Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- 1. The Beginning: How Was The Coup Presented Back Then? -- 2. Genesis of a Political Myth—An Official Turns into Vadonis -- 3. Staging Atdzimšanas Dziesma—Technologies of Authoritarian Culture Policy -- 4. “Another Land”: Latgale Region in the Discourse of Ulmanis’ Authoritarian Regime on the Unity of the Nation -- 5. The Leader, The Enemy, War and Celebration— Authoritarianism Practices Compared: Stalin and Ulmanis in Latvia’s Authoritarian Culture -- 6. Date and Place: A Celebration of Authoritarianism in Rēzekne and Riga -- 7. “New Riga”: The City as an Instrument of Authoritarian Ideology -- 8. Authoritarianism and the Church: Attempts to Develop Latvian Christianity in 1920s and 1930s -- Conclusion -- Literature -- Index.

Available to subscribing member institutions only.

The Republic of Latvia is a fascinating mirror of the development of European democratic culture and reflects both the rise of democracy in Eastern Europe after the end of World War I and its deterioration into authoritarianism in the early 1930s. The regime, which lasted for only six years (1934-1940), was shaped by the controversial figure of Prime Minister and Leader of the People (Vadonis) Karlis Ulmanis. This new, archive-based study illustrates the development of authoritarianism in the region, shows controversies and similarities and places the regime's leader in the international context of European authoritarian culture. The book shows how mass culture and technologies, ancient drama and European modernism were combined to reinforce the idea of legitimacy of a new non-democratic regime.

Description based on print version record.