History as Politics: Coming to Terms with the Past in Post-Soviet Latvia (Geschichte als Politikum: Lettland und die Aufarbeitung nach der Diktatur) explores post-Communist Latvia, a restored independent state, which emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union facing a range of challenges. The Soviet period had transformed the region, leaving sizeable Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic states. As Latvia sought membership in the European Union and NATO, its treatment of national minorities came into the spotlight, viewed as inter-ethnic conflict by international observers. However, the book argues that at the core of the conflict were not so much ethnic tensions but instead diverging historical perceptions. Free speech and post-Soviet democratization unleashed conflicting historical narratives from the different ethnic groups, resulting in fierce debates about World War II and its aftermath.

The discussion of this book will be in English, and will feature commentary by:
John Connelly, University of California, Berkeley
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh

Reception to follow.