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86-722: Miller was a career officer born to a Baltic German aristocratic family in Dünaburg (now Daugavpils , Latvia ). After he graduated from the General Staff Academy , he served with the Russian Imperial Guard . Between 1898 and 1907, he was a Russian military attaché in several European capitals, such as Rome , The Hague and Brussels . During the First World War , he headed the Moscow Military District and

172-606: A cult member as a method to remove them from the cult and begin a deprogramming process to change their allegiance away from the group. Motivations for kidnapping cannot always be easily defined. During the 1990s and afterward, for example, the New York divorce coercion gang was involved in a sting of kidnappings. They would take Jewish husbands from their homes in New York and New Jersey and torture them in order for them to grant gittin , or religious divorces, to their wives. The gang

258-569: A Paris safe house , ostensibly to meet with two German Abwehr agents, who were in fact officers of the Soviet NKVD disguised as German military intelligence operatives. They drugged Miller, locked him inside a steamer trunk, and smuggled him aboard a Soviet ship in Le Havre . Miller, however, had left behind a note to be opened in case he failed to return from the meeting. In it, he detailed his mounting suspicions about Skoblin. French police launched

344-783: A century earlier than in Russia proper. For some time, there was no outward tension between the German speakers and indigenous residents. Earlier, if any Latvian or Estonian who managed to rise above his class was expected to Germanize and to forget his roots, by the mid-19th century German urban classes began to feel increasing competition from the natives, who after the First Latvian National Awakening and Estonian national awakening produced their own middle class and moved to German- and Jewish-dominated towns and cities in increasing numbers. The Revolution of 1905 led to attacks against

430-477: A child has been kidnapped, it is the absence of the consent of that child which is material. This is the case regardless of the age of the child. A very small child will not have the understanding or intelligence to consent. This means that absence of consent will be a necessary inference from the age of the child. It is a question of fact for the jury whether an older child has sufficient understanding and intelligence to consent. Lord Brandon said: "I should not expect

516-592: A desire for Federal grants, or the Mexican Drug War . In 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that the United States was the country with most kidnappings, totaling 56,652. This is in comparison to 2010, when they were ranked sixth in the world (by absolute numbers, not per capita) for kidnapping by ransom, according to available statistics (after Colombia, Italy, Lebanon, Peru, and

602-480: A distinct Baltic German ethnic identity began emerging in the 19th century, the majority of self-identifying Baltic Germans were non-nobles belonging mostly to the urban and professional middle class. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Catholic German traders and crusaders ( see Ostsiedlung ) began settling in the eastern Baltic territories. With the decline of Latin , German became the dominant language of official documents, commerce, education and government. By

688-472: A fine of the fifth category if there are serious injuries. Part 3 allows maximum imprisonment of 12 years or a fine of the fifth category if the victim has been killed. Part 4 allows sentencing people that collaborate with kidnapping (such as proposing or make available a location where the victim hostaged). Part 1, 2 and 3 will apply also to them. Kidnapping is an offence under the common law of England and Wales . Lord Brandon said in 1984 R v D : First,

774-411: A jury to find at all frequently that a child under fourteen had sufficient understanding and intelligence to give its consent." If the child (being capable of doing so) did consent to being taken or carried away, the fact that the person having custody or care and control of that child did not consent to that child being taken or carried away is immaterial. If, on the other hand, the child did not consent,

860-742: A massive manhunt, but Skoblin fled to the Soviet embassy in Paris and eventually was smuggled to Barcelona , where the Second Spanish Republic refused to extradite him to the Third French Republic . However, the French police arrested Skoblin's wife, Nadezhda Plevitskaya . A French court convicted her of kidnapping and sentenced her to 20 years in prison. Plevitskaya died in prison in 1940. The NKVD successfully smuggled Miller back to Moscow , where he

946-462: A motive of murder, hurt, slavery, or to the lust of any person shall be punished with imprisonment for life with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to a fine. Article 282 prohibits hostaging (and 'kidnapping' is a kind of 'hostaging'). Part 1 of Article 282 allows sentencing kidnappers to maximum imprisonment of 8 years or a fine of the fifth category. Part 2 allows maximum imprisonment of 9 years or

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1032-664: A note of independence to Soviet representatives in Stockholm on January 28, 1918, announcing their intention to break away from Russia under the rights granted to them by the Treaty of Nystad of 1721. In response, the Bolsheviks, who controlled Estonia, arrested 567 leading Germans and deported them to Russia. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk they were allowed to return. Under German-Soviet treaties, Germany gained control over Courland, Riga, Saaremaa (Ösel), Livonia and Estonia. In

1118-568: A prison sentence of 20–40 years for an individual convicted of holding another person as a hostage. The prison term increases to 25–45 years if the kidnapping occurred with violence against the victims, and then increases to 25–50 years if the kidnapping was committed by members of public safety . If the kidnapping results in homicide, the prison sentence will be from 40 to 70 years. In Pakistan , there are two kinds of kidnapping: Kidnapping from Pakistan and kidnapping from lawful guardianship. Penal Code 360 states that whoever conveys any person beyond

1204-647: A purely German ethnic group. The early crusaders, tradesmen and craftsmen often married local women, as there were no German women available. Some noble families, such as the Lievens , claimed descent through such women from native chieftains. Many of the German Livonian-Order soldiers died during the Livonian War of 1558–1583. New German arrivals came to the area. During this time, the Low German ( Plattdeutsch ) of

1290-561: A reputation as America's kidnapping capital, as according to the Los Angeles Times . Hundreds of kidnappings for ransom occurred in the city, as per the Times , most of them having connections to Mexican drug and human trafficking as a way to pay off unpaid debts. These statistics would have made the city have the highest kidnapping rate of any U.S. city, and second in the world only to Mexico City . However, an investigation and later audit by

1376-670: A role in the abduction of Miller are false. Copies of letters written by Miller while imprisoned in Moscow are in the Dmitri Volkogonov papers at the Library of Congress . Baltic German Baltic Germans ( German : Deutsch-Balten or Deutschbalten , later Baltendeutsche ) are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea , in what today are Estonia and Latvia . Since their resettlement in 1945 after

1462-688: A scheme by Karl Baron von Manteuffel-Szoege and Silvio Broedrich-Kurmahlen to pacify the countryside by settling up to 20,000 ethnic German farmers, mostly from Volhynia , in Courland. World War I brought the end of the alliance of the Baltic Germans and the Russian Tsarist government. German heritage led to their being viewed as the enemy by Russians . They were also seen as traitors by the German Empire if they remained loyal to Russia. Their loyalty to

1548-591: A small wealthy elite formed the Baltic nobility , acquiring large rural estates. When Sweden had ceded its Livonian territories to the Russian Empire after the Great Northern War (1700–1721), many of these German-speaking aristocrats began taking high positions in the military, political and civilian life of the Russian Empire , particularly in its capital city Saint Petersburg . Most Baltic Germans were citizens of

1634-573: A tiger does when stalking prey. This is a method which has been used by the Real Irish Republican Army and the Continuity Irish Republican Army . Virtual kidnapping is a unique form of kidnapping that has risen in recent years. Unlike previous forms of kidnapping, virtual kidnapping does not actually involve a victim of any kind. The scam involves a process of calling numerous people on the phone and making them believe

1720-519: Is a term often applied loosely, to include any bride "abducted" against the will of her parents, even if she is willing to marry the "abductor". It still is traditional amongst certain nomadic peoples of Central Asia . It has seen a resurgence in Kyrgyzstan since the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent erosion of women's rights. Kidnapping has sometimes been used by the family and friends of

1806-407: Is demanded. Express kidnapping is also used for an immediate ransom in which the victim is taken to an ATM and forced to give the captor money. Tiger kidnapping occurs when a person is kidnapped, and the captor forces them to commit a crime such as robbery or murder. The victim is held hostage until the captor's demands are met. The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like

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1892-778: Is done for financial incentive, with sums of money varying depending on the victim or the method of kidnapping. Mexican gangs are estimated to have made up to $ 250 million in kidnappings from Central American migrants. According to a 2022 study by political scientist Danielle Gilbert, armed groups in Colombia engage in ransom kidnappings as a way to maintain the armed groups' local systems of taxation. The groups resort to ransom kidnappings to punish tax evasion and incentivize inhabitants not to shirk. A 2024 study argued that insurgent groups are more likely to engage in kidnappings "under two conditions: to generate support and reinstate bargaining capacity when organizations suffer military losses on

1978-427: Is notorious for crimes of this nature. They were later apprehended for their crimes on October 9, 2013, in connection with a foiled kidnapping plot. Jurisdiction of kidnapping varies depending on the country, with each one having their own way of defining and prosecuting the crime. Some such countries with clearly defined laws on kidnapping include: In Australia, kidnapping is a criminal offence, as defined by either

2064-482: Is typically but not necessarily accomplished by use of force or fear, but it is still kidnapping if a person is fraudulently enticed into confinement. There must be movement, however, not only false imprisonment. Kidnapping of a child is known as child abduction , which is a separate legal category. Kidnapping may be done to demand a ransom in exchange for releasing the victim, or for other illegal purposes. Kidnapping can be accompanied by bodily injury, which elevates

2150-645: The 26th Army Corps and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general . After the February Revolution of 1917, Miller opposed "democratization" of the Russian army and was arrested by his own soldiers after he ordered them to remove red armbands. After the October Revolution of 1917, Miller fled to Archangelsk and was declared Governor-General of Northern Russia. In May 1919, Admiral Kolchak appointed him to replace Vladimir Marouchevsky in charge of

2236-623: The Constitutional Assembly of Latvia nationalized 1,300 estates comprising 3.7   million hectares of land. Former German owners were allowed to keep 50 hectares of land and farm equipment. In 1924, the Saeima decided that no compensation would be paid to former owners. In 1929, the Saeima voted that veterans of the Baltische Landeswehr could not receive any land. In Estonia, there

2322-695: The Livonian Order invited over 200 German merchants from Gotland to settle in Tallinn where they founded a market town. Membership in the Hanseatic League and active trade links with Russia and Europe increased the wealth of German traders. As the military power of the Teutonic Knights weakened during the 15th century wars with the Kingdom of Poland , Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Moscow ,

2408-521: The Potsdam Conference , i.e. west of the Oder–Neisse line . Ethnic Germans from East Prussia and Lithuania are sometimes incorrectly considered Baltic Germans for reasons of cultural, linguistic, and historical affinities. Germans of East Prussia held Prussian, and after 1871, German citizenship , because the territory they lived in was part of the Kingdom of Prussia . Baltic Germans were not

2494-627: The Russian All-Military Union (ROVS), an organization of exiled former White Army officers and soldiers opposed to the Soviet Union. His niece Nathalie Sergueiew also fled to France and subsequently became an MI5 agent. As the ROVS chairman, Miller was not an influential figure, as he did not belong to the dominant clan in the ROVS, namely former members of the White Army of South Russia , nor

2580-684: The Terra Mariana confederation, under the protection of Roman Popes and Holy Roman Empire . After the heavy defeat in the 1236 Battle of Saule the Livonian Brothers of the Sword became a part of the Teutonic Order . During the next three centuries, German-speaking soldiers, clergymen, merchants and craftsmen constituted the majority of the quickly growing urban population, as the native inhabitants usually were prohibited from settling there. In 1230,

2666-877: The White Army in the region. In Archangelsk , Murmansk and Olonets , his anti-Bolshevik Northern Army was supported by the Triple Entente , mostly British forces. However, after an unsuccessful advance against the Red Army along the Northern Dvina in the summer of 1919, British forces withdrew from the region, and Miller's men faced the enemy alone. In February 1920, General Miller with 800 refugees sailed from Archangelsk to Tromsø , Norway . Later, he moved to France and, together with Grand Duke Nicholas and Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel , continued his anticommunist activism. Between 1930 and 1937, Miller served as chairman of

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2752-517: The Baltic German landowners, the burning of manors, and the torture and even killing of members of the nobility. During the 1905 Revolution groups of rebels burned over 400 manor houses and German-owned buildings and killed 82 Germans. In response Cossack punitive expeditions aided by German nobles and officers burned down hundreds of farms, arrested and deported thousands and summarily executed at least 2,000 people. Reaction to 1905 Revolution included

2838-545: The Baltic area consisted of the following territories: Small numbers of ethnic Germans began to settle in the area in the late 12th century, when traders and Christian missionaries began to visit the coastal lands inhabited by tribes who spoke Finnic and Baltic languages . Systematic conquest and settlement of these lands was completed during the Northern Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries; this resulted in creation of

2924-750: The Bolshevik regimes were short-lived, they pursued the Red Terror against Germans, often killing them purely because of their nationality. After the collapse of the German Empire, Baltic Germans in Estonia began forming volunteer units to defend against the Bolshevik threat. On November 27, 1918 this was authorized by the Estonian government, and the Volunteer Baltic Battalion ( Freiwilligen Baltenbataillon )

3010-512: The Imperial court. Starting from the 18th century, the Baltic German nobility also assumed some leading posts in the Russian imperial government. Germans, other than the local estate-owners, mainly lived in the cities, such as Riga , Reval , Dorpat , Pernau and Mitau . As late as the mid-19th century, the population of many of these cities still had a German majority, with Estonian, Latvian or Jewish minorities. By 1867, Riga 's population

3096-615: The Kingdoms of Poland, Sweden, and Denmark and lasted for 20 years. In 1561, Terra Mariana ceased to exist and was divided among Denmark (which took the island of Ösel ), Sweden (which took northern Estonia) and Poland, which annexed the newly created Duchy of Livonia , and granted the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , a vassal state of Poland-Lithuania, to the last Master of the Livonian Order Gotthard Kettler . The secularized land

3182-742: The Livonian Governorate found themselves in two new countries, both of which introduced sweeping agrarian reforms aimed at the large land owners, an absolute majority of whom were Germans. As a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Russian Civil War , many Baltic Germans fled to Germany. After 1919, many Baltic Germans felt obliged to depart the newly independent states for Germany , but many stayed as ordinary citizens. In 1925, there were 70,964 Germans in Latvia (3.6%) and 62,144 in 1935 (3.2% of population). Riga remained by far

3268-689: The Livonian branch in the north began to pursue its own policies. When the Prussian branch of the Order secularized in 1525 and became a Polish vassal state as the Duchy of Prussia , the Livonian branch remained independent while searching for a similar way to secularize. Livonia became mostly Protestant during the Reformation . In 1558, the Tsardom of Russia began the Livonian War against Terra Mariana which soon involved

3354-527: The Philippines). Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in various parts of the world today. In 2018, the United Nations found Pakistan and England had the highest number of kidnappings while New Zealand had the highest rate among the 70 countries for which data is available. As of 2007, that title belonged to Iraq with possibly 1,500 foreigners kidnapped. In 2004, it was Mexico , and in 2001, it

3440-672: The Russian Empire until Estonia and Latvia achieved independence in 1918. Thereafter, most Baltic Germans held Estonian or Latvian citizenship until their coerced resettlement to Nazi Germany in 1939, prior to the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia and Latvia in 1940. The Baltic German population never surpassed more than 10% of the total population. In 1881, there were 180,000 Baltic Germans in Russia's Baltic provinces; however, by 1914, this number had declined to 162,000. In 1881 there were approximately 46,700 Germans in Estonia (5.3% of

3526-603: The Russian surrender at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, the German Empire occupied the remaining Baltic provinces. The Ober Ost military administration began plans for German colonization of Courland. On April 20, 1917, the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern front announced that a third of arable land there should be reserved for settlement by German war veterans. This was approved by Courland's German nobility on September 22, 1917. Livonian and Estonian nobles delivered

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3612-712: The State Crimes Act or the Commonwealth Criminal Code. It is a serious indictable offence, and is punishable by up to 14 – 25 years imprisonment. Kidnapping that does not result in a homicide is a hybrid offence that comes with a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment (18 months if tried summarily). A murder that results from kidnapping is classified as 1st-degree, with a sentence of life imprisonment that results from conviction (the mandatory penalty for murder under Canadian law ). The General Law to Prevent and Punish Crimes of Kidnapping establishes

3698-412: The U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General found these statistics to be falsified. Only 59 federally reportable kidnappings occurred in 2008. This is in comparison to the over 300 claimed kidnappings on grant applications. The falsified data can be attributed to a variety of issues within the southwestern United States as a whole, including misclassification by local police, lack of unified standards,

3784-417: The battlefield and to enforce loyalties and display strength when organizations face violent competition from other non-state actors." Kidnapping has been identified as one source by which terrorist organizations have been known to obtain funding. Express kidnapping is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from Latin America , where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay,

3870-539: The caller has a victim's loved one, such as a child, in order to gain a quick ransom from the victim. Previously these calls used to affect Spanish speaking communities in large cities, such as Los Angeles or Houston. Until around 2015 when the calls started to be directed to English speakers as well. Around 80 victims were identified as falling for this scam, with losses ranging close to $ 100,000. While most perpetrators behind this scam can be linked back to Mexico, one instance occurred in Houston, Texas. Yanette Rodriguez Acosta

3956-425: The child, within the meaning of section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984 . Kidnapping is an indictable-only offence . Kidnapping is punishable with imprisonment or fine at the discretion of the court. There is no limit on the fine or the term of imprisonment that may be imposed provided the sentence is not inordinate. A parent should only be prosecuted for kidnapping their own child "in exceptional cases, where

4042-409: The conduct of the parent concerned is so bad that an ordinary right-thinking person would immediately and without hesitation regard it as criminal in nature". Law in the United States follows from English common law. Following the highly publicized 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping , Congress passed the Federal Kidnapping Act , which authorized the FBI to investigate kidnapping at a time when the Bureau

4128-419: The consent of the person having custody or care and control of the child may support a defence of lawful excuse. It is known as Gillick competence . Regarding restriction on prosecution, no prosecution may be instituted, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions , for an offence of kidnapping if it was committed against a child under the age of sixteen and by a person connected with

4214-413: The crime to aggravated kidnapping. Kidnapping can occur for a variety of reasons, with motivations for the crime varying particularly based on the perpetrator. The kidnapping of a person, most often an adult, for ransom is a common motivation behind kidnapping. This method is primarily utilized by larger organizations, such as criminal gangs, terrorist organizations, or insurgent groups. Typically this

4300-435: The diminishing effects of COVID-19 have led many countries to welcome back in-person interactions, travel and tourism. The connection between increased tourism and kidnapping is reflected through the rise of global kidnapping rates from 2019 to 2021–2023. The highest recorded ransom demand in 2021 was $ 77.3 million while in 2019, it was $ 28.7 million. Between those two years, the average global ransom demand increased 43% while

4386-542: The drugs mafia fill the vacuum left by government". Since 2019, the risk of kidnapping has risen worldwide, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . This increase is mostly seen in kidnappings for ransom. This factors from a variety of aspects, including socioeconomic disparities, insufficient resources, and flawed judicial systems. Another impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kidnappers is the economic strain that it had put many families through. This pressured kidnappers to increase kidnappings as well as ransom demands. After 2022,

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4472-399: The end of World War II , Baltic Germans have markedly declined as a geographically determined ethnic group in the region. Since the late Middle Ages , native German-speakers formed the majority of merchants and clergy , and the large majority of the local landowning nobility who effectively constituted a ruling class over indigenous Latvian and Estonian non-nobles. By the time

4558-445: The first half of the 20th century, the Baltic Germans were, until after World War II, along with the Transylvanian Saxons and the Zipser Germans (in Romania and Slovakia respectively), one of the three oldest continuously German-speaking and ethnic German groups of the German diaspora in Europe. The majority of medieval Catholic settlers and their German-speaking descendants lived in the local towns of medieval Livonia . However,

4644-480: The form of shanghaiing (or " pressganging ") men supplied merchant ships with sailors , whom the law considered unfree labour . Kidnapping on the high seas in connection with piracy has been increasing. It was reported that 661 crewmembers were taken hostage and 12 kidnapped in the first nine months of 2009. The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre recorded that 141 crew members were taken hostage and 83 were kidnapped in 2018. Other motivations behind kidnapping include

4730-490: The former "Gallipoli campers". During the Spanish Civil War , Miller expressed support for the Nationalists . The ROVS attempted to create its own Russian unit to join the Nationalists, which would be composed of at least 2,000 soldiers. However, the effect proved insignificant: only several dozen Russians agreed to join the Nationalists. On 22 September 1937, former Tsarist officer, All-Military Union counter-intelligence chief, and NKVD mole Nikolai Skoblin led Miller to

4816-452: The kidnap of a person for sexual assault purposes, or situations of domestic violence. For example, the 2003 Domestic Violence Report in Colorado shows in most instances of domestic violence people, most typically white females, will be taken from their residence by a present or former spouse or significant other. Often they will be taken by force, not with a weapon, and victims will be freed without injury to their person. Bride kidnapping

4902-472: The landed class of German noble families and their economic base. On October 10, 1919, the Estonian parliament expropriated 1,065 estates (96.6% of all estates). The law of March 1, 1926 set the compensation to the former owners of arable land at about 3% of its market value and no compensation at all for the forests. This almost instantly bankrupted the German noble class, even if they were allowed to keep some 50 hectares of their lands. On September 16, 1920,

4988-466: The largest German center with 38,523 Germans residing there in 1935, while Tallinn then had 6,575 Germans. While the German landed class soon lost most of their lands after the agrarian reforms, they continued to work in their professions and to lead their companies. German cultural autonomy was respected. The Committee of the German Baltic Parties in Latvia and Deutsch-baltische Partei in Estland in Estonia participated in elections and won seats. At

5074-418: The limits of Pakistan without the consent of that person or of some person legally authorized to consent on behalf of that person is said to kidnap that person from Pakistan. Penal Code 363 states that whoever kidnaps any person from Pakistan or lawful guardianship shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine. Kidnapping with

5160-426: The local Baltic nobility . Until the imperial reforms of the 1880s, local government was in the hands of the landtag of each province, in which only members of the matriculated Baltic nobility held membership and cities were ruled by German burgomasters . Between 1710 and approximately 1880, the Baltic German ruling class enjoyed great autonomy from the Imperial government and achieved great political influence in

5246-427: The median global ransom demand increased by 6%. In Sub-Saharan Africa , regions such as Congo (DRC) , Nigeria , and South Africa are likely to maintain higher levels of kidnappings due to ongoing effects of religious extremist groups, recent genocides, and civil wars. While there is no hard evidence of which country had the most kidnappings in 2021, the American region (which includes Mexico) maintains its position as

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5332-413: The nature of the offence is an attack on, and infringement of, the personal liberty of an individual. Secondly, the offence contains four ingredients as follows: (1) the taking or carrying away of one person by another; (2) by force or fraud ; (3) without the consent of the person so taken or carried away; and (4) without lawful excuse . In all cases of kidnapping of children, where it is alleged that

5418-432: The newly formed Reichsgaue of Wartheland and Danzig-West Prussia (on the territory of the occupied Second Polish Republic ). In 1945, most ethnic Germans were expelled from these lands as part of the wider explusion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II. Resettlement was planned by the Allies for the territory remaining under Germany under terms of the border changes promulgated at

5504-453: The original settlers was gradually replaced by the High German ( Hochdeutsch ) of the new settlers. In the course of their 700-year history, Baltic German families had ethnic German roots, but also intermarried extensively with Estonians, Livonians and Latvians, as well as with other Northern or Central European peoples, such as Danes, Swedes, Irish, English, Scots, Poles, Hungarians and Dutch. In cases where intermarriage occurred, members of

5590-424: The other ethnic groups frequently assimilated into German culture, adopting German language, customs, and family names. They were then considered Germans, leading to the ethnogenesis of the Baltic Germans. The families of Barclay de Tolly and of George Armitstead (1847–1912), who had emigrated from the British Isles, married into and became part of the Baltic-German community. Baltic German settlements in

5676-433: The population). According to the Russian Empire Census of 1897, there were 120,191 Germans in Latvia , or 6.2% of the population. Baltic German presence in the Baltics came effectively close to an end in late 1939, following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the subsequent Nazi–Soviet population transfers . Nazi Germany resettled almost all the Baltic Germans under the Heim ins Reich program into

5762-518: The region with the second highest kidnapping rates. One notorious failed example of kidnap for ransom was the 1976 Chowchilla bus kidnapping , in which 26 children were abducted with the intention of bringing in a $ 5 million ransom. The children and driver escaped from an underground van without the aid of law enforcement. According to the Department of Justice , kidnapping makes up 2% of all reported violent crimes against juveniles. The annual number of recorded kidnappings per capita by country for

5848-430: The rights of German landowners under the Treaty of Nystad . Between 1710 and 1795, following Russia's success in the Great Northern War and the three Partitions of Poland , the areas inhabited by Baltic Germans eventually became Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire : Courland Governorate , Governorate of Livonia and Governorate of Estonia . The Baltic provinces remained autonomous and were self-governed by

5934-438: The same time, as both young states built their institutions, this often reduced the status of their minorities. In Latvia, children of mixed marriages were registered as Latvians while in Estonia they took the nationality of their fathers, who increasingly were Estonians. This quickly reduced the number of German children. German place names were eliminated from public use. German congregations lost their churches. Tallinn Cathedral

6020-560: The situation of the native population. For examples, see List of palaces and manor houses in Latvia and List of palaces and manor houses in Estonia . The native Latvian and Estonian population enjoyed fewer rights under the Baltic German nobility compared with farmers in Germany, Sweden, or Poland. In contrast to the Baltic Germans, Estonians and Latvians had restricted civil rights and resided mostly in rural areas as serfs , tradesmen, or as servants in manors and urban homes. They had no rights to leave their masters and no surnames. This

6106-456: The spring of 1918, Baltic Germans announced the restoration of the independent Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and pursued plans for uniting it with the Kingdom of Prussia . On April 12, 1918, Baltic German representatives from all Baltic provinces met in Riga and called on the German Emperor to annex the Baltic lands. Subsequently, a plan for a United Baltic Duchy ruled by Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg , instead of outright annexation,

6192-549: The state was questioned, and rumours of a German fifth column increased with the defeats of the Imperial army led by Baltic German general Paul von Rennenkampf . All German schools and societies were closed in the Estonian Governorate and Germans were ordered to leave the Courland Governorate for inner Russia. Courland was conquered by Germany in 1915 and included into the military Ober Ost administration. After

6278-602: Was Colombia . Reports suggest a world total of 12,500–25,500 per year with 3,600 per year in Colombia and 3,000 per year in Mexico around the year 2000. However, by 2016, the number of kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 205 and it continues to decline. Mexican numbers are hard to confirm because of fears of police involvement in kidnapping. According to Pax Christi , a Catholic peace movement , "Kidnapping seems to flourish particularly in fragile states and conflict countries, as politically motivated militias, organized crime and

6364-511: Was 42.9% German. Until the late 19th century, most of the professional and learned classes in the region, the literati , were Germans. German political and cultural autonomy ceased in the 1880s, when Russification replaced German administration and schooling with the usage of Russian . After 1885 provincial governors usually were Russians. Years of peace under Russian rule brought increasing prosperity and many new manor houses were built on country estates, but economic exploitation worsened

6450-450: Was developed. Its regency council met on November 9, 1918, but collapsed with the German Empire. The Baltic Germans' rule and class privileges came to the end with the demise of the Russian Empire (due to the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917) and the independence of Estonia and Latvia in 1918–1919. Baltic Germans suffered greatly under Bolshevik regimes in Estonia and Latvia. While

6536-514: Was divided among the remaining knights who formed the basis of Baltic nobility . The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia existed as a German-speaking country until 1795, while the northern part of Duchy of Livonia was conquered by Sweden which controlled parts of Estonia between 1561 and 1710 and Swedish Livonia between 1621 and 1710, having signed an agreement with the local Baltic German nobles not to undermine their political rights and autonomy. The Academia Gustaviana (now University of Tartu )

6622-502: Was expanding in size and authority. The fact that a kidnapped victim may have been taken across state lines brings the crime within the ambit of federal criminal law. Most states recognize different types of kidnapping and punish according to such factors as the location, duration, method, manner and purpose of the offense. There are several deterrents to kidnapping in the United States of America. Among these are: In 2009, Phoenix, Arizona reported over 300 cases of kidnapping, gaining it

6708-440: Was followed by White Terror in which up to 2,000 people, mostly Latvians, were shot as suspected Bolshevik supporters. Baltic German outlying estates were frequent targets of local Bolsheviks (as portrayed in the film, Coup de Grâce ) and the combination of local Bolsheviks and nationalists following independence brought about land nationalisations and a displacement of Baltic Germans from positions of authority. Baltic Germans of

6794-605: Was formed under the command of Colonel Constantin von Weiss ( de ). During the Estonian and Latvian wars of independence from 1918 to 1920, many Baltic Germans voluntarily enlisted in the newly formed Estonian and Latvian armies to help secure the independence of these countries from Russia. These Baltic German military units became known as the Baltische Landeswehr in Latvia and Baltenregiment ( de ) in Estonia. The State archives of Estonia and Latvia keep individual military records of each person who fought in this war. Baltische Landeswehr units took Riga on May 22, 1919 which

6880-427: Was found guilty of accosting victims for large sums of money, which she would pick up at a set drop off of point. She was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an additional three years of supervision following her release. In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern Sudan ), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain slaves and money through ransom. In the 19th century, kidnapping in

6966-569: Was founded in 1632 by King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden. It remained the only institution of higher education in the former Livonian territories and became the intellectual focus of the Baltic Germans. At the end of the 17th century, Sweden introduced the land reduction in its Baltic provinces and properties held by German nobility became the property of the Crown . That effectively turned serfs into free peasants. However, it would be overturned when Russia conquered these territories in 1710 and restored

7052-515: Was given to an Estonian congregation in 1927. After the 1923 referendum St. James's Cathedral in Riga was lost and Riga Cathedral taken away after another referendum in 1931 . At the start of independence, Baltic Germans owned 58% of land in Estonia and 48% in Latvia. Radical agrarian reforms were implemented in both countries to break German power and to distribute land to the veterans of independence wars and landless peasants. This largely destroyed

7138-411: Was in keeping with the social scheme of things in Russian Empire . It lasted until the 19th century, when emancipation from serfdom brought those inhabitants increased civil freedoms and some political rights. In 1804, Livonian peasant law was introduced by the Imperial government, aimed at improving conditions for serfs. Serfdom was abolished in all Baltic provinces between 1816 and 1820, about half

7224-435: Was not enough to support their manor houses. Germans were banned from governmental and military positions . Many Germans sold their properties and emigrated to Scandinavia or Western Europe. Most of the grand manor houses were taken over by schools, hospitals, local administration and museums. Kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will. Kidnapping

7310-664: Was only one German party, which from 1926 was led by Axel de Vries ( de ), editor of Revaler Bote . Their leading parliamentarian was Werner Hasselblatt (1890–1958). Germans never received ministerial posts in governments. The three largest minorities – Germans, Swedes and Russians – sometimes formed election coalitions. The Deutsch-baltische Partei in Estland was established to defend the interests of German landowners, who wanted to receive compensation for their nationalized lands and properties. After land nationalization they received no compensation, but could keep plots up to 50 hectares, which

7396-458: Was tortured and summarily shot nineteen months later on 11 May 1939, aged 71. NKVD agent Pavel Sudoplatov later claimed that "[Miller's] kidnapping was a cause célèbre . Eliminating him disrupted his organization of Tsarist officers and effectively prevented them from collaborating with the Germans against us." Sudoplatov also claimed that Western accounts of NKVD agent Leonid Eitingon having played

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