FLAG OF LATVIA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The flag of Latvia is the national flag of this Baltic republic member of the European Union. It is a garnet colored cloth divided in two by a thin horizontal white stripe in the middle of the flag. The symbol represented Latvia in its first independence in 1918 and was taken up shortly before the second, in 1990.

In Latvia, the flags that have been flown have corresponded to the different regional powers that have occupied it. German symbols have always been present due to the political and economic control that has been exercised from this country. The Russians have also been there, including the flags of the different governorates of their empire. Previously, Poles and Swedes endured with their flags.

Flag of Latvia. (SKopp).

The current flag of Latvia was adopted in 1918 and its validity remained until the Soviet Union annexed the territory in 1940, during World War II. The re-adoption of the symbol was part of the self-determination process in 1990, and it has not been modified since.

The symbol has a legend that relates it to a bloody sheet. For this reason, the maroon stripes represent the blood shed by the country's fighters.

History of the flag

The history of Latvia can be traced back to a tribal population from prehistoric times. However, it was not until the 10th century when the first states emerged in the territory, which came to represent the different peoples, among which the Latgalians stood out, who founded a principality called Jersika, with an orthodox government. When this kingdom was divided in the 13th century, the country was already called Lettia, from which it derived the current name of Latvia.

Later other groups occupied the area. The Germans were gaining in influence, so much so that the territory began to be called Livonia.

German period: Terra Mariana and Livonia

German rule in present-day Latvia began in the 12th century through merchants. The Christian conquest came thanks to a crusade at the end of this century. Subsequently, Albert of Riga became the most important conqueror, founding Riga in 1201. By 1207 Terra Mariana was created, which would later become the Confederation of Livonia in 1228, led by a papal power.

Already in the 13th century the Germans took total control of the territory, passing it to rule directly. Later, different Latvian cities joined the North German Trade Organization. Although German power was strong politically, the Baltic identity itself was not greatly altered.

Land became the central issue in the 15th and 16th centuries, by which the peasants were subjected. Finally, the Lutheran Reformation was present. The Livonian Confederation ended its existence after the Livonian War in the second half of the 16th century.

One of the Baltic symbols used then was a shield with a white field. A black cross was imposed on him.

Baltic shield. (Sebastian Walderich).

Duchy of Livonia

The current territory of Latvia was divided after the end of the Confederation of Livonia. Riga, the capital, became a free imperial city. Part of the territory became part of the Duchy of Courland and Semigalia, a Polish vassal state, and the Duchy of Livonia, which was a vassal of Lithuania.

The Duchy of Livonia was a province of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1569. Later, the Union of Lublin was finalized in 1569 between Lithuania and Poland, so that the Duchy of Livonia became a state of joint administration.

The infantry shield applied in the Duchy of Livonia was a red field with a silver eagle spanning it from top to bottom. This was used in the Polish-Lithuanian confederation.

Coat of arms of the Duchy of Livonia. (Bastian (vector version)).

Poland and Sweden fought a war between 1626 and 1629. After the Altmark Truce, the Duchy of Livonia was recognized as Swedish territory. One part became the Catholic Voivodeship of Inflanty, which remained partially independent until the Russian conquest in 1772.

The flag used was the light blue Swedish flag with the yellow Scandinavian cross.

Flag of Sweden. (Anomie via Wikimedia Commons).

Duchy of Curonian and Semigalia

The second of the divisions of the Livonian Confederation was the Duchy of Courland and Semigalia. In the first place, it was a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but by joining with Poland it also came under its sovereignty.

This was an extremely important state in Europe, even becoming one of the few that carried out colonizations in America, specifically on the Caribbean island of Tobago.

Over time a Russian influence developed in the reigning monarchy. The flag used by the Duchy of Curonian and Semigalia kept two horizontal stripes of equal size in red and white.

Flag of the Duchy of Curonian and Semigalia. (Sir Iain).

Russian empire

For the Russian Empire, access to the Baltic Sea was a priority. Beginning in the 18th century his troops conquered Livonia from the Swedes and in 1713 they established the Riga Governorate, which became the Livonia Governorate by 1796.

The Russians respected the authorities and the German economic power established there for centuries. This would continue until 1889 when the teaching of Russian was imposed.

The Inflanty Voivodeship came under Russian control in 1772, which, together with other territories, formed the Vitebsk Governorate. Finally, the Third Partition of Poland became the definitive absorption of the Duchy of Curland and Semigalia, before which the Governorate of Curland was created.

This governorate maintained the autonomy of the German language and culture. The problems during the Russian rule focused mainly on peasant and agrarian emancipation.

Flags of the Russian governorates

The main flag that was used was the Russian, which consists of a tricolor of horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. However, each of the governorates kept a different flag.

Flag of the Russian Empire. (Zscout370, via Wikimedia Commons).

In the case of the Livonia Governorate, it was a tricolor pavilion with horizontal stripes of equal size. His colors were red, green and white.

Flag of the Governorate of Livonia in the Russian Empire. (Urmas).

In the case of the Curonian Governorate, the flag was also a tricolor, like that of Livonia. However, the colors changed to green, blue, and white.

Flag of the Curonian Governorate in the Russian Empire. (Hierakares).

Finally, the Vitebsk Governorate did not keep a flag, but a shield. He kept the traditional Russian imperial heraldry and, in a red field, he kept a knight in armor on a horse in silver color.

Coat of arms of the Vitebsk Governorate in the Russian Empire. (Unknown heraldics).

Iskolat Republic

Latvian national identity began to develop in the 19th century and was increased after the Russification process in the last decade of the century. Subsequently, the 1905 Revolution took place, which was characterized by an armed uprising against the Russian imperial power and the local German feudal dynasty, which owned the land.

The First World War definitely changed Latvian destiny. Germany and Russia clashed in the conflict, and the Germans attempted to take control of the entire Curonian Governorate.

The Russian strategy opted for the evacuation of the territories. The situation remained in dispute until the Russian monarchy was deposed. That prompted the Russian Provisional Government to recognize the local land councils in Latvia.

The demand for local autonomy increased and was materialized in a request for self-determination on August 12, 1917. From a congress held in those days emerged the Iskolat government, influenced by the Russian Bolsheviks. The Republic of Iskolat was established in November, after the triumph of the October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin.

Flag of the Republic of Iskolat

The flag of the Republic of Iskolat was divided into three horizontal stripes. The two of the ends were red and the central white with a red five-pointed star in the center.

Flag of the Republic of Iskolat. (1917-1918). (Abols (Jānis Āboliņš)).

German conquest

The Republic of Iskolat held out until March, although its seat of government had to overcome the attacks and German occupations. In these territories, Latvian self-determination began to be demanded through the Social Democrats. Simultaneous to the Republic of Iskolat, in November 1917 the Provisional National Council of Latvia was created which tried to unify the Latvian lands to form an autonomous entity.

The new Bolshevik government in Russia withdrew from the war and handed over the governorates of Curland and Livonia to the Germans through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. This regime lasted only until November 1918. The flag of the Empire German was a tricolor of horizontal stripes of black, white and red.

Flag of the German Empire. (User: B1mbo and User: Madden).

The German intention for September 1918 was the creation of the United Baltic Duchy, which depended on the Prussian crown. This attempt was short-lived and did not come to fruition as the German Empire collapsed in November of that year. The flag that was proposed was a white cloth with a black Scandinavian cross, which were the most used colors in the symbols of Prussia.

Proposed flag of the United Baltic Duchy. (1918). (User Zscout370 on en.wikipedia).

First World War

The first historical moment in which the creation of a Latvian state was considered was during the First World War. The first German conquest of the territory ended in November 1918 with the recognition of the Provisional Government of Latvia.

In the territory, social democratic groups that aspired to create a socialist state clashed against the democratic bloc. Finally they were unified in the Council of the Peoples of Latvia and on November 18, 1918 independence was proclaimed.

The Social Democrats joined with the Bolsheviks and began the War of Independence, in which Russia attempted to regain control of the Baltic Sea provinces.

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Bolshevik invasion took place gradually but steadily and on January 13, 1919, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, an independent state, but a puppet of communist Russia. The government of this country imposed by force revolutionary courts that executed the nobility, the wealthy and even peasants who refused to give up their lands.

By March, Germans and Latvians began fighting the Russians. Riga was recaptured in May and attacks against the Soviets were also carried out from Estonia. Although with some setbacks, the final victory came in 1920 after the Polish-Latvian attack on Latgale, the main Russian stronghold in Latvia. In August 1920, the peace treaty between Latvia and Soviet Russia was signed, by which this country recognized Latvian independence.

The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic kept a red flag, as is traditional in Bolshevik designs since its inception. This simply included in the canton the initials LSPR in yellow, which identified the republic.

Flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. (1918-1920). (Himasaram).

Formation of the flag of the Republic of Latvia

However, the Republic of Latvia in its first independence already maintained an official flag, which was the same one that is in force today. It is a maroon symbol with a horizontal white stripe in the center.

The adapted design was made by the artist Ansis Cīrulis in May 1917, before independence. Its adoption, along with that of the shield, was carried out on June 15, 1921, but its origin dates back to the 13th century.

One of its origin legends is that a Latvian leader was wounded in battle and was later wrapped in a white sheet. This would have been stained with blood on both ends, or even, the white color could represent only the sheet.

The first reference to this flag was collected in the medieval Rhymed Chronicles of Livonia. This would have been used in a battle in 1279 in the north of present-day Latvia. The flag, stained with blood according to legend, would have awarded them victory.

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

As in the first great global conflict, the Second World War once again changed the Latvian territorial situation. In this warlike conflict, the three Baltic countries signed the Soviet-Latvian Treaty that granted them assistance from the Soviet Union. Finally, Soviet Red Army troops occupied Latvia in 1940.

Following fraudulent elections, a People's Assembly was formed which declared Latvia as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. The next step was her incorporation into the Soviet Union, which occurred on August 5, 1940.

However, the Nazis occupied Latvia from July 1941. This lasted until further fighting in 1944, when Riga was recaptured by the Soviets on October 13, 1944. Other areas held out until 1945.

Flag of Nazi Germany. (By Fornax, from Wikimedia Commons).

The Stalinist dictatorship Russified the territory, despising the Latvian culture and its components. This was also seen in the flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, adopted in 1940. This was a red cloth with the hammer and sickle in yellow in the canton, accompanied at the top by the initials LSPR.

Flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. (1940-1953). (Osipov Georgiy Nokka).

1953 flag

The death of the dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953 was the starting point of the beginning of the period of de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union. Although autonomist attempts were made from Latvia, they failed. However, in 1953 a new flag was approved for the republic, in tune with the new Soviet symbols that had been adopted.

The flag consisted of a red cloth with the yellow hammer and sickle in the canton, in addition to the silhouette of a five-pointed star of the same color. At the bottom of the flag a horizontal blue stripe emulated the sea, as did a pair of wavy white lines on its upper edge. This symbol was kept until 1990.

Flag of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. (1953-1990). (Denelson83, Urmas, Nokka).

Second independence

The end of the Soviet Union came as a result of the liberalization of the system that had been implemented in this country. The perestroika and glasnost processes, led by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, led to the creation of different political parties in Latvia that defended independence.

On February 15, 1990, the maroon-colored Latvian flag that had been used in the first independence was restored. For the month of May, a supreme council was chosen in multiparty elections, which declared the restoration of independence.

Despite Soviet resistance in early 1991, the Latvian parliament ratified independence on August 21, and by September 6, 1991, independence was again recognized by the Soviet Union. The chosen flag was the same one already implanted.

It has recently been proposed to establish specific shades for colors, because there is no clarity in whether it is red or maroon, and what strength the color adopts.

Meaning of the flag

The flag of Latvia has a legend of origin, which attributes its main meaning: blood. Although the color of the flag is garnet, this is understood as red and, therefore, it is related to the blood shed by those who have fought for Latvia.

The symbol would have been formed as a result of a white sheet, which would mark the strip of that color, stained by blood on both sides. In it, a soldier from Latvia would have been wrapped according to the original legend of the 13th century.

References

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