Popular Front of Latvia |This article does not cite any
references or sources. (August 2009)| |This article is part of
the series: Politics and government of The Popular Front of
Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Tautas fronte) 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. Historic background  Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. To avoid bloodshed
there was relatively little resistance to the occupation, but
many Latvians remained deeply unhappy with it and waited for a
chance to regain independence. Such a chance came in 1980s when
Sovier premier Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to reform the Soviet
Union. In particular, Gorbachev's glasnost policy allowed more
freedom of speech in the Soviet Union than ever before. Latvia's
independence movement started with small demonstrations for
independence and human rights in 19