Aizsargi

The organizational structure was built on the territorial principle. In 1922, the reorganization of the Aizsargs was completed. For the Aizsargs, a special form was established. Local units form units that are reduced to battalions and regiments (in each county there was a regiment of aizsargs - more likely an administrative unit than a military unit). Each regiment had its own banner. The commanders of the regiments were most often the chiefs of the county police (army officers were the deputy commanders of the regiments). Other commanders were often on police staff. Since 1925, the central headquarters functioned in which the head of the aizsargs, the chief of staff and the head of the training department were personnel officers - in total, 150 officers were seconded to the aizsargs for military-operational leadership. Since 1929, there have been 19 regiments in Latvia, and 2 special regiments (railway and aviation) - 190 companies, 31 squadrons and 60 battalions. When infantry regiments existed on the cavalry squadron and company of cyclists, communications teams, orchestras. The average number of regiments is about 1,100-1,200 people, but the composition of the regiments is not the same, for example, in the 5th Riga regiment there were 20 companies, 3 cavalry squadrons and a battalion of communications.

• 1st Talsi Regiment (1. Talsu pulks)
• 2nd Ventspils Regiment (2. Ventspils pulks) ^[2]
• 3rd Ludza Regiment (3. Ludzas pulks)
• 4th Jekabpils Regiment (4. Jēkabpils pulks)
• 5th Riga Regiment (5. Rīgas pulks) ^[3]
• 6th Aizput regiment (6. Aizputes pulks)
• 7th Valkas Regiment (7. Valkas pulks)
• 8th Valmiera Regiment (8. Valmieras pulks)
• 9th Madon Regiment (9. Madonas pulks)
• 10th Cesis Regiment (10. Cēsu pulks)
• 11th Tukuma Regiment (11. Tukuma pulks)
• 13th Bausk Regiment (13. Bauskas pulks)
• 14th Kuldig Regiment (14. Kuldīgas pilks)
• 15th Liepaja Regiment (15. Liepājas pulks)
• 16th Jelgava Regiment (16. Jelgavas pulks)
• 17th Rezekne Regiment (17.Rēzeknes pulks)
• 18th Daugavpils Regiment (18. Daugavpils pulks) ^[4]
• 19th Abrenes Regiment (19. Abrenes pulks)
• Aizsarg Railway Regiment (Dzelzceļu aizsargu pulks)
• Aizsargu Aviation Regiment (Aizsargu aviācijas pulks)

Under the leadership of the army command and on the basis of the charters, instructions and manuals used in the army, regular training was given to members of the organization in military affairs, much attention was paid to shooting training. Every month, one of the Sundays was reserved for live firing (in 1930 , about 70% of the icebergs passed camp camps lasting 2-4 days). Every year, with the participation of army officers, maneuvers were conducted consisting of 1-3 regiments of aizsargs. Sometimes the Aizsarg regiments participated in maneuvers together with army units (the duration of the maneuvers is 2-3 days). The training of the Aizsarg commanders was organized mainly at the military units. Every year, 2-week courses were organized in Riga for company commanders, platoons and units. 4-6 days were allotted for tactical exercises and war games ^[5] .

Partially (1/3) the organization was financed from the state budget. The remaining funds of the organization consisted of voluntary donations and fees.

The total number in 1932 was about 26,000 people, in addition, there were over 5,000 members of the women's organization of "defenders". As of January 1, 1940, the organization had 31,874 men, 14,810 women and 14,000 Yaunsargs - members of the youth department. Percentage: 48% civil servants, 25% peasants, 27% workers ^[6] .

Isardsardz

Since 1923, at the volost departments of the organization, circles of women Aizsargs ( Aizsardzes ) began to be created. Their role was the economic, cultural and sanitary services of the members of the organization. They were mainly wives and daughters. By the beginning of 1929, there were 316 circles with 5,220 participants.

Jaunsargi

Based on the model of scouts , the sub-organization “ Jaunsargi ” ( Jaunsargi - young oizsargi) was created for young people aged 16-21 years.

Armament

Each member of the organization was armed with a personal weapon - an English rifle ( Ross-Enfield M.14 ), browning and 50 live ammunition. There were both easel and light machine guns.

1 wedge heel (in 1930 the 16th Jelgava regiment bought a wedge heel “ Carden Loyd Mark VI ”).

In 1929, at the initiative of the retired senior lieutenant Alfreds Valleika ( A. Valleika ), an aviation regiment was created (actually began operating on April 17, 1931 - 31 aircraft, of which 4 were of Latvian production VEF I-12 ). Based on the outskirts of Riga, in Spilva . In 1932, a naval aviation squadron was established.

In the initial period of the organization, males from 18 to 60 years of age included in the lists of aizsargs performed administrative and police functions without fail as state duty. In 1921, in connection with the end of hostilities and the onset of a peaceful situation, an order of the Ministry of the Interior reorganized the Aizsarg branches on a voluntary basis, with the simultaneous cancellation of the election of commanding officers.

As the most massive public organization in the countryside, it played a large role in the cultural life of the localities: sports competitions, village clubs (concerts, theater, dances, etc.), libraries. Since 1923, the organization published its magazine Aizsargs in Riga .

For the first decade, the organization was apolitical and adhered to direct obligations in its activities. Since the beginning of the 1930s, the situation has changed, and among the Aizsargs the political party the Latvian Peasant Union ( Latviešu zemnieku savienība ) became more and more influential - its members actively and successfully occupied more and more leadership positions in the organization. As a result, the organization became politicized - with the support of the Aizars, on May 15, 1934, an armed coup was carried out in Latvia and the authoritarian regime of Ulmanis was established . Politically unreliable commanders and ordinary aizsargs were fired, the organization itself became very political and positioned itself as a stronghold of the regime. Much attention was paid to patriotic-political work. The president of the state, K. Ulmanis , was declared the supreme leader of the organization in 1936, and since 1937 the aizsargs came under the direct subordination of the minister of public affairs (Colonel Karlis Prauls ( Latvian. Kārlis Prauls ) remained a military commander. The Aizsarg’s activity during this period was also aimed at combating political opposition and was expressed in assisting the police in conducting searches and arrests of those suspected of being “anti-state” nosti.

After the Soviet troops entered Latvia, the Aizsarg organization was disbanded on July 20, 1940. Soviet power defined the organization of the Aizsargs as anti-communist and fascist . This definition was largely consistent with the ideas of the members of the organization ^[1] and naturally served as the basis for the inclusion in the list of unreliable persons of almost all commanders ^[7] and many active members of the organization. After clarifying the lists of persons who could be a threat in a military conflict with fascist Germany, a number of Aizsarg leaders were deported to the rear areas of the USSR along with family members during the deportation on June 14, 1941 .

Modern Latvian historians claim that the Aizsargs who escaped from the arrest with the outbreak of World War II , in 1941 , wishing to avenge deported relatives, attacked adherents of Soviet power, Soviet activists, civil servants, retreating units of the Red Army ^[8] . During the occupation, many became accomplices of the German occupation authorities ^[9] (in particular, made up the backbone of the Latvian auxiliary police ) and took an active part in the genocide of Jews in Latvia ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} . In particular, the captain of the Riga regiment, Boleslav Maykovskis , released after being checked by the NKVD, in July 1941 headed the second section of the Rezekne auxiliary police and then became the direct organizer of the Audrinsky tragedy ^[1] .

After the end of the war, the US authorities denied entry permits to former aizsargs: under section 7 of Article 774 of Public Law, aizsargs were included in the list of undesirables in the United States ^[1] . In 1952, this ban was lifted.

Latvian Aizsarg Organization

An organization with the similar name “Organization of Latvian Aizsargs” ( Latvijas Aizsargu organizācija ) was established on May 19, 1990 ^[14] , immediately after Latvia declared independence. The new founder and leader of the movement was Janis Riba (was killed in November 1997). Initially, the Aizsargs were supposed to be included in the structure of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia ^[15] , but de facto, the Zeessardze militia was organized for this purpose. In the 21st century, almost nothing is heard of icebergs in Latvia. The organization broke up into three competing groups, each of which considers itself to be the successor of historical Aizsargs ^[16] .

Yaunsardze

Jaunsardze (young defenders) - a youth organization created by the Latvian militia Zemessardze in 1992. It has become the largest in Latvia, uniting more than 8000 young men and women aged 10 to 21 years.

At the end of 2003, the Yaunsardze Center was created as a unit of the Ministry of Defense, cooperating with educational institutions of the country, on the one hand, and with units of the National Armed Forces , on the other. He was entrusted with civic education and the organization of meaningful leisure for youth.

On December 15, 2009, Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1419, “Regulations on Yaunsards and the Information Center,” an institution created under the direct supervision of the Minister of Defense, was adopted. According to this document, Yaunsardze (young defenders) is a form of youth unification of interests, the purpose of which is to educate them in the field of defense, to cultivate patriotism, civic consciousness, camaraderie, fearlessness, physical strength and discipline, as well as to interest young people in military service, expanding thus, the basis for the selection of motivated personnel for the armed forces ^[17] .

• Aizsarg Merit Cross
• Kaitseliit

• The extermination of Jews in Latvia 1941-1945. (ed. M. Barkagan ), Riga, 2008 ISBN 978-9984-9835-6-1
• M. Bobe . Jews in Latvia, Riga, 2006, ISBN 9984-9835-3-6

• Aizsargi // Dictionaries and Encyclopedias on the Academician
• Aizsargi
• Aizsargi // Article from the Military Encyclopedia of 1932-33.
• Latvijas Aizsargu I kongresā pieņemtais aizsargu satversmes projekts (Latvian)
• From a certificate of anti-Soviet political parties and nationalist organizations that existed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia before the establishment of Soviet power
• Aizsargi // Encyclopedia of historical terminology (Latvian)