On June 14, 1941, 15,000 Latvian citizens were forcibly deported to Gulag camps and a large number of army officers shot.
Shortly after the start of the German–Soviet War in 1941, the territory of Latvia was occupied and governed as a part of Reichskommissariat Ostland along Lithuania and Estonia.
In January 1991, Soviet political and military forces tried unsuccessfully to overthrow the legitimate Latvian authorities by occupying the central publishing house in Riga and establishing a "Committee of National Salvation" to usurp governmental functions.
Seventy-three percent of all Latvian residents confirmed their strong support for independence March 3 in an advisory referendum.
Latvia claimed de facto independence on August 21, 1991, in the aftermath of the failed Soviet coup attempt.