“Remembering Historical Anniversary…”: the Riga Peace Treaty of 1920 in the Latvian Press, 1988—1990

Abstract

The article considers the mechanisms of formation of historical memory about the peace treaty concluded between the RSFSR and the Republic of Latvia on August 11, 1920. The construction of historical memory about this peace treaty became an important part of the concept of political development in Latvia in the late Soviet era (1988—1990). This was based on the idea of restoring sovereignty. During the period of Perestroika, the idea of the legitimacy of the Soviet-Latvian peace treaty formed the basis for the formation of ideas about the statehood of Latvia and helped to build the concept of state continuity — from the First Republic to a sovereign state, reviving as a result of the collapse of the Soviet empire. The text of the agreement of August 11, 1920 was used in the declaration of the Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR of May 4, 1990 “On the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia”. On August 21, 1991, the Supreme Council of Latvia adopted an act on the succession and legal identity of the Republic of Latvia 1918—1940 and modern Latvia. The inclusion of the treaty of 1920 in the so-called statehood continuity doctrine in modern Latvia is an attempt to overcome the difficult historical past associated with the loss of independence in 1940 and build a concept of legitimate international relations, in which the 1920 treaty plays one of the main roles as the basis for the birth of the sovereign Republic of Latvia.