After the end of the Second World War the Latvian borders in the side of Latgale, where Latvia borders the Soviet Russia, changed. The exile historian and publicist Agnis Balodis in the exile Latvian publication “JaunāGaita” in 1959 No. 23 published an article about this question “The Latvian territorial losses. The Latvian Republic’s borders after 1944.” (11) A fragment of the text (republished using the writing style):
“What changes were made in the borders of Latvia the administrative division after 1944? First of all, the amount of districts was increased from 19 to 20 (the 20th was the district of Aluksne) and the district of Abrene was renamed to the district of Vilaka. In 1950 the administrative system was fully changed by dividing Latvia into 58 (countryside) districts. In the 1st August of 1956 the amount of districts was decreased to 54, but in 1957 – to 45. In 1957 these local communities were separated from the Latvian territory and were added to the Russian territory: Kaceni (formerly Kacanova), Upmale (till 1936 this local community was a part of Kaceni local community). Linava (Tolkova), Purvmala (Bokova), whose one part was added to Russia and the other part to the district of Abrene, Augspils (Visgoroda) and Gauri, which was divided by Russia and the district of Karsava. The separated region consisted of the city of Abrene and the villages of Kaceni, Linava, Ritupe, Purvmala, Augspils and Gauri. (..) It is an unusual thing that even now exists the Abrene district with its center in Vilaka, even though the city of Abrene itself is added to Russia and together with other populated areas are once again called in their old Russian names, so, for example, Abrene now is called Pitalovo. The Latvian territory in the statistical data collection “Latvijas PSR tautas saimniecība” (1957) is portrayed as 64000 km2 big in the 1st January of 1957, but in the book “Latvijas PSR geografija”, which is published the same year, it is portrayed as 64500 km2 big. This difference of 500 kilometers shows the “precision” with which the area of the Latvian SSR was defined.” (11)
According the Latvian SSR Constitution in the 25th August of 1940, the highest body of power was the LSSR Supreme Council (SC) – a single chamber legislative institution that worked in a session regime (2 annual sessions happened in a year). Between the sessions, the functions of the highest power were done by the SC presidium. The basis of the political power structure was the Working-class deputy councils, which in the 1978 constitution were renamed as the Nation’s deputy councils. The executive power was realized by the Council of Ministers, its subordinate establishments and the territorial executive power committees. However, in practice the power monopoly belonged to the only allowed party – the Latvian Soviet party, which had local organizations in all the local governments, establishments and companies, and whose power was concentrated in the highest institution – the Central committee (LSP CC). However, even its independence was limited, the most important decisions were made by the Soviet Union’s Central committee officials in Moscow, practically the SUCC politburo. The sovereignty of the Latvian SSR was given to the USSR institutions saving the limited self-government rights.
During the process of the economic restructuring the local industries were added to the central industrial complex of the USSR, various branches of industry were placed in Latgale. During this time urbanization increased: if in 1959 30% of Latgale’s inhabitants lived in cities (37.4% in Latvia, excluding Riga), then in 1989 already 59.4% lived in cities (on average 55.1% in Latvia, excluding Riga).
The spatial countryside territory was drastically changed while implementing the collectivization policy of agriculture. A density of population model was made (with a strict, hierarchic center system), which divided the countryside centers in perspective and unpromising. As in all of Latvia, in Latgale a systematic inhabitant transfer policy from farms and small villages to new villages and apartment houses was implemented. Production was concentrated in large-scale farms, big cattle-breeding complexes, mechanical workshops and industrial buildings, which were usually built in the most beautiful places – the historic manor centers, on the shores of rivers and lakes. Usually standard apartment houses were built in the countryside, in rarer cases – individual houses.
Since the 50s and till the 80s in the cities the planning policy of that time was realized, which wanted to make strictly bound monofunctional zones. In the city structure new industrial zones, apartment house housing estates and public buildings were made. Because of the improper scale and low quality of architectonics they radically were different from the historic urban environment.
There was no place for religion in the Soviet ideology. Even though the fight against religion was strong, the people in Latgale “silently” tried to celebrate their religious celebrations, get married in churches, baptize their children and have funerals with a priest. Many churches were closed, warehouses were made in them and even clubs, many of them were destroyed. For example, in the very center of Daugavpils Alexander Nevsk Orthodox cathedral was blown up in 1969. Despite the Soviet ideology many other religious celebrations were celebrated, but here you have to take into consideration the territorial factor, because in Eastern Latvia, where mostly there are Catholics, Orthodox followers and old-believers, the religious traditions are more followed and practiced. Therefore Easter, Christmas and New Year could not be celebrated without going to church.
The first years after the war were a difficult and gloomy period in the Latvian history. The merciless repressions against the people and deportation to Siberia, the beginning of the collectivization, the foundation of kolkhozes… Those are only separate “stopping points” of this period, that influenced the further life in Latgale. With the Red Army coming into the Latvian territory and the reinstating of the Soviet power in the end of summer 1944, the people were subjected to new taxes and duties. The first actions of the Soviet Union were to study the countryside and city farms. Taking into consideration the entries in the farm book, they immediately were taxed with mandatory payments in produce and money. The wealthy farms and the ones that were also connected with the German occupation regime got the “kulak” status. To speed up the organization of kolkhoz, in the 25th March of 1949 kulak families from the local communities of Latgale were deported to Siberia. Their farmhouses were at the disposal of the Soviet units of power. A house nationalization process began in the cities, that affected house ownerships whose living space exceeded 170m2. In total from 1945 to 1953 Latvia lost more than 100 000 people as a result of terror and deportations. The number of Latvian casualties from repression was higher than the number of fallen Latvian soldiers during the war. If the number of fallen soldiers was added to the decimated people during the German occupation and the Latvian refugees in the West, the total number of lost Latvian inhabitants during the Second World War amounts to 400 000 people.
Kolkhozes started to be made in Latvia in 1946. Because the voluntary collectivization tempo was low, the creation of kolkhozes was stimulated with various economic (increased taxes for individual households) and repressive (deportation of wealthy farmers) methods. Collectivization was finished in 1950. Every kolkhoz had specific planned agricultural tasks to sell the produce to the country. The purchase prices were set low. Especially in the first years of kolkhoz the costs of many types of products were smaller than the production costs. Only the surplus could be used for the use of the kolkhoz farmers or sell in the market.
In the first years of kolkhoz it was a forced job: every kolkhoz farmer had to work a certain amount of days. The payment for the day was minimal. In the later years kolkhoz became more independent and the payment increased. Many and various processing and manufacturing industries developed in the kolkhozes. For example, Daugavpils district in the 1st January of 1948 had 67 kolkhozes, whose main agricultural production ways were sheep farms, cattle farms, pig farms, apiaries, horse farms as well as growth of various agricultural crops.
Alongside kolkhozes another Soviet management form appeared – sovkhoz. The name comes from the Russian language – советское хозяйство – a Soviet household. A sovkhoz was an agricultural company in which the land as well as the other production resources and the products belonged to the country.