Untitled

LATVIJAS UNIVERSITÂTES RAKSTI. 2004. 666. sçj.: LITERATÛRZINÂTNE, FOLKLORISTIKA,
MÂKSLA, 24.–35. lpp.
The Postcolonial Syndrome and
Identity Crisis in Latvia
Pçckoloniâlais sindroms un identitâtes krîze Latvijâ
Sigma Ankrava (Latvia)
Latvijas Universitâtes Moderno valodu fakultâte
Visvalþa iela 4a, Rîga, LV 1011
e–pasts: Sigma Ankrava@lu.lv
The society in contemporary Latvia experiences the same problems other Asian or Afraican
countries had had after regaining independence. Thus the statement is valid that Latvia is in a
postcolonial situation characterised by the postcolonial syndrome and crisis of identities. A
succfessful integration of society in the future is possible only rehabilitating the principle of
historic justice, attributing a contemporary content to the notion of “national” and continuing
to build Latvian state structures on the basis of principles of parliamentary democracy.
Keywords: Identity, post–colonialism, society integration.
The modern world influenced by globalisation has created a number of problems.
One of these problems is preserving the identity. This problem has affected not only
a mere individual, but also the state. To solve this problem states establish relevant
institutions and hire professional image makers. Individuals had to cope with this
problem by themselves since the beginning of time. The philosophers of antiquity
and Orient were encouraging people to it by teaching: “Know thyself!” Even today
the individual who was raised from his anonymous existence and turned into a personality
by the ideology of the Renaissance risks losing this identity in the modern
world. In Latvia both these problems – the problem of preserving the identity of the
state and the problem of preserving one’s personal identity – are equally important.
They are closely intertwined.
Presently Latvia finds itself in a postcolonial situation. In the twentieth century
Latvia has liberated itself from colonial regimes twice. In 1918 it proclaimed its independence
for the first time liberating itself from seven hundred years of German
and two hundred years of Russian/German rule, and for the second time in 1991 when
it broke away from the Soviet system. In the postcolonial discourse this topic is often
neglected. There are many reasons for this. In the 1950s ies these reasons were well
described by Czeslaw Milosz in his “The Captive Mind”. Recently I found a profound
analysis of this problem in an article by Dr. Kârlis Racevskis called “Toward a
Postcolonial Perspective on the Baltic States”. In Latvia the philosopher Vilnis Zariòð
has analysed the topic in a most interesting way.
As the former minister of foreign affairs Georgs Andrejevs has stated, on the
official level the evidence suggests that there can be no doubt about the fact that the
Soviet regime was imposed on Latvia first by occupation and then by the following
colonisation of an independent state. 1 The first document to state the occupation was
the report by Marie Antoinette von Lowzow (Doc. 1173) presented to the Consultant
(now Parliamentary) Assembly of the Council of Europe on its 19th session September
28, 1960 on the situation in the Baltics to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the