Graduates and students of the Riga Polytechnicum / Riga Polytechnic Institute ‒ participants of the Proclamation of independent Republic of Latvia

Abstract

In 2018, Latvia celebrates a hundred years since it became an independent state. One hundred years ago, on 18 November 1918, 38 members of the People’s Council of Latvia (further in the text ‒ the People’s Council) took part in the proclamation of Latvia. None of them experienced the restoration of the Republic of Latvia, and most of them died before the end of the Second World War. There were seven graduates of the Riga Polytechnicum (RP) / Riga Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and one student who did not receive a diploma from the institute among the participants in the founding act of the Republic of Latvia. Of the seven graduates four suffered repressions in 1941 and were taken to Siberia, two after the Second World War went into exile, one died in 1924. Some of the participants of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia have left written testimonies about the beginnings of the state’s foundation. All members of the People’s Council were reputable Latvian citizens, some of them were awarded the Order of Three Stars for meritorious service to native land.