Antisovietinė agitacija ir propaganda
IV Sovietų okupacija
„Antisowjetische Agitation und Propaganda“ – ein stark ideologischer Begriff, der seit den 1920er Jahren in das Strafrecht der UdSSR eingeführt wurde und einer der am häufigsten verwendeten Gesetzesartikel in politischen Streitigkeiten war. Im Strafgesetzbuch der UdSSR von 1926 wurde die Verantwortlichkeit für Ö antisowjetische Agitation und Propaganda Õ in Artikel 58 festgelegt.
Nach der Besetzung Lettlands im November 1940 wurde dieses Strafgesetzbuch rückwirkend auch in Lettland eingeführt. 1961 wurde das Strafgesetzbuch der Lettischen SSR verabschiedet und in Kraft gesetzt, in dem in Artikel 65 die Verantwortlichkeit für „antisowjetische Agitation und Propaganda“ geregelt wurde. Die in diesem Artikel vorgesehene Strafe sah Ö eine Freiheitsstrafe zwischen sechs Monaten und sieben Jahren Õ und eine Freiheitsstrafe zwischen zwei und fünf Jahren vor. Andererseits sah Artikel 65 Absatz 2 vor, dass Personen, die bereits wegen besonders schwerer öffentlicher Straftaten verurteilt worden waren, mit Freiheitsstrafen von bis zu drei bis zehn Jahren und mit Freiheitsstrafen von zwei bis fünf Jahren zu verurteilen waren.
Im lettischen Staatsarchiv stammen die letzten vom KGB untersuchten politischen Kriminalfälle im Fund of Criminal Cases aus dem Jahr 1986. Viele Dokumente 1980-1990. Um die Wende des 19. Jahrhunderts gelang es dem KGB, nach Russland zu exportieren oder zu vernichten.
Daugiau informacijos šaltinių
Politische Prozesse im besetzten Lettland 1983. Virtuelle Ausstellung. National Archives of Latvia, 2013. http://www.archiv.org.lv/1983/index.php?id=303
Gints Zelmenis, Bruno Javoišs, Ivo Grundulis. Nationale Widerstandsbewegung in Lettland von 1959 bis 1986. Riga, 2019.
Jānis Ķeruss: Widerstand der Tschechischen Republik gegen antisowjetische Propaganda und Agitation. Analyse von 1957. https://www.lu.lv/vdkkomisija/zinas/t/23701/
Mara Miķelsone. Historiker Zelmenis: Das totalitäre Regime war sogar für symbolische Handlungen empfindlich. Ir., 16. September 2019. https://ir.lv/2019/09/16/vesturnieks-zelmenis-totalitarais-rezims-bija-jutigs-pret-simboliskam-akcijam/
Zugehörige Objekte
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
The museum exhibits the history of Latvia from 1940 to 1991, under the occupation of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. ‘House of the Future’ is a reconstruction and expansion project of the Occupation Museum designed by the well-known American Latvian architect Gunārs Birkerts as well as the new exhibit of the museum. The exhibit ‘History of Cheka in Latvia’ was created by the Occupation Museum and it is located in the ‘Corner House’, which is the former USSR State Security Committee (KGB) building. Latvian Occupation Museum was founded in 1993. It tells the long-hidden story of the fate of the Latvian state, nation and land under the occupation of two foreign totalitarian powers from 1940 to 1991. At the end of 2020 the museum had more than 70,000 different historical items (documents, photographs, written, oral and material evidence, objects and memorabilia). Museum specialists have recorded more than 2,400 video testimonials, making it one of the largest collections on occupation in Europe. The events that unfolded in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia clearly show us what the nations had to endure under the two totalitarian regimes.
Exhibition in the KGB Building "History of KGB Operations in Latvia"
The former USSR State Security Committee (commonly known as Cheka) building is open for visitors. Here chekists imprisoned, interrogated and murdered Latvian citizens who were considered opponents by the occupation regime. There is also an exhibit from the Latvian Occupation Museum on the activities of Cheka in Latvia. Guided tours of the prison cells, corridors, basement and courtyard are available. The house was built in 1911 and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in Riga. Called the ‘Corner House’ by the people, it was the scariest symbol of the Soviet occupation regime in Latvia, and also one of the pillars of power of the USSR. Cheka operated from the Corner House during the occupation from 1940 to 1941 and then again from 1945 to 1991. Tens of thousands of Latvians were affected by direct political persecution. The fight against enemies of Soviet rule continued also after World War II. Cheka’s approach towards its operation slightly changed after Stalin’s death. Physical torture was replaced by psychological terror. The majority of Cheka agents were Latvians (52%). Russians were the second largest group – 23.7%. 60.3% of the agents were not members of the Communist Party. 26.9% of the agents had higher education. The system was designed in a way to involve local people and thus have greater control over the society. Staff documents and service records are located in Russia. And these materials have not been made available to Latvian authorities and researchers.
Historical Exposition “The Burning Conscience”
The historical exhibit ‘Fire of Conscience’ is located in Cēsis, near the Cēsis Castle Square. Established in a Soviet-era temporary detention facility, it tells about the occupation of Latvia and reveals surprising and heroic stories of resistance from individuals. The yard features a memorial wall with the names of 643 residents of the former Cēsis district who died in Soviet repressions, including national partisans deported in 1941 and 1949 and those shot and sentenced to death. The exhibit’s timeline encourages visitors to study the course of the occupation of Latvia from 1939 to 1957. Arranged by topics, quotes from local newspapers offer a comparison of the political propaganda of the two occupation regimes. The six cells for temporary detention have survived to the present day in their original form from 1940 to 1941 and the post-war years. Here, the residents of Cēsis district, detained for various anti-Soviet activities, including national partisans, their supporters, young people who distributed anti-Soviet leaflets and other ‘traitors of the motherland’, were held for several days during the initial investigation and interrogation before being sent to the main KGB Building in Riga. Everything here is real: cells with iron doors, built-in ‘kormushkas’ (small openings for providing food), plank beds, a latrine for detainees, a small kitchen with an oven, as well as typical Soviet-era oil paint on the walls. In 2019, the exhibit was ranked third in the national design competition, the Latvian Design of the Year Award.
Susijusi istorija
Liepāja - at the crossroads of various historical events
The inhabitants of Liepāja were among the first in Latvia to experience the outbreak of the Second World War and among the last for whom the war ended both literally and symbolically. The Second World War and the Soviet occupation of Liepāja ended only in 1994, when the last troops of the USSR's heir, Russia, left the city.