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
The Case for Latvia "The Case for Latvia" is the only book by Jukka Rislakki about Latvia, that has been translated to English. The Latvian language version of The Case for Latvia was reviewed by the Delfi web portal. The review comments on some of the points given in the book: ""The analyses [of the book] also helps to understand, why the small and militarily weak Latvia in different surveys, for so long has been looked upon as Russia's enemy number one"", and:""The Case for Latvia is mainly written for readers in the USA, even though Latvian readers may find new and interesting news"".