Atmoda
Encyclopedia
Atmoda was a weekly newspaper in Latvian SSR
and Latvia
issued in the years 1988-1992. It was an organ of the Popular Front of Latvia
(PFL) and the first independent, opposition paper in the Latvian SSR. The name of the newspaper is a reference to Latvian revival movements known as Latvian National Awakening
.
The newspaper was issued in the Latvian and Russian languages. Many Russian people of culture and science in Latvia supported the PFL. The newspaper was popular not only in Latvia, but among population of the Soviet Union
, and the Russian edition peaked at 100,000 in curculation.
Atmoda, as a token of recognition of rights of Russians
by PFL, was a ground of insinuations by competing more radical nationalist political parties, such as Latvian National Independence Movement
, that PFL was ridden with Moscow KGB
spies to control the national movement in Latvia.
On January 1991, Communist functionaries occupied the national print house claiming it was party property, and Atmoda had to be printed in Šiauliai
.
In 1993, a dispute erupted about the fate of mass media
in the new independent state. PFL wanted to see Atmoda as an organ of party, while journalists stood on freedom of the press. This resulted in a court suit for the division of assets.
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...
and 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...
issued in the years 1988-1992. It was an organ of the Popular Front of Latvia
Popular Front of Latvia
The Popular Front of Latvia was a political organization in Latvia in late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. It was similar to the Popular Front of Estonia and the Sąjūdis movement in Lithuania....
(PFL) and the first independent, opposition paper in the Latvian SSR. The name of the newspaper is a reference to Latvian revival movements known as Latvian National Awakening
Latvian National Awakening
The Latvian National Awakening refers to three distinct but ideologically related National revival movements:* the First Awakening refers to the national revival led by the Young Latvians from the 1850s to the 1880s,...
.
The newspaper was issued in the Latvian and Russian languages. Many Russian people of culture and science in Latvia supported the PFL. The newspaper was popular not only in Latvia, but among population of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and the Russian edition peaked at 100,000 in curculation.
Atmoda, as a token of recognition of rights of Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
by PFL, was a ground of insinuations by competing more radical nationalist political parties, such as Latvian National Independence Movement
Latvian National Independence Movement
The Latvian National Independence Movement was a political organization in Latvia from 1988 till mid-1990s.It formed in 1988, as the radical wing of Latvian nationalist movement...
, that PFL was ridden with Moscow KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
spies to control the national movement in Latvia.
On January 1991, Communist functionaries occupied the national print house claiming it was party property, and Atmoda had to be printed in Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
.
In 1993, a dispute erupted about the fate of mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
in the new independent state. PFL wanted to see Atmoda as an organ of party, while journalists stood on freedom of the press. This resulted in a court suit for the division of assets.