Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940

The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in August 1939.

In 1989, the USSR condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries, including Latvia. In July 1989, the people of Latvia began the process of restoring their independence. In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Latvia's sovereignty was fully restored. On 22 August 1996, the Latvian parliament adopted a declaration that stated that the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 was a military occupation and an illegal incorporation.

The occupation was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, the Government of Latvia, the United States Department of State, and the European Union.

Background

1918–1939: historical background

In the aftermath of the October Revolution of 1917, Latvia declared its independence on 18 November 1918. After a prolonged War of Independence against Soviet Russia (the predecessor of the Soviet Union), the two countries signed a peace treaty on 11 August 1920. In its Article 2 Soviet Russia "unreservedly recognises the independence and sovereignty of the Latvian State and voluntarily and forever renounces all sovereign rights (...) to the Latvian people and territory." The independence of Latvia was diplomatically recognised by the Allied Supreme Council (France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Belgium) on 26 January 1921. Other states followed the suit.