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Aizsargi (lit. 'Defenders' or 'Guards'; officially – Latvian: Latvijas Aizsargu organizācija, lit. 'Guards Organization of Latvia', or LAO) was a volunteer paramilitary organization, militia with some characteristics of a military reserve force in Latvia during the interbellum period (1918–1939).
| Aizsargi Latvijas Aizsargu organizācija | |
|---|---|
 Aizsargu motorcyclists during a 20-year anniversary in 1939. | |
| Active | 1919–1940 |
| Country |  Latvia |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 60,684 (1940) |
| Motto(s) | Visu par Latviju (Everything for Latvia) |
| Engagements | Latvian War of Independence 1934 Latvian coup d'état |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Ludvigs Bolšteins Augusts Tons Kārlis Prauls |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |  |
The Aizsargi was created on March 30, 1919, by the Latvian Provisional Government as a self-defense force - a kind of National Guard - during the Latvian War of Independence.[1] In 1921, it was reorganized to follow the example of the Finnish Suojeluskunta (known as the "White Guard").[2]
The Aizsargi published a newspaper, entitled Aizsargs ("Defender"/"Guard"), and the movement had subsidiary sections for women ("Aizsardzes", established in 1926)[3] and youth ("Jaunsargi").
The organization, along with the Latvian Army, provided military support to the 1934 coup d'état of Kārlis Ulmanis.
By 1 January 1940, the organization had a membership of 60,684: 31,874 guards (aizsargi), 14,810 women members (aizsardzes), and 14,000 youth members (jaunsargi).[2] The organization consisted of 19 infantry regiments and the separate Railroad and Aviation Regiments.[4][5]
On 23 June 1940, the organization was disbanded as a result of the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940. During the Soviet occupation, the former members of the LAO were heavily persecuted.[6]
After the restoration of the independence of Latvia, the Aizsargi organization was not re-established by the government, as the Latvian National Guard was formed in 1991 as the main volunteer defence force of the country. Since then, separate small-scale NGOs have claimed to be the successors of the original LAO, which sometimes espoused fringe right-wing political views, e.g. the LAO group led by Riga Film Studio make-up artist Jānis Rība who was assassinated in 1997, possibly by Pērkonkrusts members; the Latvijas Aizsargi ('Aizsargi of Latvia') and others.[7][8][9]
References
edit- ^ "Documents of the Latvian Aizsargi Organization" (PDF) (in Latvian). A Latvian state archive exhibition catalog
- ^ a b Latvian Armed Forces in 1940
- ^ "Augusta mēneša krājuma priekšmets - Aizsardzes formas tērpa nozīmīte" [Artefact of the month in August - uniform badge of the Aizsardzes]. Alūksne Castle (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "MILITARY AIRCRAFT - National Guard (Aizsargi) - Latvian Aviation". latvianaviation.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ "Organization of the Aizsargi". aizsargi.org. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ Ciganovs, Juris (2022). "Latvijas spārni" [Wings of Latvia]. www.zurnals.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Latvia: Information on a paramilitary organization, reportedly neo-Nazi, called "Zemessarge", which apparently existed prior to WWII as well as today, and one of whose leaders is named Janis Riba". Refworld. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ Mudde, Cas (2005). Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. Psychology Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-415-35863-0.
- ^ "Jānis Rība". timenote.info. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
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