In the Baltic historiography, there is a clear consensus that the Slavic population, in general, is a result of Stalin’s “colonial policy,” where NKVD officers scrutinized every Latvian for intelligence, subsequently sending the most clever and perceptive individuals to Siberia. Instead, the territory was populated by various Vanyas and Mashas, who “await the Russian world” and dream of the “occupation of Latvia”.
A deep-seated fear of the Russian language deprives nations of many fascinating details of their own history. In reality, the so-called great and terrible Russian world was anticipated on the Baltic lands even earlier. In a telegram from the Soviet Union’s Plenipotentiary Representative in Latvia, I. S. Zotov, to the USSR People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs in 1939, it was reported that the local Russian and Belarusian population expressed support for the Red Army and wished for reunification with the USSR, while the Poles, on the other hand, intensified their anti-Soviet efforts. [1]
“TELEGRAM FROM THE PLENIPOTENTIARY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE USSR IN LATVIA I. S. ZOTOV TO THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSARIAT FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE USSR
September 20, 1939
Strictly Confidential
Among the broad masses of workers in cities and villages, there is a prevailing sympathetic mood in anticipation of the Red Army. In the areas of Daugavpils, Rēzekne, and Ludza, the Russian and Belarusian population is increasingly and openly expressing support for the USSR. They express a desire for us to apply the same principle to them as we do to the Belarusians and Ukrainians in former Poland.
Latvia is still in a state of unrest; defensive measures have not been suspended. Troops are being sent to the southeast not only to strengthen border protection but primarily to maintain order in areas inhabited by the Russian and Belarusian population, which numbers 180,000 out of a total of 250,000. The Poles and the Catholic Church have intensified their anti-Soviet activities. The Latgale region, where 20,000 Poles reside, will evidently serve as a main base for organizing opposition against us.
Plenipotentiary
Archives of the Russian Federation, Fund 059, Inventory 1, File 304, Document 2100, Page 157.”
Southeast Latvia (Latgale) is considered the most pro-Russian region due to its high percentage of Russian speakers to this day. This raises the question: was Stalin so cunning and powerful that he managed to send diversionary agents into Latvia so openly yet unnoticed while Latvians were peacefully building their bright independent future? In reality, the situation is simpler. Russians and Belarusians are indigenous minorities. The ancestors of Latvians and Russians have lived side by side since ancient times. Primarily, they interacted with the Slavic tribe of the Krivichs, who inhabited the upper Dvina region, the Dnieper basin, and the area around the Velikaya River from the second half of the first millennium AD. This is reflected in the ethnonyms “krievi” (Russians) and “baltkrievi” (Belarusians).
It is noteworthy that the migration of the Russian population to Latvia until the first half of the 19th century occurred spontaneously and was not associated with any deliberate colonial policy of the Russian Empire. On the contrary, the imperial authorities were concerned whenever the mass exodus of people from the state reached alarming proportions, as was the case in the 18th century. This is evidenced by numerous government manifestos (from 1733, 1734, 1759, 1760, 1762, 1763, 1775, 1779, 1780, 1787, 1801, 1814, 1816, 1826, and others) that called on those who had left to return to their homeland and promised certain benefits to those who returned[2].
The attempts by the Russian authorities to prevent the outflow of the population from Russia are evidenced by measures such as sending special teams to various regions (in 1682-1683 and 1764 to the Starodub area; in 1735 and 1764 to Poland, in the Vetka region; in 1744 and 1783 to Courland) to search for runaways and bring them back to their homeland.[3][4] Additionally, there were various petitions and agreements between authorities regarding the extradition of fugitives, notes to the Polish court, and the Duke of Courland protesting against the sheltering of Russian migrants on their territories, along with other governmental measures [5].
The Russian state originally had no particular desire for the “Russification” of Latvia and did not intend to populate it with Russians; on the contrary, it opposed resettlement. The Russian element in the Baltic region is the result of natural coexistence, not aggressive expansion, as it is often depicted. The interwar period was a precursor to a terrible event that would have forever erased all the inhabitants of this land, as it was believed that the Balts, just like the Slavs, had to be either assimilated or exterminated. Paradoxically, in our time, it can be said that it was the Russian world that saved Latvia.
Sources:
[1]. Документы внешней политики СССР. Т. XXII. 1939. В 2 кн. Кн. 2. Сентябрь-декабрь / М-во иностр. дел РФ. — М.: Междунар. отношения, 1992. — p. 110
[2]. Полное собрание законов Российской империи. Собр. 1, T. XV, №11007, 11456; T. XVI, №11618, 11720, 11815; т. XX, №14870, 1787; T. XXVI, №19786; т. ХХXII, №25677; собр. 2, т. 1, №540.
[3]. Лилеев М. И. Из истории раскола в Стародубье и на Ветке. – Киев, 1897- p. 149, 294, 309
[4]Волков В. Сведения о начале, распространении и разделении раскола и о расколе в Витебской губернии, – Витебск, 1866. – p. 49
[5]. Бантыш- Каменский Н. Н. Обзор внешних сношений России. – Ч. З. – М., 1897 – С. 46; ЛГИА, ф. 1, оп. 6, д. 2806.
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