In context

The following day the Latvian parliament declared “de jure” independence of Republic of Latvia. President Gorbachev could not resist pressure from hardliners in Moscow determined to prevent the break-up of the Soviet Union, and he issued a decree annulling the declaration.

Then in January 1991 Soviet special troops stormed and took over Latvia’s Interior Ministry building.

The occupation continued until the failed Moscow coup in August that year, when the Latvian parliament voted for full independence and banned the Communist Party. A few weeks later, on 7 September, Russia’s President Boris Yeltsin recognized the independence of Latvia and its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Lithuania. All three were admitted into the United Nations the same month.

Moscow hardliners were particularly concerned for the large numbers of ethnic Russians and other migrants who live in the Baltic states.

In fact, tough legislation was soon introduced making it very difficult for Russians to gain Latvian citizenship.

But the law was eventually modified after international criticism.