The Soviet Union, Finland, and the Baltic StatesSoviet War News — Soviet Information Bureau, 1941

Latvia

Immediately after the coming into force of the Latvian-Soviet Peace Treaty a serious incident arose in regard to the open help given by Latvia to Wrangel. Intensive recruiting of soldiers and officers for the Wrangel army was being conducted on Latvian territory. In its Note of October 31, 1920, the Soviet Peoples’ Commissariat for Foreign Affairs protested against this violation of the spirit and meaning of the peace treaty ; in particular it cited the fact that 200 officers had arrived in Memel from Riga on their way to the Crimea to Wrangel. In his note of reply the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Meyerovitz, admitted that an organisation for the recruiting of soldiers and officers for the Wrangel army did indeed exist on Latvian territory. On November 4, 1920, the question was discussed at the Latvian Constituent Assembly and it became evident that well-known generals of the Latvian army, including the Inspector of the Army, Radzinsh, were mixed up in this recruiting activity.

In 1921, a new incident occurred in connection with the arrest and the beating up of three members of the Soviet Consulate in Libava. This incident ended with the dismissal of the chief of the political Guard of the Libava district.

In the autumn of 1923 the Soviet Government, true to its policy of strengthening peace relations with the Baltic countries, proposed to the Latvian Government to start negotiations for the conclusion of a Pact of Non-Aggression and Neutrality. Although the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Meyerovitz, expressed his agreement in principle to proceed with such negotiations, actually, as a result of the procrastinations of the Latvian Government, they only took place in 1926.

As we have already shown above, Latvia participated in the Conferences of the General Staffs of the Baltic countries, Poland and Rumania, which were held in Riga in February, 1925.

On February 5, 1926, an armed attack was made on the Soviet diplomatic couriers, Nette and Makhmastalya, on Latvian territory, and Nette was killed. Before the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, the Latvian Minister for Home Affairs, Laiminsh, in an interview with the representatives of the Riga press, characterised the attack on the Soviet diplomatic couriers as an ordinary crime for the purpose of robbery. This was a definite attempt to hide the real political aim of the crime and to cover up the traces. As a result of the protest of the Peoples Commissariat for Foreign Affairs the Latvian Government was compelled to dissociate itself fzom their Minister for Home Affairs. A promise was also given that the Soviet Diplomatic Mission in Riga would be informed regarding the course of the preliminary investigation. However, the investigation was quite evidently carried out with the aim not of discovering but of concealing the real criminals and it led to no result.

In spite of this hostile line pursued by the Latvian Government, the Government of the U.S.S.R. in 1926 again proposed to renew the negotiations for the conclusion of a Pact of Non-Aggression and Neutrality. Again the Latvian Government, this time through their Minister for Foreign Affairs, the leader of the Peasants’ Union and future President of Latvia, Ulmanis, agreed to the start of negotiations. However, this time, too, the Latvian Government manifested no real desire to conclude such a Peace Pact. The frequent journeys of Ulmanis, sometimes to Reval, sometimes to Kovno, his evasive replies to the Soviet proposals, and his constant side glances towards Warsaw—all this indicated that Latvia was a supporter of the Polish policy of the “Round Table,” i.e., the conduct of negotiations and the conclusion of a pact between the U.S.S.R. on the one hand and on the other the whole of the Baltic States combined.

It was only after the change of the Cabinet and the coming to power of a Left Government in Latvia at the end of 1926, that conditions arose which finally led to a Pact of Non-Aggression and Neutrality being initialled between the U.S.S.R. and Latvia on March 9, 1927. Simultaneously therewith a Soviet-Latvian Trade Agreement, exceptionally advantageous to Latvia, was also signed.

It is characteristic of the anti-Soviet policy of the Latvian Government that an interval of nearly five years elapsed between the initialling of the Pact of Non-Aggression and Neutrality (March 9, 1927) and its final signature (February 5, 1932). In the course of these five years, Latvia systematically refused to sign the already initialled Pact, giving as an excuse that her Baltic neighbours—Estonia and Finland—had also not signed such Pacts and demanding the above-mentioned “Round-Table” Conference.