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31-662: In the first half of 1921 the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia began to discuss introducing the first national awards and decorations. A proposed design and statutes of a three-class Order of the Wreath of Oak ( Latvian : Ozola Vainaga ordenis ) was rejected by the assembly (especially by the Social Democrats and their leader Brūno Kalniņš ), arguing that before the Constitution was approved, it could not be clear whether

62-628: A German and Russian united Legion from over a dozen Freikorps units and Russian volunteers, then he turned the units over to the West Russian Volunteer Army which was commanded by Pavel Bermondt-Avalov . In total, the Iron Division transferred over 14,000 men, 64 aircraft, 56 artillery pieces, and 156 machine guns. Six cavalry units and a field hospital were also transferred. Together with the other German units Bermondt had 30 000 men strong army only 6000 of whom were Russians. On October 8

93-809: A day long counter-offensive, the outnumbered Latvians managed to push the Bermondt forces out of Riga, after which the Latvian government returned to Riga. Jelgava was also captured by the Latvians in loss-making fights and by early December the entire West Russian Volunteer Army got pushed out of Latvia. In January 1920 the joint forces of Latvia and Poland launched an attack on the Bolsheviks in Latgale and took Daugavpils . The Soviet Latvian government escaped to Velikiye Luki where it announced its dissolution on January 13. Units from

124-598: A democratic country such as Latvia should have orders in the first place. The Satversme was adopted in 1922, removing this obstacle. The order was officially established according to the Law on the Order of the Three Stars of 24 March 1924, with the first awards being conferred in 1925 to the then-President Jānis Čakste , Foreign Minister Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics , poet and activist Rainis and politician Kārlis Ulmanis . The designer of

155-539: A lion and griffin . The Medal of Honour of the Order of the Three Stars ( Latvian : Triju Zvaigžņu ordeņa Goda zīme ) is a round medal with a diameter of 30 mm on front of which the cross of the order is depicted. The reverse side has inscription Par Tēviju with a flaming heart below the inscription. It has a wreath of oak leaves on its edge. The medal of honour has three grades – gold, silver and bronze. Constitutional Assembly of Latvia The Constitutional Assembly of Latvia ( Latvian : Satversmes sapulce )

186-602: A miniature version of the order and the Medals of Honor are also awarded along the main award. The cross of the order is white enamel cross within gilded edges. In the center of the front side of the cross there is blue enamel medallion with three golden five-point stars on it. The reverse side features a gilded medallion with inscriptions " Per aspera ad astra ", " Latvijas Republika — 1918. g. 18. novembris " (English: Republic of Latvia - 18 November 1918 ) and '1994'. The Stars are first and second rate orders. The first rate order and

217-618: The Baltic nobility organised a coup d'etat in Liepāja and a puppet government headed by Andrievs Niedra was established. The provisional national government took refuge aboard the steamship Saratov under British protection in Liepāja harbour. On 22 May, Riga was recaptured by the Iron Division and organised persecution of suspected Bolshevik supporters began, with an estimated 174 (according to

248-615: The Baltische Landeswehr and Iron Division advanced north towards Cēsis . The objective of the Landeswehr and Iron Division had now clearly become the establishment of German supremacy in the Baltic by eliminating the Estonian military and Latvian national units, not the defeat of the Bolsheviks. The Estonian commander General Johan Laidoner insisted the Landeswehr withdraw to a line south of

279-555: The Gauja River. He also ordered the Estonian 3rd Division to seize the Gulbene railroad station. On June 19, 1919, the Landeswehr and the Iron Division launched an attack to capture Cēsis . Initially, the Freikorps formation captured the town of Straupe and continued their advance toward the town of Limbaži . The Estonian division launched a counterattack and drove the Landeswehr out of

310-864: The Assembly took place on May 1, 1920, at Riga, in the House of the Livonian Noble Corporation which houses Latvian Parliament up to this day. The Constitutional Assembly drafted the basic law of the state — the Satversme — as well as other laws. It adopted a law on agrarian reform, a law on the election of the Saeima (Parliament), laws about the State flag, State coat of arms, national anthem and other laws. The Constitutional Assembly had 21 standing committees. It held 213 plenary sessions and adopted 205 laws and 291 regulations having

341-653: The Assembly. One hundred fifty members, including 5 women, were elected. The most successful parties were the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (57 seats), Latvian Farmers' Union (26 seats) and Latgalian Farmers Party (17 seats). The remainder of the seats went mostly to ethnic minorities — Committee of the German Baltic Parties , Democrats Union , Polish Party of Latvia and the Worker's Party , Jewish parties and others. The first meeting of

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372-517: The Estonian and Lithuanian armies also saw action alongside the Latvians, as well as Latvian partisans. The push continued until Latvian forces took hold of Zilupe on February 1 with some skirmishes continuing a few days afterwards, since a secret truce had been agreed on by the Latvians and Soviet Russia on January 30. Peace talks began on 16 April 1920 with the Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty being signed on 11 August 1920, officially ending

403-681: The Landeswehr and Iron Division when the Latvians were about to march into Riga. By its terms the legitimate government of Ulmanis was to be restored, the Baltic German Landeswehr be placed under the command of the British officer Harold Alexander and the Iron Division to leave Latvia. The government of Ulmanis returned to Riga on 8 July 1919 and the Landeswehr became a component of the Latvian National Army. The Iron Division, however, did not leave Latvia. Instead Major Bischoff created

434-596: The Latvian government, leading to open war. Following a cease-fire, a ploy was developed by the Germans, nominally dissolving into the West Russian Volunteer Army led by Gen. Pavel Bermont-Avalov . This West Russian Volunteer Army included Germans and former Russian prisoners of war nominally allied with the White Army in the Russian Civil War , but both Bermondt-Avalov and von der Goltz were more interested in eliminating

465-599: The West Russian Volunteer Army started offensive against Riga. The offensive in the beginning saw huge potential, the Latvian government evacuated from Riga, and the left bank of Daugava river in Riga got captured by the Bermondt forces. However, on October 15 Latvians crossed Daugava river north of Riga and captured Bolderāja and Daugavgrīva fortress . On November 10–11, 1919, the Latvian Armed Forces started

496-646: The Western Allies—particularly the navy of United Kingdom ) against the Russian SFSR and the Bolsheviks ' short-lived Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic . Germany and the Baltic nobility added another level of intrigue, initially being nominally allied to the Nationalist/Allied force but attempting to jockey for German domination of Latvia. Eventually, tensions flared up after a German coup against

527-448: The award out of financial reasons. Additionally, if an order was manufactured, but not taken out of government storage within two years, the award was rescinded. Until 1940, 8823 orders and 7973 Medals of Honor were awarded. After the end of the Soviet occupation of Latvia , the Order was re-established on 25 October 1994, with the first recipients being awarded on November 7. A diploma and

558-456: The battle of Lielauce, where the Latvian independent battalion, headed by Oskars Kalpaks managed to stop the Soviet offensive. This battle was crucial for the morale of the Latvian soldiers. The German forces on whom the Latvian temporarily relied, however, had lost a battle at Auce, so an order was received to retreat to the river Venta. 14 days later, on 29 January, the Latvian independent battalion

589-619: The end of January, the Latvian Provisional Government and remaining German units had retreated all the way to Liepāja , but then the Red offensive stalled along the Venta river. The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic was officially proclaimed on 13 January with the political, economic, and military backing of Soviet Russia and on 17 January, a constitution was made for the newly made puppet state. During this period, on 15 January, occurred

620-506: The force of law. Latvian War of Independence Latvian victory Independence of Latvia The Latvian War of Independence ( Latvian : Latvijas Neatkarības karš ), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles ( Latvijas brīvības cīņas ) or the Latvian War of Liberation ( Latvijas atbrīvošanas karš ), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after

651-619: The head of Rīga's Gendarmerie) to 4,000–5,000 people (according to local social democrats and communists) being shot. At the same time the Estonian Army including the North Latvian Brigade loyal to the Ulmanis government started a major offensive against the Soviets in north Latvia. By the middle of June, the Soviet rule was reduced to the area surrounding Latgale . After the capture of Riga

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682-675: The law about elections of Constitutional Assembly. Elections were open to male and female citizens who were older than 21, no minimal vote percentage was set, so many small parties were elected. After the end of Latvian War of Independence in January, 1920 Constitutional Assembly elections were quickly organized and held on April 17–18, 1920 when the people of Latvia voted in universal, equal, direct and proportional elections. 25 parties competed for 150 seats. 84.9% of eligible voters participated (677, 084 people). There were 57 candidate lists covering 5 regional constituencies and 16 parties won seats in

713-819: The nationalists than fighting the Bolsheviks. Certain episodes of the Latvian Independence War were also part of the Polish-Soviet War , particularly the Battle of Daugavpils . On 18 November 1918 the People's Council of Latvia proclaimed the Independence of the Republic of Latvia and created the Latvian Provisional Government headed by Kārlis Ulmanis . On 1 December 1918, the newly proclaimed republic

744-537: The newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia , and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920. The war can be divided into a few stages: Soviet offensive, German-Latvian liberation of Kurzeme and Riga , Estonian-Latvian liberation of Vidzeme , Bermontian offensive, Latvian-Polish liberation of Latgale . The war involved Latvia (its provisional government supported by Estonia , Poland and

775-403: The order was Gustavs Šķilters , whereas Rihards Zariņš designed the diploma. Unlike today, in the interwar period the recipients of the order were obliged to reimburse the government of the cost of the order. The First Class order, for instance, had a cost of 150 Ls , which was equal to a monthly salary of an average worker at the time - this led to some instances where the recipients refused

806-590: The second rate order, (the great star and the small star, respectively) have similar design and differ only in size. The stars are in shape of five point star made of silver with blue enamel medallion with three golden five-point stars in its center. On its edge there is an inscription " Par Tēviju " (English: For Fatherland ). The Chain of the Order is awarded to Commander of the Grand Cross in exceptional cases. It has ten gilded links with alternately chiseled images of three stars, fire-crosses , and fasces supported by

837-623: The town in 3 hours. After the battle was won, the Soviet offensives ceased. On 18 February, an agreement was signed between Latvia and Estonia, starting formation of the North Latvian Brigade led by Jorģis Zemitāns on Estonian territory. On 3 March, the German and Latvian forces commenced a counterattack against the Red Latvian Riflemen. Tukums was recaptured from the Bolsheviks on 15 March, and Jelgava on 18 March. On 16 April,

868-582: The town. On June 21, the Estonians received reinforcements and immediately attacked the Landeswehr, who withdrew from an area to the northeast of Cēsis. The Iron Division attacked from Straupe towards Stalbe in an effort to relieve pressure on the Landeswehr. On the morning of June 23, the Landeswehr began a general retreat toward Riga. The Allies again insisted that the Landeswehr and Iron Division withdraw their remaining troops from Latvia, and on July 3 intervened to impose an armistice between Estonia, Latvia, and

899-418: Was independent Latvia 's first elected legislative body. Its main task was creating the constitution of Latvia , the Satversme, which is still in effect to this day. The Speaker of Assembly was Jānis Čakste , who later became the first President of Latvia . The assembly functioned from May 1, 1920, until November 7, 1922, when the 1st Saeima convened. On August 19, 1919, People's Council of Latvia issued

930-532: Was invaded by Soviet Russia . Much of the invading army in Latvia consisted of Red Latvian Riflemen , which made the invasion easier. The Soviet offensive met little resistance. In the north Alūksne was taken on 7 December, Valka on 18 December, and Cēsis on 23 December, in the south Daugavpils was taken on 9 December, and finally Pļaviņas on 17 December. Riga was captured by the Red Army on 3 January 1919. By

961-401: Was once again fighting a battle, this time near Skrunda. This time, however, Latvian troops were on the offensive. The Soviet forces had managed to establish a bridgehead over the river Venta, capturing the town of Skrunda on 22 January. The Venta defensive line had to be reestablished, so a counter-offensive maneuver was ordered to be overtaken. The Latvian independent battalion managed to retake

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