Valdemārs Kalniņš (1907-1981): The founder of Soviet legal history in Latvia

In natural sciences, existing knowledge is fundamentally revised only in the light of new scientific findings. However, history, including the history of law, belongs to the humanities, and the message it communicates can be exploited, among other things, for political purposes. Latvian legal history as it has been recorded in the works of legal historians since the 19th century is itself worth a serious study. Metamorphosis of the legal system and doctrine was only possible because, within half a year of the occupation, the laws of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic came into force in the territory of Latvia, just as they did in Estonia and Lithuania. The work of the historical legal school previously formed in Latvia was ended, and the Latvian legal history was discredited.