How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 was “legitimized” by “People’s Saeima” which was “elected” on July 14–15, 1940. A significant role in these “elections” was carried out by The Communist Party of Latvia, which at that time was a branch of Comintern and therefore acted as a Soviet agency in La...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Instytut Pamięci Narodowej - Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Review (Institute of National Remembrance) |
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| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.ipn.gov.pl/index.php/inrr/article/view/2463 |
| _version_ | 1826585033048064000 |
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| author | Gints Zelmenis |
| author_facet | Gints Zelmenis |
| author_sort | Gints Zelmenis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 was “legitimized” by “People’s Saeima” which was “elected” on July 14–15, 1940. A significant role in these “elections” was carried out by The Communist Party of Latvia, which at that time was a branch of Comintern and therefore acted as a Soviet agency in Latvia. Some two dozens of candidates for MP of the “Working People’s Bloc” (which was openly backed by USSR officials) were at the same time members of various electoral commissions. “People’s Government”, which was appointed after the occupation of Latvia, Central Election Commission, local communists and their supporters were just executors in these “elections”. The real “master of puppets” who supervised whole process was Deputy Chairman of the Soviet government Andrey Vyshinsky and some other Soviet officials. These “elections” had nothing to do with elections in the common, democratic sense of that word. In fact, it was an affair of misleading, intimidation and fraud on a large scale. These events had grave consequences for Latvia – the loss of independence and establishment of extremely repressive regime in all three Baltic states.
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| first_indexed | 2025-03-14T15:47:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43bf678d27d34a2b95346bef37121837 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2658-1566 2957-1715 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T15:47:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Instytut Pamięci Narodowej - Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Review (Institute of National Remembrance) |
| spelling | doaj.art-43bf678d27d34a2b95346bef371218372025-02-24T09:30:28ZengInstytut Pamięci Narodowej - Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi PolskiemuReview (Institute of National Remembrance)2658-15662957-17152023-12-01510.48261/INRR230507How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied LatviaGints Zelmenis0The National Archives of Latvia The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 was “legitimized” by “People’s Saeima” which was “elected” on July 14–15, 1940. A significant role in these “elections” was carried out by The Communist Party of Latvia, which at that time was a branch of Comintern and therefore acted as a Soviet agency in Latvia. Some two dozens of candidates for MP of the “Working People’s Bloc” (which was openly backed by USSR officials) were at the same time members of various electoral commissions. “People’s Government”, which was appointed after the occupation of Latvia, Central Election Commission, local communists and their supporters were just executors in these “elections”. The real “master of puppets” who supervised whole process was Deputy Chairman of the Soviet government Andrey Vyshinsky and some other Soviet officials. These “elections” had nothing to do with elections in the common, democratic sense of that word. In fact, it was an affair of misleading, intimidation and fraud on a large scale. These events had grave consequences for Latvia – the loss of independence and establishment of extremely repressive regime in all three Baltic states. https://czasopisma.ipn.gov.pl/index.php/inrr/article/view/24631940Communist PartyelectionsLatviaoccupationSoviet Union |
| spellingShingle | Gints Zelmenis How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia Review (Institute of National Remembrance) 1940 Communist Party elections Latvia occupation Soviet Union |
| title | How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia |
| title_full | How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia |
| title_fullStr | How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia |
| title_short | How Soviet “Legitimacy” Was Made: 1940 “Elections” in Occupied Latvia |
| title_sort | how soviet legitimacy was made 1940 elections in occupied latvia |
| topic | 1940 Communist Party elections Latvia occupation Soviet Union |
| url | https://czasopisma.ipn.gov.pl/index.php/inrr/article/view/2463 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gintszelmenis howsovietlegitimacywasmade1940electionsinoccupiedlatvia |