History Repeating? Attacks on Latvian Army Depots in 1926 and Traces Leading to Moscow
A hundred years ago, Latvia faced attacks on its army's ammunition depots, and security services at the time concluded that the traces led to Moscow. In February 1926, Soviet diplomatic couriers were also attacked on a train near Ikšķile, resulting in a death.
Today, security threats are often described in terms of drones, cyberattacks, or irregular migration. But a hundred years ago, Latvia's internal security was challenged by other means. In the mid-1920s, several attacks were carried out against Latvian army ammunition depots, and at least one bore clear signs of an intention to blow up the buildings. Latvian security services at the time concluded that the traces led to Moscow. That conclusion had grounds, as Soviet secret services had already been linked to bombings of munitions depots elsewhere in Europe.
Strained Relations
The year 1926 began poorly in relations between Latvia and the Soviet Union. In November 1924, the so-called Tallinn coup had failed, when Moscow-backed Estonian communists tried to seize power in Estonia. After that setback, the USSR faced serious diplomatic complications and decided to stop directly supporting partisan and saboteur units in neighboring countries. The tactic of organizing coups was judged to be expensive and unsuccessful, and was postponed. However, this did not stop the Soviet side from using local communist underground movements to carry out various operations in the Baltics and other parts of Europe – actions that would be called terrorism in today's terms.
Attack on Diplomatic Couriers
On 5 February 1926, a serious diplomatic incident occurred. Teodors Nete, a diplomatic courier of the Soviet People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, together with another courier, Johans Mahmastāls, was travelling by train from Riga to Moscow. They carried diplomatic baggage: three suitcases, one larger and one smaller bag. Shortly after the train left Ikšķile station, two masked men attacked the couriers. A shootout broke out, and one person was killed.
