6o2n)
1997 Aug 8, The largest int’l.
military exercise in Latvia’s history will take place over 5 days at
the Adazi training center organized by the Northwest Europe Command.
Troops from 15 countries were to participate.
(BN, 6/97)
1997 Oct 2, Latvian violinist
Gidon Kremer led his Astor Quartet in a homage to Astor Piazzolla at
the Herbst Theater in Berkeley, Ca.
(SFC, 10/4/97, p.E1)
1997 Nov 5, Alfred Rubiks, former
Communist leader, was released from jail.
(SFC,11/6/97, p.C3)
1997 Nov 18, Holocaust survivors
from Latvia received the first checks from a $200 million fund set up
by Swiss banks. Individual survivors were to each receive $1000.
(SFC,11/19/97, p.C4)
1998 Jan 16, Baltic leaders signed
an agreement, the US-Baltics Charter of Partnership, at the White House
strengthening US and NATO ties with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The
leaders also established a $15 million fund with equal contributions
from the Agency for Int’l. Development and George Soros to promote
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
(WSJ, 1/16/98, p.A1)(SFC, 1/17/98, p.A8)
1998 Mar, Some 500 Nazi WW II
veterans held a parade in Riga.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1998 Apr 2, The only Jewish
synagogue in Riga was bombed.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1998 Apr 3, Pres. Guntis Ulmanis
fired the commander of Latvia’s army, Juris Dalbinsh, for marching full
uniform in a Nazi parade in March. He also fired Police Chief Aldis
Lieljuksis.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1998 Apr 6, An anti-personnel mine
exploded outside the Russian Embassy in Riga.
(SFC, 4/8/98, p.A14)
1998 Apr 8, The Democratic Party
Samnieks, the largest of the 6-party coalition, walked out of
Parliament accusing the nationalist prime minister of souring relations
with Russia.
(SFC, 4/9/98, p.A9)
1998 Aug 31, The Skrunda radar
base, the last Russian military outpost in the Baltic states, was
closed.
(SFC, 9/1/98, p.A9)
1998 Oct 3, In Latvia voters
approved a referendum to ease citizenship requirements for Russians
left there following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Voters also
selected members for the 100 seat unicameral parliament.
(WSJ, 10/5/98, p.A1)(BN, 10/98, p.1)
1998 Nov 18, The Swedish bank
Skandinavska Enskilda acquired a 32% stake in Eesti Uhispank, as well
as a 36% stake in Latvia’s Latvijas Unibanka.
(WSJ, 11/19/98, p.A16)
1998 Dec, In Sweden a Latvian team
won the first European championships in Fire Sculpture.
(SFC, 1/7/99, p.D5)
1998 The experimental nuclear
reactor at Salaspilis was closed. It was estimated that $50 million
would be needed to dismantle it.
(BN, 10/98, p.1)
1998 A documentary video on the
Baltic States: “Seven years of Success and Still Growing” was produced.
(BN, 10/98, p.6)
1999 Feb 24, Latvia became the
first Baltic state to be a full member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
(BN, 3/99, p.1)
1999 Jun 17, Latvia's parliament
elected Vaira Vike-Freiberga (61), Canadian émigré and
retired university professor, as its first female president.
(WSJ, 6/18/99, p.A1)(USAT, 6/11/04, p.5D)
1999 Jul 16, Parliament approved
the center-right government of Andris Skele. This ended the 6-year
dominance of the centrist Latvia's Way Party.
(WSJ, 7/22/99, p.A26)
1999 Dec 10, The EU granted
preliminary consideration for membership to Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta.
(SFC, 12/11/99, p.A16)
2000 Aug 17, In Latvia a bomb
exploded in Riga and 21 people were injured.
(SFC, 8/18/00, p.D6)
2002 Jul 6, In Latvia hopes were
high at a summit of 10 former communist countries aspiring to join
NATO, and many delegates already were looking ahead to the
responsibilities of membership.
(AP, 7/6/02)
2002 Oct 5, In Latvia the
pro-business New Era party appeared set to win the most seats in
parliamentary elections to choose the government that will lead this
ex-Soviet republic into the European Union and NATO. Einars Repse led
polls for election as prime minister.
(AP, 10/4/02)(AP, 10/6/02)
2002 Oct 9, The European Union's
executive Commission declared Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia,
and Slovakia nearly ready for EU membership and recommended they be
invited to join in 2004. Romania and Bulgaria likely will be delayed
until 2007 because of weak economies, the Commission said, adding
Turkey was the weakest link among candidates.
(AP, 10/9/02)
2002 Nov 5, In Latvia Einars
Repse, a former head of the Central Bank who campaigned against
corruption, was nominated to be the next PM.
(AP, 11/5/02)
2002 Nov 7, Latvia's parliament
gave its approval to a new government headed by former Central Bank
president Einars Repse, who vowed to stop corruption in the ex-Soviet
Baltic republic.
(AP, 11/7/02)
2002 Nov 21, The Baltic nations of
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined former communist states Bulgaria,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia as the next wave of NATO states.
(AP, 11/21/02)
2002 Dec 13, The EU reached
agreement to accept 10 new countries in 2004. These included Czech
Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland,
Slovakia, and Slovenia.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A3)
2003 Jun 20, In Latvia Vaira
Vike-Freiberga easily won a second term as president.
(AP, 6/20/03)
2003 Sep 20, Latvians endorsed
membership in the EU.
(AP, 9/21/03)
2003 Dec 10, Four Latvian climbers
plunged hundreds of feet to their deaths on Mount Cook, New Zealand's
highest peak.
(AP, 12/10/03)
2004 Feb 5, Latvian Prime Minister
Einars Repse announced Thursday that his 14-month-old government was
stepping down, saying his Cabinet can't continue working without a
majority in parliament.
(AP, 2/5/04)
2004 Mar 29, Pres. Bush hosted a
White House ceremony to welcome Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
(WSJ, 3/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar, In Latvia the 12th
government in 13 years took office.
(Econ, 3/13/04, p.53)
2004 Apr 27, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU officials signed an accord extending the
EU-Russia partnership accord to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta,
which join May 1.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia)
joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules. Poland had 43
exemptions. Latvia had 32. The Turkish occupied area of Cyprus was
suspended from entry.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05,
p.16)
2004 Sep 23, In Latvia lawmakers
rejected a proposal to let nearly 500,000 ethnic Russians vote in local
elections, despite giving the same right to citizens of EU countries
who live in the Baltic state.
(AP, 9/23/04)
2004 Oct 28, Latvia's government
resigned after lawmakers refused to pass the 2005 budget that had been
proposed by PM Indulis Emsis.
(AP, 10/28/04)(WSJ, 10/29/04, p.A13)
2004 Dec, Latvia’s President Vaira
Vike-Freiberga appointed Aigars Kalvitis as PM, the 9th in 11 years.
(Econ, 12/11/04, p.48)
2004 Latvia passed an education
law requiring all students to take exams in Latvian by 2007.
(WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A9)
2005 Jan 1, Latvia was forecast
for 5.5% annual GDP growth with a population at 2.3 million and GDP per
head at $5,800.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.88)
2005 Apr, A Latvian declaration in
late April about compensation for hardships suffered under Soviet rule
rankled Russia, caused Russia to cancel a proposed signing on May 10.
(AP, 5/15/05)
2005 May 6, President Bush arrived
in Riga, Latvia, as he opened a fast-paced, four-country journey to
mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
(AP, 5/6/06)
2005 May 7, In Riga, Latvia, Pres.
Bush said the Soviet domination of central and eastern Europe after
World War II will be remembered as "one of the greatest wrongs of
history" and acknowledged that the United States played a significant
role in the division of the continent.
(AP, 5/7/05)
2005 May 12, Latvia’s parliament
issued a declaration that said: "The Soviet Union occupied and annexed
the Republic of Latvia, destroyed its state system, killed, tortured
and deported hundreds of thousands of people, robbed them of their
property without any legal reason."
(AP, 5/15/05)
2005 Jun 2, Latvian lawmakers
voted to ratify the European Union constitution and challenged other
European nations not to give up hope that the charter can be
implemented.
(AP, 6/2/05)
2005 Oct 27, Latvian lawmakers
endorsed a new code of ethics designed to burnish the legislature's
reputation that would prohibit deputies swearing and smoking in public.
(AP, 10/27/05)
2005 Nov 6, Paul Tergat of Kenya
won the NYC marathon by a third of a second in the closest finish ever.
Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia took the women’s race.
(WSJ, 11/7/05, p.A1)
2005 Dec 9, In Ireland more than
10,000 labor union members protested in Dublin and other cities over
shipping company Irish Ferries' plan to replace its workers with
Latvians making $4.25 an hour, half the local minimum wage. It was the
country's most bitter industrial showdown in decades.
(AP, 12/09/05)(WSJ, 12/10/05, p.A1)
2006 Jun 7, Latvia's parliament
approved a bill to publish the names of nearly 4,500 suspected Soviet
secret police informants. The bill went to President Vaira
Vike-Freiberga for approval. Should she veto it, Parliament can
override it with a two-thirds majority vote.
(AP, 6/7/06)
2006 Sep 15, Latvian President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga joined the race to become the next UN
secretary-general, becoming the first woman vying for the UN's top post.
(AP, 9/15/06)
2006 Sep 19, Einars Repse,
Latvia's former prime minister (2002-2004), accidentally killed a
pedestrian while driving on a remote road. He said he would stop
campaigning for parliament, although he will remain a candidate. The
EU's official statistics agency, Eurostat, said Latvia registered 222
traffic deaths per 1 million residents in 2004, the highest in the
union.
(AP, 9/21/06)
2006 Oct 5, The Latvian and Thai
candidates dropped out of the race to become the next U.N. chief on
Thursday, leaving South Korea's foreign minister as the lone remaining
contender and near-certain successor to Kofi Annan.
(AP, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 7, Latvians turned out in
their droves to choose the 100 men and women who will make their laws
for the next four years in the first general election since the Baltic
state joined the EU. Latvia's PM Aigars Kalvitis pledged to continue
stimulating economic growth if his centre-right government was
re-elected.
(AFP, 10/7/06)(Reuters, 10/7/06)
2006 Oct 8, Latvia's ruling
coalition kept its grip on power in general elections, making it first
sitting government to do so since the Baltic republic broke away from
the Soviet Union 15 years ago. PM Aigars Kalvitis has said he was ready
to form and lead a new, centre-right coalition government.
(AP, 10/8/06)
2006 Oct 18, Queen Elizabeth II
praised Latvians' love of liberty and hailed the long-standing ties
between Britain and the Baltic state, where she began the first-ever
visit by a British monarch.
(AFP, 10/18/06)
2006 Nov 5, Marilson Gomes dos
Santos of Brazil won the NYC Marathon in 2:09:58. Jelena Prokopcuka of
Latvia won the women’s race for the 2nd year in a row in 2:25:05.
(WSJ, 11/6/06, p.A1)
2006 Nov 28, President Bush, in
Latvia to attend a NATO summit, said he will not be persuaded by any
calls to withdraw American troops from Iraq before the country is
stabilized. Bush also enlisted renewed commitments from the NATO allies
that have deployed 32,000 troops to Afghanistan.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Nov 29, NATO leaders finished
a two-day summit without agreement on some members' refusal to send
troops into combat in Afghanistan's most dangerous regions. NATO vowed
to give its troubled mission in Afghanistan the "forces, resources and
flexibility needed" to tackle increasingly ferocious Taliban fighters.
Leaders invited Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to join a
program considered a first step toward eventual membership, but urged
Serbia and Bosnia to fully cooperate with the UN war crimes tribunal.
(AP, 11/29/06)(AFP, 11/29/06)
2006 Dec 3, Andris Piebalgs, the
EU Energy Commissioner from Latvia, signed an accord on nuclear
cooperation with Kazakhstan. The EU hoped to increase Kazakhstan
uranium sales to the EU from 3% to 20%.
(WSJ, 12/4/06, p.A6)
2006 Dec 4, The Estlink cable
connected power grids of the Baltic States with Finland. The cost of
Estlink, which measures 100 kilometers (60 miles), was around 110
million euros (132 million dollars). It was built by Swiss-Swedish
group ABB.
(AP, 12/4/06)
2006 Dec 27, Saddam Hussein's
Baath Party threatened to retaliate if the ousted Iraqi leader is
executed, warning in an Internet posting it would target US interests
anywhere. A car bomb explosion killing 8 civilians and wounding 10 near
an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baghdad. 2 Latvian soldiers were killed and
3 were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded under their Humvee in
Diwaniyah.
(AP, 12/27/06)
2006 Latvia’s current account
deficit was 20%, the highest in the EU, due to a hot housing market and
credit boom. Latvia’s GDP grew nearly 12% as inflation neared 7%.
(Econ, 3/10/07, p.46)(WSJ, 5/15/07, p.A8)
2007 Feb 23, A fire raced through
a home for the elderly and disabled in western Latvia leaving 25 people
dead or missing.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2007 May 31, Latvia's Parliament
elected Valdis Zatlers, a surgeon with no political background as, the
Baltic country's next president. He will replace outgoing President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga in July when her second and final term ends.
(AP, 5/31/07)
2007 Jun 6, Housing prices in the
major cities of Estonia, Latia and Lithuania were reported to average
around $202,375.
(WSJ, 6/6/07, p.B9)
2007 Jul 8, Valdis Zatlers, a
trauma surgeon with no prior political experience and widely publicized
tax problems, was sworn in as Latvia's third president since the Baltic
state gained independence in 1991.
(AP, 7/8/07)
2007 Nov 7, Latvia's PM Aigars
Kalvitis said that he would step down on Dec. 5 and that the four-party
ruling coalition would immediately begin searching for a new head of
government.
(AP, 11/7/07)
2007 Dec 5, Latvia's center-right
government resigned after coming under intense criticism for firing a
popular anti-corruption investigator and failing to restrain inflation.
(AP, 12/5/07)
2007 Dec 20, Latvian lawmakers
approved a new center-right government that will face an uphill battle
to restore popular trust and prevent the country's red-hot economy from
abruptly reversing course. Ivars Godmanis (56) became prime minister.
He led a four-party coalition which is facing a sharply slowing economy
and record high inflation.
(AP, 12/20/07)(Reuters, 6/18/08)
2007 Dec 20, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania along with 6 other EU members halted land and sea border
controls at midnight, becoming the first in a wave of new members of
Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.
(AFP, 12/20/07)(WSJ, 12/21/07, p.A1)
2008 Jan 21, Latvia's Foreign
Ministry declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata, citing a report
that he was a threat to national security. On Jan 25 Russia said it
will expel a Latvian diplomat in apparent retaliation. Some 400,000
non-citizens lived in Latvia. Ethnic Russians accounted for a third of
the country's population of 2.3 million.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Mar 12, The United States
signed agreements with EU members Latvia and Estonia that will enable
the tiny Baltic nations to join the U.S. visa waiver program this year.
(AP, 3/12/08)
2008 May 31, In Latvia about 400
gay men and women and their supporters held a parade in Riga,
accompanied by a strong police presence and chants and insults from
anti-gay activists.
(AP, 5/31/08)
2008 Jun 18, Latvian PM Ivars
Godmanis suffered serious head injuries in a road accident in the
center of the capital while traveling in a car with a siren on.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jul 25, Energy companies in
the three Baltic states and Poland agreed to set up a joint venture to
develop a nuclear power plant in Lithuania.
(Reuters 7/25/08)
2008 Aug 11, An Afghan police
officer was killed and two others were injured in a roadside bomb
explosion on the southeastern outskirts of Kabul. 3 civilians were
killed and 15 people were wounded, including three NATO troops, when a
suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a NATO military convoy in
Kabul. In the northern province of Maimana meanwhile a Latvian ISAF
soldier was killed and three others wounded when their vehicle hit a
roadside bomb.
(AFP, 8/11/08)
2008 Aug, Inflation in Latvia
stood at 17%.
(Econ, 8/16/08, p.53)
2008 Nov 20, Latvia said it is
looking to start talks with IMF and had formally entered into
negotiations with the European Commission on emergency financial
assistance.
(WSJ, 11/21/08, p.A10)
2008 Dec 16, The central banks of
Sweden and Denmark came to the aid of Latvia with currency swap
agreements. This enabled the Bank of Latvia, to borrow as much as €500
million.
(WSJ, 12/17/08, p.C2)
2008 Dec 19, France’s finance
ministry unveiled a package of financial aid from the EU and others
totaling $10.7 billion to help Latvia.
(WSJ, 12/20/08, p.A8)
2009 Jan 13, In Latvia a protest
against economic reforms that drew thousands in Riga turned violent as
small pockets of rioters clashed with police and attacked government
buildings.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Feb 20, Latvia's center-right
coalition government resigned after weeks of instability brought on by
the Baltic country's economic collapse. President Valdis Zatlers said
he accepted the resignation of PM Ivars Godmanis and his
administration, which had been in power since December 2007.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Mar 12, Latvia's parliament
approved a new center-right government with Europe's youngest premier
as the economic crisis in this Baltic state deepened. A 67-21 vote made
PM Valdis Dombrovskis (37) and his 5-party coalition Latvia’s third
government in 15 months.
(AP, 3/12/09)
2009 Jul, Latvia’s leading
newspaper, Diena, along with sister publication Dienas Bizness, was
bought by Luxembourg based Nedela S.A. in a highly clandestine
transaction. The deal was initially structured as a loan to Tralmaks'
company Nedela, allowing it to buy the two papers from then-owner,
Sweden's Bonnier Business Press. The loan was later restructured,
placing the Rowlands as the new owners. The Rowland Capital family
office runs an asset management business, Blackfish Capital Management,
a London based company.
(http://tinyurl.com/yjgb4ls)(Econ, 10/17/09, p.64)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Latvia
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