Prologue On the Eve of the 20th Century, a Cultural Awakening that Faced Twin Obstructions
As stated above, although our study covers the period 1905–40, we see a clear need to provide a description of the main stages in the history of the Baltic provinces that were to form the Republic of Latvia after the end of the First World War, and to sketch out the ‘backstory’ of these provinces at the end of the 19th century. At that time, the newly formed industrial society faced with an elite culture articulated in the case of Latvia by foreigners (Russians and above all Germans), acted to overturn the established order. Class differences in Latvia had previ- ously been reflected in linguistic and cultural terms, with Latvian the language of peasants, German that of the aristocracy and upper-middle class, and Russian used by the administrative and commercial bourgeoisise, whether Russian or Jewish. This state of affairs was subsequently completely trans- formed. In the words of Alain Dieckhoff:
Culture shifted….. the axis of differentiation. While in traditional society it had reiterated the rigid social demarcation between the ruling strata and peasant masses by horizontal stratification, it now created lines of separation at a national level with vertical divisions.1
Beyond the historical facts of this upheaval may be seen the artistic and cul- tural context for the growing consciousness of Latvian identity at the end of the 19th century. Thus the determination of the Awakeners2 clearly emerged, as in the initial – cultural – phase of the national awakening, they freed them- selves from Russian and German influences to transform vernacular culture into a culture in its own right.
1 Dieckhoff, A., La nation dans tous ses États, les identités nationales en mouvement, Paris, Flammarion, 2000, p. 44. 2 This term has traditionally been used for the intellectuals who awakened their people to their identity, around the turn of the 20th century.
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1 Awakening of the Latvian Provinces in the Second Half of the 19th Century
A succinct formula may be used to summarize the situation: these provinces had been politically Russian since the end of the 18th century, but socially and economically German for several centuries.3
A Under the Russian Flag, Provinces Distinguished by their Histories Brought into the Russian empire in the 18th century, the territory later to become Latvia corresponded at that time to three provinces located in the west of the empire. In the north, Livonia – previously under Swedish domina- tion – became Russian in 1721, following the Northern War4 between Charles xii of Sweden and Peter the Great for domination of that province and of Finland. On the western sea coast, the duchy of Courland, after more than two centuries of quasi-independence5 (1562–1795), was attached to Russia at the time of the third division of Poland in 1795, to become the Governorate of Courland. In these two provinces, the German nobility, heirs to the Teutonic Knights, became the fulcrum of the upper reaches of Russian administration and consequently retained the same privileges as they had under Swedish domination.6 In the east, Latgalia, or Inflanty, which had been Polish, was brought into the Russian empire in 1772, at the time of the first division of Poland. It was then included in the Territory of Vitebsk. While historical events at the end of the 18th century brought together these three provinces under Russian domination, their diversity is evident. Their his- torical heritage (German in the case of the first two provinces, and Polish in the case of Latgalia) weighed heavily, and must be taken into account if one is to understand their evolution. What is more, for a real understanding of the cul- ture of the Baltic region (and in particular that of Latvia), it is vital to go back beyond the historical era, to a time of supposed liberty, the memory of which formed the basis for a consciousness and myths of identity that were to prevail for Latvia’s entire modern and contemporary history.
3 Since the 13th century. 4 Treaty of Nystad between Sweden and Russia (10th September 1721). 5 Subjugated to the Polish-Lithuanian sovereign until 1669. During this period, Courland was frequently referred to as ‘Inflantie’, a designation that subsequently only covered Latgalia. 6 With specific institutions, in particular the assemblies of nobles known as the Landtage and the Landraten (the former controlling the provincial interests of Kurzeme and Vidzeme at the behest of the latter, which were colleges of provincial councillors).