Latvians in the USSR. In the 1920s and 1930s, while remaining in Russia, Ukraine, and elsewhere, held leading positions in the Cheka, the military, and the Communist Party, built up the Soviet economy, created a specific Latvian culture, or did very simple work. What drove them—ideals, ambition, or survival? Career aspirations? Was the tragedy that befell them during Stalin's repressions in the "Latvian operation" inevitable? The statistics are grim –... see more