СПОРТ У МІЖВОЄННІЙ ЛАТВІЇ (1918–1940): ОГЛЯД ЛАТВІЙСЬКОЇ ІСТОРІОГРАФІЇ

Abstract

The revolution in the Russian Empire and the defeat of Germany in the First World War opened a window of opportunity for the people of Latvia. For the first time in its history, the country was able to appear on the political map of the world. However, this became possible only through the armed liberation struggle (1918–1920). Victory in the War of Independence, like that of neighboring Lithuania and Estonia, marked an era of independence that lasted until the Soviet occupation in 1940. In cultural and social aspects, these more than two decades of freedom became a real national renaissance. The revival was understood as a multifaceted process affecting all spheres of Latvian life, with culture, education, and science as a priority. Sport was not an exception in it either, on the contrary, it was an important element of the general mosaic. He played a great consolidating, upbringing and ideological role in the life of Latvia. This is characteristic of both periods of the interwar history of the Latvian state – «democratic» or «parliamentary» (1920–1934) and especially «authoritarian» during the «May 15 Latvia» or «Ulmanis era» (1934–1940). The article presents the first attempt in Ukrainian historical science to analyze the achievements of Latvian historiography on this issue. Attention is paid to studies created at different historical stages, by representatives of different scientific and ideological conjunctures. This publication claims the role of a structural segment of a further comprehensive study of the history of interwar Latvia, with an emphasis on various spheres of the country’s political, military and cultural life in that era. At the same time, such research is embedded in the general architecture of more global historical Baltic studies in Ukraine.