Rainis Otrās atmodas kontekstā

The article takes a critical look at the concept of the Second Awakening, as well as its use, embodied content, ideas, and persons. The concept of the Second Awakening was formed during the Singing Revolution or the Third Awakening in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Second Awakening was a requisite figure of thought while striving to determine the goals of the Third Awakening and its place in the course of Latvian history. The Second Awakening is a poetic designation for a number of historical processes that took place in Latvia and beyond from 1915 to 1920. The most significant of these are the following: 1) the refugee movement caused by World War I in 1915 and the formation of refugee organizations; 2) the organization and battles of Latvian riflemen battalions (later – regiments); 3) social and political activities in the Latvian emigrant environment in Switzerland; 4) proclamation of the Declaration of Independence of Latvia on 18 November 1918, and 5) the Latvian War of Independence (freedom struggle, 1919–1920). The article highlights the significance of Rainis’s social activities in the context of the Second Awakening. The article concludes that Rainis’s contribution and place in this context is constituted by his literary activity.