In Article II of the treaty, Soviet Russia recognised the independence of Latvia as inviolable "for all future time".

[1] After World War I, Soviet Russia wanted to regain Latvia, since it had once been a part of the Russian Empire.

[2] The Red Army invaded Latvia in 1918 after the Latvian prime minister, Karlis Ulmanis, declared its independence.

Adults aged 18 or older were free to choose either Latvian or Russian citizenship, the default being that individuals were citizens of the state in which they resided at the time the treaty was signed.

While the treaty included provisions for reparations, Latvia had no practical recourse for recovering its industrial infrastructure, much of which had been taken to Russia.