1920 Latvia wins independence after battling both Germany and Russia, with help from Estonia and Poland. 1921-1940 Latvia prospers as an independent state, becoming a major exporter of agricultural products, notably butter. 1939 Hitler and Stalin carve up Europe in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. While Nazis grab France, Soviets occupy Latvia . Deportations and executions begin.
Soviets occupy Latvia again .
Another wave of deportations . Between 1940-49, Latvia loses 35 percent of its population to war, deportation, exile and mass murder. 1987 First open protests against Soviet rule. 1990 First free elections since the war usher in a pro-independence parliament. In August, independence comes unexpectedly fast following a failed coup in the Kremlin.