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
On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia been clearly expressed by electing as a majority those deputies, who had stated that they will restore independence of the Republic of Latvia in their reelection programme. After establishing that the Republic of Latvia "de jure" is a sovereign country and that by the will of its people it should be independent, the Supreme Soviet ruled: 1. To recognize the priority of international laws over national laws. To hold to be illegitimate the treaty between the USSR and Germany of 23 August 1939, and the consequent liquidation of independence of Latvia resulting from Soviet military aggression on 17 June 1940.