Latviešu periodika par Daugavpils atbrīvošanu 1920. gadā

ENOn January 3, 1920, began the Latgale liberation operation of the war for Latviaís independence, when the units of Latvian and Polish armies occupied Daugavpils. These events were given a wide coverage in Latvian periodical press, therefore to explore this material seems quite important, since in 1920 the press was still the dominant means of mass information in Latvia. According to the index of periodicals, in 1920, altogether 82 editions - newspapers, magazines, bulletins - were published in Latvian. For writing this paper, materials from 7 newspapers have been used. During this period, the more important party newspapers on a national scale were "Sociāldemokrāts", "Brīvā Zeme", "Baltijas Vēstnesis", non-party "Jaunākās Zinas", "Latvijas Sargs", and the official newspaper "Valdības Vēstnesis". To inform about the Daugavpils operation, periodicals made use of the official information sources ñ reports by General Headquarters, war correspondent letters, republications from other newspapers, including also English, French, Polish, and Lithuanian editions. In 1920, for the first time in the history of Latvia, national news agency - LETA was founded. The task of this agency was to inform world news agencies as well as local media about the events in Latvia. The information concerning the events near Daugavpils may be grouped into several relative groups. First, newspapers published information on the military and diplomatic prehistory of Daugavpils liberation. Second, readers were informed about the beginning of Daugavpils operation when the Latvian army crossed the Daugava river at Glaudāni (25 km from the city), fought the battle at the Liksna railway station, and started for Daugavpils in an armored train recaptured from the enemy.Third, newspaper columns wrote about the culmination of the battle at Daugavpils, when several columns of the Polish army crossed to the right bank of the river and occupied the city. Fourth, within the bounds of possibility, newspaper readers were provided with the information about the proportion, military equipment, and spirits of military forces involved in the battle. Fifth, newspapers also published Latvian politicians' opinions about the role of the Polish and Lithuanian armies in preparing and implementing Daugavpils operation. Sixth, newspaper materials provided also the evaluation of the importance of Daugavpils liberation. Regretfully, regional press newspapers in the Latgalian language ("Latgolas Vords", "Latgalīts") were not published during the period of Daugavpils liberation. This important event was not reflected in newspapers issued in 1920, because the interest of Latgalian readers was focused on the process of the Constitutional assembly and solution of land issues. Newspaper information on the events on front obtained under war conditions is to be evaluated quite critically, since in some cases newspapers published unverified news. Key words: Latvian press, Daugavpils, Latvian army, Polish army, Lithuanian army, Red Army.