Latvia parts of the Russian Empire, which may have been influenced by the Protestant religion of the inhabitants. World War I devastated the territory of what became the state of Latvia, and other western parts of the Russian Empire. Demands for self-determination were initially confined to autonomy, until a power vacuum was created by the Russian Revolution in 1917, followed by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia and Germany in March 1918, then the Allied armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918. On 18 November 1918, in Riga, the People's Council of Latvia proclaimed the independence of the new country, with
Bank of Latvia On September 7, 1922, the Constitutional Assembly adopted the Law on the Establishment of the Bank of Latvia. The Bank of Latvia was granted emission rights. The Bank's interim statutes were approved on September 19, 1922, with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, and its initial capital was 10 million lats. On April 24, 1923, Saeima approved the Statute of the Bank of Latvia, signed by President Jānis Čakste on the 2nd July. The bank was headed by a council and board. The Council consisted of a chairman, a deputy and 11 members, but the board included a director