Latvian Social Democratic Union
Encyclopedia
The Latvian Social Democratic Union was a socialist political group with roots dating to 1892 in Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

. Founded in exile the autumn of 1900 and led by Miķelis Valters
Mikelis Valters
Miķelis Valters was a prominent Latvian politician, diplomat, writer, and editor....

 and Ernests Rolavs. The group was an outgrowth of the New Current
New Current
The New Current in the history of Latvia was a broad leftist social and political movement that followed the First Latvian National Awakening and culminated in the 1905 Revolution...

, but soon developed a more radical and nationalistic position in opposition to the much larger Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party is a centre-left, social democratic party in Latvia. It has a long history but is not represented in the current parliament of Latvia.-History:...

. Many activists from the New Current were arrested in the late 1890s, and many emigrated to Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The branches of Valters' and Rolavs' group issued polemics in exile, including Proletārietis ("The Proletarian," a publication printed in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 in 1902 and 1903 and in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 in 1903 and 1904). They were the first to demand full autonomy for Latvia
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...

 and proposed the transformation 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...

 into a federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 of autonomous republics. They also advocated the expropriation of the Baltic German
Baltic German
The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...

 estates in a radical land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...

.

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