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
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia of Lenin. Until 1991 it served as a museum commemorating the Red Latvian Riflemen. However, planned reconstruction of the building, which began in the summer of 2018 after years of planning and negotiations, means that since November 2012 the museum is temporarily housed in Raiņa bulvāris 7 (Rainis Boulevard), the site of the former US Embassy, nearby the Freedom Monument. It is planned that the renovated museum building, dubbed "House For the Future" by its architect Gunnar Birkerts, will be completed in 2020. Museum of the Occupation of Latvia The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia () is a museum