Arvids Bredermanis
Encyclopedia
Arvīds Brēdermanis was an official of the foreign service of Latvia
between the World Wars, and was also a founder of the Latvian Scouting movement
.
in 1900. His father, Kārlis, was a civil servant. Brēdermanis attended Vilis Olavs
' Commercial School and the Riga City Realschule
.
During World War I
and the occupation of much of Latvia by the German Army, his family evacuated as refugees to other parts of the Russian Empire
. In 1919, Brēdermanis finished his secondary education in Barnaul
, and prepared to matriculate at Tomsk University. Instead, however, he was mobilised
into Aleksandr Kolchak
's anti-Bolshevik
army in Siberia. He later transferred to the Latvian volunteer Imanta Regiment and also served the French military mission in Vladivostok
.
He eventually returned to Latvia along with the Imanta Regiment, and served in the Latvian Army for a year, until demobilisation in January 1920.
in present-day Estonia
) as the Russian–German front lines approached Riga. In Tartu, three Scout troop
s—the 5th, 6th, and 7th Dorpat Troops—were formed completely or primarily of Latvian boys from evacuated Riga schools. These were the first ever Latvian Scouts. Brēdermanis was the leader of the 6th Troop, founded 26 September 1916. Most of these first troops proved short lived, however, disbanding already when the schoolboys left the town for their holidays.
In April 1917, many of the former Latvian Scouts from Dorpat/Tartu were back in Riga for Easter
holidays. K. Perešs, former leader of the 5th Troop, placed an appeal in the daily newspaper Jaunākās Ziņas
on 8 April 1917, for the boys from Tartu to meet up and found a Scout Group
in Riga. As a result, a new troop (officially known as the 92nd Russian Troop
) was founded on 17 April 1917, with Perešs as Scout Leader
and Brēdermanis as Patrol Leader. The troop numbered some 120 Scouts, about half of them Latvian boys.
On 3 August 1917, about 50 Latvian Scouts founded a separate 5th Riga Troop under Brēdermanis' leadership. This troop's activity was interrupted when the German Army occupied Riga, and the German military authorities arrested them as if they were military cadets.
Following his evacuation as a refugee to Samara
in the Russian interior, Brēdermanis tried unsuccessfully to revive the activity of the 5th Riga Troop.
in Riga. In parallel, he began working in the Foreign Ministry, where he made a career for himself in the foreign service. Aside from various ministry posts, he served abroad in Latvia's diplomatic missions in Berlin
(1923–24) and in Kaunas
(1930–33), then the provisional capital of Lithuania
.
He left the foreign service to work as a journalist for the Latvian Telegraph Agency
from 1935 to 1939. From 1938 to 1939, he studied theology
, again at the University of Latvia.
From 1939 until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in mid 1940, he worked as press secretary for the Japanese Embassy in Riga.
, which he spent in labor camps in Mordovia
. In 1948 his sentence was changed to 15 years' imprisonment. He was released and returned to the Latvian SSR
in 1955. Eventually he was able to settle in Riga. For the rest of his working life he was employed as an accountant at state enterprises. He died in Riga on 22 February 1970 and was buried in the Riga Forest Cemetery (Meža kapi).
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
between the World Wars, and was also a founder of the Latvian Scouting movement
Scouting in Latvia
The Scout and Guide movement in Latvia is served by:* Latvijas Skautu un Gaidu Centrālā Organizācija, member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
.
Early years
Brēdermanis was born in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
in 1900. His father, Kārlis, was a civil servant. Brēdermanis attended Vilis Olavs
Vilis Olavs
Vilis Olavs was a Latvian political theorist, writer, and humanitarian who participated in the First Latvian National Awakening of the 19th century.- Biography :...
' Commercial School and the Riga City Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the occupation of much of Latvia by the German Army, his family evacuated as refugees to other parts of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. In 1919, Brēdermanis finished his secondary education in Barnaul
Barnaul
-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
, and prepared to matriculate at Tomsk University. Instead, however, he was mobilised
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
into Aleksandr Kolchak
Aleksandr Kolchak
Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was a Russian naval commander, polar explorer and later - Supreme ruler . Supreme ruler of Russia , was recognized in this position by all the heads of the White movement, "De jure" - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "De facto" - Entente States...
's anti-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
army in Siberia. He later transferred to the Latvian volunteer Imanta Regiment and also served the French military mission in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
.
He eventually returned to Latvia along with the Imanta Regiment, and served in the Latvian Army for a year, until demobilisation in January 1920.
Pioneering role in Latvian Scouting
Latvian Scouting began during World War I, when many of Riga's schools had been evacuated to Dorpat (TartuTartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
in present-day Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) as the Russian–German front lines approached Riga. In Tartu, three Scout troop
Scout troop
The Scout troop is a unit of Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts that usually meet weekly. Girl Guides often use Unit or Company instead. The troop is the fundamental unit, which a Scout joins and via which he or she participates in Scouting activities, such as camping, backpacking, and...
s—the 5th, 6th, and 7th Dorpat Troops—were formed completely or primarily of Latvian boys from evacuated Riga schools. These were the first ever Latvian Scouts. Brēdermanis was the leader of the 6th Troop, founded 26 September 1916. Most of these first troops proved short lived, however, disbanding already when the schoolboys left the town for their holidays.
In April 1917, many of the former Latvian Scouts from Dorpat/Tartu were back in Riga for Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
holidays. K. Perešs, former leader of the 5th Troop, placed an appeal in the daily newspaper Jaunākās Ziņas
Jaunākās Ziņas
Jaunākās Ziņas was a Latvian-language newspaper published in Riga from 1911 to 1940 and the largest and most influential paper of its era...
on 8 April 1917, for the boys from Tartu to meet up and found a Scout Group
Scout Group
The Scout Group is the local organisation for Scouting in most countries where it is active. It combines together the different sections into a single body. Scout Groups can consist of any number of sections in the different Age Groups in Scouting and Guiding...
in Riga. As a result, a new troop (officially known as the 92nd Russian Troop
Scouting in Russia
Scouting in Russia comprises several dozen Scout associations, based on religion, politics and geography.-History of Scouting in Russia:-1908 to 1922:...
) was founded on 17 April 1917, with Perešs as Scout Leader
Scout Leader
A Scout Leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit.-Roles:...
and Brēdermanis as Patrol Leader. The troop numbered some 120 Scouts, about half of them Latvian boys.
On 3 August 1917, about 50 Latvian Scouts founded a separate 5th Riga Troop under Brēdermanis' leadership. This troop's activity was interrupted when the German Army occupied Riga, and the German military authorities arrested them as if they were military cadets.
Following his evacuation as a refugee to Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
in the Russian interior, Brēdermanis tried unsuccessfully to revive the activity of the 5th Riga Troop.
Foreign service career
After his military service, Brēdermanis took up studies in economics at the University of LatviaUniversity of Latvia
University of Latvia is a university located in Riga, Latvia. Being established in 1919, University of Latvia is the biggest university in the Baltic states.-History:...
in Riga. In parallel, he began working in the Foreign Ministry, where he made a career for himself in the foreign service. Aside from various ministry posts, he served abroad in Latvia's diplomatic missions in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(1923–24) and in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
(1930–33), then the provisional capital of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
.
He left the foreign service to work as a journalist for the Latvian Telegraph Agency
LETA
LETA is the main Latvian news agency. Its headquarters are in Riga.- History :It was founded as Latopress in 1919, soon after Latvia became independent; the name was changed to LTA the next year when the wire service was subordinated to the Latvian Telegraph Agency...
from 1935 to 1939. From 1938 to 1939, he studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, again at the University of Latvia.
From 1939 until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in mid 1940, he worked as press secretary for the Japanese Embassy in Riga.
Persecution and later life under the Soviets
After the loss of Latvia's independence in 1940, the Soviet authorities arrested Brēdermanis as a Japanese spy. In August 1940, he was sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment in the GulagGulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, which he spent in labor camps in Mordovia
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia , also known as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Saransk. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia...
. In 1948 his sentence was changed to 15 years' imprisonment. He was released and returned to the Latvian SSR
Latvian SSR
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Latvian SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the Soviet Union. Established on 21 July 1940 as a puppet state during World War II in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Latvia after it had been occupied by...
in 1955. Eventually he was able to settle in Riga. For the rest of his working life he was employed as an accountant at state enterprises. He died in Riga on 22 February 1970 and was buried in the Riga Forest Cemetery (Meža kapi).
External links
- http://www.mfa.gov.lv/lv/Ministrija/vesture/4439/4446/
- http://www.lv.lv/index.php?menu_body=DOC&id=32701&menu_left=LAIDIENS&PHPSESSID=7d82f444214d94ced3226de5f31e3c