The exhibition was created at the conclusion of the centenary celebration of Latvia to commemorate the de jure recognition of the Latvian state, on January 26, 2021. The documents from the Latvian National Archives displayed in the exhibition are evidence of the creation, independent existence of the Latvian state, the de jure status of the Republic of Latvia (maintained during the years of occupation), the Third Awakening of the Latvian people, and the restoration of independence.

The creators of the exhibition point out that the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia on November 18, 1918, took place against a backdrop of highly entangled internal and external politics, reminding that it was not until January 26, 1921, that the major states of the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France, Japan, Belgium, and Italy) recognized the Latvian sate de jure with no limitations or further provisions. A total of 42 countries, most of the countries existing at the time, recognized Latvia de jure in its first period of independence.

“Both the formation of the state and the restoration of its independence was a complicated process that would not have been possible without the exercise of the Latvian nation’s right to self-determination, the will of the people of Latvia to establish, defend and develop their state, after many decades – to restore its independence,” says the annotation to the exhibition. “There was no precedent in international politics and diplomacy and international law for maintaining the issue of restoring the independence of the Baltic States, which lasted for more than 50 years.”

The documents are supplemented with photographs from the personal archives of photographers Andris Tenass and Boris Kolesnikov. The creative team and selectors of the catalogue are experts of the Latvian National Archives Meldra Usenko and Antra Mazūra, leading researcher of the Institute of Latvian History of the University of Latvia Ainārs Lerhis, artists Dace Māra Kokina and Solvita Ozola.

Admission: free

Opening hours: Mon–Fri 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat–Sun 10 a.m.–3 p.m.