History Of Latvia Research Articles

Ethical and Ethnic Values in Organizational Culture in Latvia. Part I

The authors of the article show the importance of studying the economic environment, organizational culture in Latvia, as an ethnically diverse side, taking into account the influence of the ethnic factor. Since there are two ethnocultural poles in the ethnic diversity of Latvia - ethnic Latvians, who are the core of the Latvian nation-state, and Russians, as the largest ethnic minority in the country, the author of the article focused on the issue of the nature of ethnic differences within the Latvian organizational culture. The complexity of this approach to description is due to the fact that the vast majority of scientific works in Latvia, taking into account the influence of the ethnic factor on social life, belong to the field of political science and sociological research. While the few works within the framework of the economic science of Latvia consider the established organizational culture in this country mainly as a homogeneous ethno-cultural entity. To confirm the hypothesis that the ethnic factor also plays an important role in the economic life of Latvia, the author of the article in 2021 organized a sociological study in research project “Interaction of the individual, society and the state in the overall process of Latvian history: conflicts of values and the formation of common values at historical breaking points”. The purpose of this study was to identify the ethnic characteristics of the organizational culture in Latvia through the nature of the ethical relationship between ethnic Latvians and Russians in the economic life of the country. As a key indicator of the integrity of organizational culture for the multi-ethnic environment of Latvia, the author chose the value of universal moral norms, primarily justice, to regulate relations between ethnic Latvians and Russians, to mutually assess their professional and personal qualities in the life of companies and organizations. The data of this study showed that a high assessment of the ideals of justice is characteristic of the moral consciousness of both ethnic Latvian and Russian respondents. At the same time, the attitude towards the implementation of these ideals, as well as other moral values, in economic behavior, business communication, in the adoption of corporate ethics and respect for the established hierarchy in the enterprise and organization, in the perception of professional, moral and psychological qualities of employees with different ethnic identities has some differences among representatives of these ethnic groups. This indicates a significant place of ethnic favoritism both in the minds of ethnic Latvians and Russians when assessing the opposite side, and thus the existence of ethnic subcultures within the business culture and organizational culture in Latvia. Given the large volume of the article, it is divided into two parts. The first part provides a theoretical justification for understanding the relationship between ethical and ethnic values in organizational culture. The second part presents the data of sociological research and their analysis.

Debunking the Falsehoods of Historical Interpretations: Arnold Spekke on George Kennan’s “Soviet-American Relations, 1917–1920. The Decision to Intervene”

In the spring of 1958, Arnold Spekke, Charge d’Affaires in Washington D.C., having read George Kennan’s book “Soviet-American Relations, 1917–1920. The Decision to Intervene” decided to write a comment on certain facts expressed in the book. He concentrated on the description of the execution of Czar Nicholas II and his family, as well as the fact that the book did not mention the Latvian units that fought under Allied leadership, namely, the Troitsk battalion as part of the 3rd Czechoslovak Division. Spekke also submitted a letter written in 1928 by Nikolai Sokolov’s assistant, Captain Pavel Bulygin, in which it was confirmed that there were no Latvians among the shooters. Kennan in his response assured that his goal had only been to emphasize the cruelty with which the murder was committed. The preparation of comments contributed to the efforts of Latvians in exile to focus on writing down memories and studying Latvian history.

Lindes un Birzgales mācītājs Konrāds Šulcs tautas apgaismības vēsturē

In this article, the work in Latvian literature by Baltic German pastor Konrad Schultz has been explored within the context of the development of Popular Enlightenment ideas during the early 19th century. Schultz belonged to those Latvian-writing authors whose works were characterized by variety of themes and genres: from short stories and poems to essays, popular scientific and practical economic articles. Most of Schultz’s literary works were published in newspapers “Latviešu Avīzes” (Latvian Newspapers) and “Tas Latviešu Ļaužu Draugs” (The Friend of Latvian People). Special attention in the article has been turned towards social themes in Schultz’s works – characterization of Latvians in the essay “Latviešu tauta” (Latvian nation), comments on Germanization and upward social mobility, the celebration of the agricultural work, reflections upon aims and reception of enlightenment. Further, correspondences by Schultz on current events in Linde and Birzgale area as well as cultural, historical and ethnographical sketches about the river Daugava have been explored. The short prose fiction works by Schultz have been analyzed within the context of traditions of enlightenment didactic literature, and their originals in German literature have been traced. In the closing part of the article, Schultz’s “Kurzemes stāstu grāmata” (Book of Courland’s Stories) – the first book on Latvian history in Latvian – has been analyzed by turning attention towards Schultz’s understanding of history as well as aims of popularization of history and interpretation of Christianization and other historical events.

Economic Environment in Latvia: Interaction of Ethical and Ethnic Values in Organizational Culture

The article shows the importance of studying the economic environment and the organizational culture in Latvia as an ethnically diverse aspect, taking into account the influence of the ethnic factor. To confirm the hypothesis that the ethnic factor also plays an importantrole in the economic life of Latvia, the article written in 2021 organized a sociological study in the research project “Interaction of the individual, society and the state in the overall process of Latvian history: conflicts of values and the formation of common values at historical breaking points”. As a key indicator of the integrity of organizational culture for the multi-ethnic environment of Latvia, the author chose the value of universal moral norms, primarily justice, to regulate relations between ethnic Latvians and Russians. The data of this study showed that a high assessment of the ideals of justice is characteristic of the moral consciousness of both ethnic Latvian and Russian respondents. At the same time, the attitude towards the implementation of these ideals, in economic behavior, business communication has some differences among representatives of these ethnic groups.

DISCURSIVE DIVERGENCES BETWEEN FILM MEDIUM AND HISTORICAL SCIENCE

Representation of history is the most powerful formative factor of historical insights in society in the 20th and 21st century. Currently, there have been a number of films in production which interpret Latvian history, thus raising the profile of issues relating to the portrayal of the history of the cinema. This article conceptualises the discursive differences between historical research and historical films in order to create a basis for further studies of historical films and their adequacy for the research perspective. This article also outlines the historical features of the cinema, as well as the possibility of an alternative historical narrative: a hybridised form of a historical account created by film.

HISTORY IN THE FILMS OF JĀNIS STREIČS

The creative biography of the film director Jānis Streičs includes 22 feature films, 13 of which are devoted to the present day and nine are about the past. From among historical films, one depicts Latvia at the turn of the 19th century, another focuses on the Russian Civil War, two deal with the inter-war period, three depict World War II, and two are about the 1940s. These films offer Streičs’ views about the past, his own interpretation of the texts of history. At the same time, events, people, environments and life situations of the past are viewed from the present-day perspective, which includes issues and values from the present day within the space of the past. This paper examines two films made by Jānis Streičs during the Soviet era, both of them focusing on Latvian history – “The Boys of Līvsala” (1969) and “Strange Passions” (1983), and both of them are set in 1946. The films are different because of the 14 years that passed between the production of the first one and the second one, but they differ even more by the way in which the director sends messages about the past, also displaying his relationship to history and regimes. “Strange Passions” is a challenging film in terms of the history of cinema and the Soviet occupation of Latvia, bringing up the question of whether such a film could have been produced and shown in cinemas and on television. The era that is reflected in the two films is part of Jānis Streičs’ own biography. He was a child in 1946, and there was a great deal of tragedy caused by the Soviet regime, its cultivated violence, and the lack of value for human lives. The paper reviews the history interpretation in these films, and the research is based on documents from the Riga Film Studios materials that are stored at the Latvian State Archives. The conclusion is that “The Boys of Līvsala” and “Strange Passions” provide brilliant evidence of the director’s “magical realist” style. They demonstrate his great skill in transforming the childhood and youth period of his generation into a part of Latvia’s cultural memory.

CENTENARY OF LATVIA THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

Article “Centenary of Latvia Through the Eyes of a Child” focuses on the re- cent history of Latvian cinema – programme “Latvian Films for Centenary of Lat- via” (LV100) –, within framework of which 16 full-length films were made. For the first time in the history of the independent Latvia the films made in 2018 have been watched by more than half a million spectators. The main characters in several films from this programme are children and they offer a chance to view various events from the perceptual vantage point of a child. Author analyses numerous films of the programme (“Bille”, “Paradise 89”, “The Mover”, “To Be Continued”) in the context of representation of children’s experience in cinema and focuses on the different cine- matic approaches used by the authors of the films to communicate stories about the history of Latvia. Does the principle of choosing a child as the central image of the film signal the desire of the Latvian film directors to observe historical processes with a child’s eyes?

NEW COOKBOOKS FOR THE NEW COUNTRY : LATVIAN NATIONAL CUISINE IN THE MAKING

The concept of national cuisine is inextricably linked to national consciousness and the formation of national states. While there are many ways in which national cuisine can be represented in culture, the written depiction in cookbooks will be studied in this article. A specific period in Latvian history has been chosen for this purpose: the interwar period following the establishment of the Latvian State. The example of Latvia demonstrates that national cuisine is a set of defined and standardized principles that reflect distinct socioeconomic circumstances as well as State’s views and interests.

ПОЭТИКА ФРАГМЕНТАРНОСТИ В ФИЛЬМЕ И. БУРКОВСКИ-ЯКОБСЕН “MANS MĪĻĀKAIS KARŠ”

The article considers the autobiographical film “Mans mīļākais karš” by the Latvian director Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen from the point of view of the poetics of fragmentation. We pay attention to the conceptual combination of animation and archival footage in Burkovska’s film and come to the conclusion that it can be understood as an autofiction: through an animated self-portrait, the di-rector emphasizes the difference between two autobiographical subjects, the unreliability of the autobiographer’s memory, and dramatizes the children’s perception of the world. Apart from that, the film connects fragments of personal story of the director with other people’s stories and re-flections on the history of Latvia, which allows to represent the autobiographer’s childhood as an echo of a collective trauma and to indicate the ways of healing form it.

Beginnings of Literary Images of a Lithuanian and Lithuania in Latvia

In Latvian literature since the second half of the 19th century, Lithuanians, Lithuania, its history, its particular sites are quite often depicted in some specific view, sometimes comprehensively, conceptually, sometimes episodically, passingly. The article attempts to demonstrate what image of Lithuanians and Lithuania that could have made an impact on Latvian literature, formed before it emerged and while emerging: in folklore, writings of Baltic Germans in the 18th–19th centuries and works by activists of the National Awakening.
 In Latvian folk songs, Lithuanians (leiši) are mostly depicted either as close, connected to Latvians by marital bonds, likely bonding people or as enemies, raiders to defend against. There are many other, random, hardly classified Lithuanian motifs in the discussed songs. In narrative folklore, the image of a Lithuanian is more one-sided and not very amiable: a Lithuanian person is usually portrayed in a mocking manner, emphasising negative traits, such as laziness, lack of intelligence, gullibility, etc.
 In texts by Baltic Germans, a Lithuanian of that period was also mostly characterised negatively, by emphasising one’s indolence, backwardness, ignorance. The image of Lithuania in the past, its rulers described by them is different: reserved, objectivised, including sometimes expressed nuances of surprise, respect towards the former geopolitical, military might of Lithuania. The old Lithuanian (and Prussian) religion, mythology started being treated as Latvian ones (Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796) and others), community of the Lithuanian, Old Prussian and Latvian languages, ethnoses was observed, even considering them all to be one nation (Carl Friedrich Watson (1777–1826) and others), history of Lithuania started being positively assessed and presented while bringing it closer to the history of Latvia (Garlieb Helwig Merkel, 1769–1850).
 Ideas of community or kinship of the Lithuanian and Latvian languages, religion, history were actively taken over and intensively fostered by the New Latvians (jaunlatvieši) and other activists of the Latvian National Awakening in the 19th century. They were writing on an inseparable history of Latvians and Lithuanians or even one nation, carried out in-depth investigation of the past and language of Lithuanians, both grounding on their data, objectively, reasonably and subjectively, motivelessly extending the concept of Latvian history, enriching the Latvian language. Atis Kronvalds (1837–1875), Juris Alunāns (born Gustavs Georgs Frīdrihs Alunāns, 1832–1864), Fridrihs Veinbergs (1844–1924), Andrejs Dīriķis (1853–1888) and other enlightened people were those whose endeavours contributed to making the image of Lithuanians and Lithuania in the public space of Latvia more positive, usually, while linking to the past, it was being idealised. Such, idealised, image was mostly taken over by Latvian romantic, neoromantic literature since the 19th century.

Road Traffic Safety Development Trends in Latvia

The main focus of this article is on the road traffic safety development trends in Latvia. Soon after the regain of independence at the beginning of the 1990s, road traffic safety characteristics in Latvia were the worst in the Latvian history. The increase of car availability and affordability made the car a major road vehicle. The implementation of road safety programmes contributed to essential improvement of road traffic safety in Latvia. The number of road accident fatalities in 2020 compared to 1991 decreased more than sevenfold. Nevertheless, the current Latvian road traffic safety statistics is well below the average level of the EU member states and even the pandemics did not cause similar reduction as in most member states. This indicates that great improvement is still needed. The article shows the Latvian experience in road traffic safety enhancements and discusses the measures to improve road traffic safety.

Regional Identity and Multiculturalism: the Baltic Germans of Latgale in the Early 20th Century Latvian Literature

In the studies of Latvian culture and history, there is a number of investigations dedicated to the influence of Baltic German culture on Latvian culture. Hence the Latgale region was not given due attention in this regard. The role of the Baltic Germans in this region is peculiar due to its specific history, and it is important to study how the Baltic German culture influences the multicultural identity of Latgale. A project of the Latvian Science Council The Baltic Germans of Latgale in the context of socio-ethnic relations from the 17th until the beginning of the 20th century (2020–2021) is devoted to this topic. One of the tasks of the project is the analysis of the image of the Baltic Germans in fiction. In the framework of the research, the works written in the Latvian literary language, the action of which is set in Latgale, are analysed. The focus is on fictional works about Latgale written by two authors – Antons Austriņš (1884–1934) and Ādolfs Ers (1885–1945) – in the first and second decades of the 20th century. The said writers are the first currently distinguished authors narrating in the Latvian literary language, who describe Latgale in a number of their works. Compared to other nationalities (Poles, Russians, Jews), the Baltic Germans are mentioned minimally in their works; moreover, it is a commonplace that in some cases protagonist’s belonging to German descent is not mentioned, which can only be inferred. Although the Baltic Germans belong to the Latgale past, their culture is imperceptibly and harmoniously apparent in Latgale, i.e. it is evident in the castles (castle ruins) and manors as well as in the use of Germanisms by the Baltic Germans, it has determined the location of the Latgale cities and influenced the worldview.

ELEMENTS OF ESCAPE GAMES IN LATVIAN HISTORY LESSONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSES

The paper “Elements of Escape Games in Latvian History Lessons in Primary School Classes” reflects escape games as an application of the interactive teaching method in history lessons. Explores the game as a learning technique, as well as the history and characteristics of the escape game, summarizes the students' opinion on the application of the breakout game in lessons of Latvian history, methodological material for the use of escape game elements in history lessons in primary school classes is developed.

Latvian Tradition in State Responsibility

This Chapter examines the role of the law of state responsibility in the practice of the Latvian State. The author elaborates on Latvian state creation and practice in the 1920s and 1930s which present a solid ground for the newly founded State’s participation in the legal affairs of the international community. Latvian state practice contributes to the law of state responsibility by elaborating on the concepts of rule of law, international wrongful acts and the necessity to comply with Latvia’s internationally binding legal obligations. Special attention is devoted to the concept of State continuity, and the author claims that in Latvian history the rules of state responsibility predetermined enforcement of the primary rules of state continuity. The author also examines the Latvian state practice since 1990 by examples, which show the application of international law and thus its normative effect as well as arguably refer to a violation of international law, thereby elaborating on the crucial functions of the rule of law.

Latvian Tradition in State Responsibility

This Chapter examines the role of the law of state responsibility in the practice of the Latvian State. The author elaborates on Latvian state creation and practice in the 1920s and 1930s which present a solid ground for the newly founded State’s participation in the legal affairs of the international community. Latvian state practice contributes to the law of state responsibility by elaborating on the concepts of rule of law, international wrongful acts and the necessity to comply with Latvia’s internationally binding legal obligations. Special attention is devoted to the concept of State continuity, and the author claims that in Latvian history the rules of state responsibility predetermined enforcement of the primary rules of state continuity. The author also examines the Latvian state practice since 1990 by examples, which show the application of international law and thus its normative effect as well as arguably refer to a violation of international law, thereby elaborating on the crucial functions of the rule of law.

Dinner with Mock Faustus: Multilingual Cuisine Cooks the Identity

Phenomena related to gastronomy form an important part of both individual and collective identities. The gastronomical dimensions of literature can often be perceived as a commentary on the political, historical and societal, going beyond just the food. As cuisines are becoming more mixed globally, languages describing gastronomical scenes in literature are also becoming more multilingual.
 The novel Mock Faustus (1973), by the Latvian writer Marģers Zariņš, fuses the gastronomical and the multilingual to the extreme, producing a utopian linguistic hybrid of the Latvian language to which a mix of foreign languages and countless intertextual references are added. This is achieved by the gastronomical vocabulary and imagery omnipresent in the narrative of writing a fictional cookbook. The depiction of gastronomical phenomena allows Zariņš to indirectly comment on Latvian history from the 1930s to 1945 and the confused and fragmented identities of these times.

Latvijas 20. gs. vēstures hronoloģija: problēmas, iespējas un risinājumi

The 20th century history of Latvia is complex and sometimes difficult to understand for a non–professional. In the 1900’s, in Latvia various powers changed several times and events unfolded rapidly and with many turning points. Tracing all of them is a challenge even for a professional historian. The chronology is the first serious attempt to provide an answer to this challenge and make the history of Lat-via more understandable not only for history enthusiasts, but also for people interested in history – both in Latvia and elsewhere. The group of historians who developed this chronology also faced various problems – from the development of the most important criteria for the selection of facts to the problems of the exact data of events. Although a complete reflection of chronology cannot be expected in a chronology of this nature, which, in the author’s opinion, is only an ideal goal – it is undoubtedly a significant step towards the fur-ther formation of chronology and creation of deeper understanding of history of Latvia.

Piekrastes pārvaldība Latvijā: pārvaldības ietvara attīstības pārskats

The coastal territory is a complex socio-ecological system (SES), which needs to be governed using an integrated approach. Integrated coastal management (ICM) is considered as the main approach in coastal governance, offering a holistic view of the coastal zone by integrating different governance sectors and governance levels, but ICM is not a fixed approach and should be adopted to meet each particular unique national and local situation. Full scale ICM in Latvia is not applied, but the following problems are recognized as most significant in the coastal territory: the lack of qualitative infrastructure and the lack of good governance; the local level coastal SES is studied, monitored and evaluated insufficiently as well as good practice examples are not communicated enough. In the current study, the exploration of the legisla-tive regulations and planning documents was conducted, therefore, the main research methods are docu-ment studies and expert interviews. Both the vertical and horizontal integration were assessed for the coastal governance, as well as overview of ICM developments in the modern history of Latvia. In order to understand the situation of the coastal governance in Latvia, the scheme of coastal dune protection zone was prepared, based on Latvian coastal legislation, however it is often difficult to depict different protec-tion zones in practice in such a dynamic and changing territory as a coastal zone.

Sanitārais stāvoklis Latgalē 1920. gadā latviešu preses skatījumā

The aim of this article is to expand the knowledge of the history of Latvia in the 20th century, analyzing the sanitary situation in Latgale in 1920. The source of information – 8 Latvian newspapers from the year 1920. In the beginning of the article, the economic situation of Latgale (collapse of the farming, lack of goods, speculation) during the War of Independence and in the post-war months is de-scribed. Further, the prevalence of typhoid and dysentery epidemics is analyzed, as well as measures tak-en to improve the sanitary condition - events organized by Latgale local municipalities, assistance of Lat-vian Government and ministries in combating diseases in Latgale, as well as foreign (USA, England) as-sistance. The study allowed to conclude that Latvian newspapers are valuable historical sources in the study of the sanitary situation. The press widely and regularly informed about the dangers of the spread of diseases and explained the measures that were taken to improve the health of the population. In com-parison to the contemporary research, in 1920, due to objective reasons, the newspapers did not inform about the sanitary situation in the Latvian and Polish Armies, as well as about the Army's involvement in combating the diseases.

Stāstījuma jēdziens un tā adepti latviešu literatūrzinātnē

Keywords: stāstījums, vēstījums, Broņislavs Tabūns, Harijs Hiršs, narratology, Latvian literary scholarship This article is dedicated to the concept of narrative, exploring the origins of the concept, its character, and use in Latvian literary history and nowadays. The concept of narrative has telltale signs of an epistemological crisis: the meaning of concepts (including narrative) is regularly questioned and expanded. Independent of whether we view a narrative, at the level of microanalysis, as a chain of events (actions) linked by causality, or at the level of macroanalysis, as an ideological concept or an ingredient of cognitive processes, narrative is linguistic in origins and still retains that function. The sources of narratology in Latvian literary scholarship are found in the publications on the theory of fiction by Harijs Hiršs and Broņislavs Tabūns as early as the 1980s. The views of both theoreticians tend to impact the use of the words “vēstījums” (message) and “stāstījums” (narrative) in Latvian: Tabūns used “vēstījums”, whereas Hiršs has used both “vēstījums” and “stāstījums”, originally as synonyms, and later introducing a hierarchical relationship between the two. The different approaches have lead to confusion among literary scholars—to this day, both concepts are sometimes used as synonyms in scholarly literature. The etymology of words and context of their use indicate that ‘stāstījums’ is a more precise translation of the concept of “narrative” than “vēstījums”, for it satisfies the requirements of both classical and postclassical narratology.