Young Latvians

Young Latvians ( lett: jaunlatvieši ) is the most common name for the intellectuals of the first national awakening of Latvians 1850-1890.

Term

Jaunlatvieši is sometimes translated as New Latvians; Young Latvians or Letts boy but is more accurate because it is modeled on the literary movement Young Germany. Originally it was a kindred of their mostly German - Baltic opponents derogatory term for the nationalist intellectuals who, as a self-description was taken from this then, in the sense of Geusenwortes. The term " a young Latvia " was the first time in 1856 by Gustav Wilhelm Sigmund Brasche, the pastor of Nīca, in a meeting of Juris Alunāns ' Dziesmiņas latviešu valodai pārtulkotas (German: translated into Latvian Small songs ) in the newspaper The domestic uses. In räsonierend, who could appreciate such literature in Latvia ( Alunāns ' book was the first major translation of foreign classical poetry in the Latvian language ), Brasche warned that those who dreamed the dream " of a young Latvian ," the tragic fate of the ferryman in Heine's poem would suffer over the Lorelei; the translation was part of Alunāns ' collection of poems. The boys Latvians were sometimes referred to as " tautībnieki " ( folklorist ) or in accordance with the Slavophiles as Lettophile.

Although the Young Latvians can be considered as part of a mainly cultural and literary movement, their occurrence because of the prevailing social and economic conditions in Latvia had a major policy impact. Although part of the Russian Empire, Latvia was dominated by Baltic German nobility. The year 1856 is generally regarded as the beginning of the movement: Alunāns ' book was published and the largest newspaper in Latvian Mājas Viesis ( The house guest), which was a counterpoint to the pro-German newspaper Latviešu Avīzes, was founded. Another contemporary and adjoining imaging event was the public declaration of nationality by a later leader of the movement, Krišjānis Valdemārs, 1854-1858 Student at the University of Tartu ( Dorpat ). Valdemārs attached a business card as a name tag on his door that it. " C. Woldemar stud. Cam. Latweetis " as auswies. At this time it was for an educated person than almost unheard of to call themselves Lette, education meant Germanization and Valdemārs ' offense was compared with the action of Luther, when he nailed his 95 theses to the portal of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Speaking, however, as some scholars evaluating this event as irrelevant, one can see Valdemārs ' door plate placed in its context also less dramatic. The historian Arveds Švābe noted that it Valdemārs rejected in his own writings, to be a radical. The Young Latvians had until the 1860s no political agenda to challenge the German Balts, after Švābe her political opposition to the ruling order under the influence of the Slavophiles and the reforms of Tsar Alexander II of crystallized out.

Exponent

Valdemārs considered the spiritual father of awakening. Together with Alunāns he headed in Tartu student meetings and advocated ethnographic studies and the establishment of naval academies to seafaring peoples from the Latvians and Estonians to make. Krišjānis Barons began under the influence of Valdemārs so, to collect Daina folk songs and poems. 1862 published Valdemārs, Alunāns and Barons in St. Petersburg together the most radical -Latvian newspaper Pēterburgas Avīzes; In 1865 it was banned by the authorities. Atis Kronvalds (also known as Kronvaldu Atis ) renewed from 1867 to 1873 the " Latvian evenings ," began the Valdemārs in Tartu. His national aspirations (1872 ) can be viewed as a manifesto of the Young Latvians. To their older colleagues were Kaspars Biezbārdis, the first Latvian philologist, who helped to draw up petitions to the Tsar, in which the harsh conditions for Latvian agricultural workers were attacked and who was banished in 1863 to Kaluga, and Andrejs Spāģis, who as first European writer drew attention to the Baltic problem. Fricis Brīvzemnieks - (trust land ) is considered as the father of Latvian folklore; Baron made ​​the collection of Daina later his life's work and completed the work begun together. The poet Auseklis (pseudonym for Krogzemju Mikus ) was in the words of diplomats and scholars Arnolds Spekke for the " romantic and mystical search for the soul of the nation. " The young Latvian Andrejs Pumpurs wrote in 1888 the national epic Lāčplēsis ( The Bear Slayer ).

Developments and subdivisions

Pumpurs rewrote the movement retroactively as: "Those in this group who fought for the freedom of twenty-five years Young Latvians were called they had almost all the same fate Without homeland, their people without rights, and without freight and maintenance, often even without accommodation.. bread, they were condemned to wandering. All doors remained closed to them, they denied them abode and employment. heavy heart, she left her beloved homeland and went abroad to the Russian mainland in search of livelihood and knowledge. "

In fact, half of the Latvians who have obtained a higher education at that time, was forced to look for work in Russia. How it looked Švābe: "With their selfish and short-sighted policy of the German -Baltic nobility urged the Young Latvians in the friendship with Russia ." Even German -Baltic intellectuals devoted to the study of Latvian culture and language devoted themselves, like August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, the editor of Latviešu Avīzes, attacked the young Latvians, while Robert Gustav Keuchel (1832-1910), editor of the newspaper for city ​​and country declared that it was impossible to be formed and Lette, an educated Lette ( " is an absurdity "). Pastor Brasche wrote, there would be neither a Latvian nation, nor did the Latvian people a past, and suggested to replace the term " Young Latvians " by ( " young peasant class "). The most widespread Protestant magazine stated that the boots would have been a nation in the 13th century, but since then had degenerated into a peasantry. "Does each layer die their own must Latvian language?. " The ethnic Latvian supporters of the German Balts were known as " Altletten ". Because many opponents of the Young Latvians were associated with the Protestant Church, the movement also had a decidedly anti-clerical character.

Although a branch of the National Awakening in Tartu was located and later moved to St. Petersburg and Moscow, succeeded in the late 1860s, the Lettophilen to become established in Latvia. They formed in 1867 a relief fund for the victims of famine in Estonia and Finland, and a year later received permission to found the Rīga Latvian Society. Similar companies followed in other cities, the Rīga received the nickname "Mother " ( " Mamula "). The Rīga Latvian Society ( Rigas Latviešu BIEDRIBA ) launched the first Latvian piece on the stage, held in 1873 and organized the first conference of Latvian teachers the first Latvian Song Festival.

Atis Kronvalds indulged in polemics with Keuchel (the author of expression, an educated Lette " is an absurdity " ) and wrote under the name Otto Kronwald the book National aspirations of his critics to respond to German.

As a pragmatist and materialist Valdemārs was in exile and under police surveillance in Moscow further under the influence of the Slavophiles, when he worked for the publisher Mikhail Katkov Nikiforowitsch. For Valdemar, " the kulak could never be as dangerous as the German with his iron claws. " In reality, the liberality, after the Young Latvians were looking to the east, under Tsar Alexander the III. soon entirely on the retreat and the Latvian language by the Russification more at risk than the Germanization.

Swell

• Arnold Spekke: History of Latvia: An Outline. Stockholm: M. Goppers / Zelta Ābele, 1951.
• Alfred [s ] Bīlmanis: A History of Latvia. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951.
• Arveds Švābe: Latvijas vēsture 1800-1914. Uppsala: Daugava, 1958.
• Arveds Švābe, ed: Latvju enciklopēdija. Stockholm: Tris Zvaigznes, 1952-1953.
• Uldis Ģērmanis: Latviešu tautas piedzīvojumi. Ann Arbor: Ceļinieks, 1974.
• Agnis Balodis: Latvijas un latviešu tautas vēsture. Rīga: Kabata, 1991.
• Teodor Zeiferts: Latviešu rakstniecības vēsture. Rīga: 1922 available at http://www.ailab.lv/Teksti/Senie/Zeiferts/zeifsat.htm
• Ernests Blanks: Latvju tautas ceļš uz neatkarīgu valsti. Vasteras: Ziemeļbāzma, 1970.
• Ilga apine: Latvija 19 gadsimta otrajā puse version of 23 June 2005
• Janis A. Krēsliņš: Recent Publications on Baltic History. Version of 23 June 2005
• Arturs Priedītis: Latvijas kultūras vēsture. Daugavpils: AKA, 2000 ISBN 9984-582-11-6 ( with summary in Russian and English).
• Viktors Hausmanis, ed: Latviešu rakstniecība biogrāfijās. Rīga: ASU, 1992.
• Maksim Kirčanov, Zemnieki, latvieši, pilsoņi: identičnost, nacionalizm i modernizacija v Latvii (Voronezh, 2009, 204 p. ) ISBN 978-5-98222-461-3 / / http://ejournals.pp.net.ua/_ld / 1/135_kirchanavs_book.pdf
• Jānis Rozenbergs: " Fricis Brīvzemnieks - latviešu folkloristikas pamatlicējs. " (with a brief summary in English ) Date June 25, 2005
• " Jaunlatvieši un latviešu valodas attīstība, " " The Young Latvians and the development of the Latvian language." Version of 25 June 2005.