Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia is celebrated annually on 18 November. It marks the anniversary of the country’s independence from Russia in 1918, just after the end of WWI.
Not surprisingly, the Red Army attacked shortly afterwards on December 1. But after more than a year of fighting, the government of the Latvian Soviet Republic resigned on January 13, 1920.
Latvia remained a parliamentary republic until 1934 when Kārlis Ulmanis effected a bloodless coup, taking control of the government, proclaiming a State of War, and dissolving all political parties. His, however, was a rather benign dictatorship. He drew upon the corporate model and established a state-controlled Chamber of Professions which he claimed and claimed freed the nation from multi-party chaos.
Latvia was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941 and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944. However the annexation was not recognized as legitimate by the United States and the European Community. Latvia continued to exist as a de jure independent country and a number of countries still recognized Latvian diplomats and consuls.
On May 4, 1990, with the dissolution of the USSR, Latvia passed a declaration of the Renewal of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia.
This map was created by Nuclear Vacuum and is made available under GNU Free Documentation License. The Latvian Coat of Arms is considered a Non-Protected Work by the Copyright Law of the Republic of Latvia and is pretty cool.