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 Latvia's independence. On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia The Declaration "On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia" () was adopted on 4 May 1990, by the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR. The Declaration stated that, although Latvia had "de facto" lost its independence in 1940, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union, the country had "de jure" remained a sovereign country as the annexation had been unconstitutional and against the will of the people of Latvia. Therefore it resolved that the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940