Defenders of Riga
2007 film directed by Aigars Grauba
Defenders of Riga (Latvian: Rīgas sargi) is a 2007 Latvian feature film directed by Aigars Grauba starring Elita Kļaviņa, Jānis Reinis, and Artūrs Skrastiņš. The film depicts the Latvian defense of Riga in November 1919 during its War of Independence. It was selected as the Latvian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 81st Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
With a budget of over 2 million lats, Defenders of Riga was the most expensive Latvian film at the time.
Cast
Reception
Five weeks after the premiere it had been viewed by 262,000 people, making it the most-watched film in Latvia since the regaining of independence.
Awards and nominations
Production
The shooting of the film began in the spring of 2004. The outdoor scenes were shot at the 8.5 hectare Cinevilla backlot in Tukums, Latvia, where parts of Riga's Old Town and Riga's Pārdaugava district were built especially for Defenders of Riga. Around 200 extras took part in the film's battle scenes. It was the first Latvian film to make an extensive use of special effects and computer graphics.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Defenders of Riga” is 2007 film directed by Aigars Grauba. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Defenders, Riga and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “2007 film directed by Aigars Grauba” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2991740. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 1919 and 2004.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Defenders of Riga”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Defenders of Riga primary sources, Defenders of Riga archive and Defenders research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Defenders of Riga”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Defenders of Riga” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.