Soviet Latvia Research Articles

The Development of Ethnography in Soviet Latvia and its Most Immediate Tasks (A Historiographic Essay)

Ethnography began to develop in Latvia in the mid-19th century, with the direct assistance of Russian scholars. At that time the Ethnographic Division of the Russian Geographic Society in St. Petersburg, and the Society of Friends of the Natural Sciences, Anthropology and Ethnography of Moscow University, (1) with the aid of members of the Latvian intelligentsia - J. Kaleis-Kuznetzov, F. Brivzemniek-Treiland, J. Sprogis, K. Baron - organized the gathering, through questionnaires and field-trips, and the publication of materials on the culture and mode of life of the Latvian people, and exhibitions along these lines.

The Effect of Collectivization on Latvian Agriculture

The year 1960 was a remarkable year for the Soviets in the LSSR.1 In this year they celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Soviet Latvia, emphasizing especially the achievements of the LSSR economy and the superiority of socialist production over capitalism in prewar (1918-40) Latvia.2 The Minister of Agriculture of the LSSR, J. Vanags, has emphasized that socialist agriculture is far more productive than individual farming.3 It is interesting to compare the data reflecting agricultural production in the LSSR wvith those on prewar Latvia, to see if the comparison supports official Soviet claims concerning the superiority of socialist agriculture in Latvia. Prewar Latvia was a capitalistic state with small-scale individual farming, whereas the LSSR is a socialist state wvith large-scale mechanized production in the agricultural sector.