Happy Latvian Independence Day!

Every year on November 18, Latvia celebrates an important public holiday - Independence Day, or the Day of Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Proklamēšanas diena).

After the end of the First World War, when Latvia was still actually occupied by German troops, on November 18, 1918, the "Act of Independence" was proclaimed in Riga, according to which Latvia became an independent state, and the bourgeois government of Karlis Ulmanis, supported by the Entente, came to rule the country.

However, for two more years, hostilities continued in Latvia - there was a civil war, the main participants of which were the national bourgeois government of K.Ulmanis, supported by the Entente, and the social democratic forces (Bolsheviks), supported by Soviet Russia. As a result, on August 11, 1920, a peace treaty was signed in Riga between Russia and Latvia, in which the RSFSR recognized the Republic of Latvia as an independent state.

On January 26, 1921, the independence of Latvia was also recognized by other countries of the Entente - the victorious countries in the First World War. At first, Latvia was a parliamentary republic, but because of the 1934 coup d'état, Karlis Ulmanis concentrated all absolute power in the country in his hands.

The date of November 18 has remained in the history of the country as an important day and is of great importance for the Latvian people. Then, for the first time in history, Latvia became an independent parliamentary republic.

The Freedom Monument in Riga, the capital of the state, has become a symbol of Latvia's independence. It was erected at the city canal on the border of the Old and New Towns from 1931 to 1935 with donations from the people. Previously, this place was the equestrian monument of Peter I.

The monument was sculpted by the Latvian sculptor Karlis Zale. The sculptural groups at the base of the monument illustrate certain important events in the history of Latvia, and the monument is crowned with the image of Freedom - a female figure symbolizing the idea of ​​Latvian sovereignty.

On Independence Day, flags with red-white-red symbols are flown in the country and many festive events are held. The holiday ends with a grand fireworks display on the 11 November Embankment of the Daugava River.