Latvian lats standard from its introduction till 1940. On 17 June 1940, Latvia was occupied by the USSR. After the dismantling of the Bank of Latvia and its replacement with the Latvia Republican Office of the Gosbank on 10 October, the Soviet ruble was introduced alongside the lats on 25 November 1940 at par, although the real monetary value of the rouble was about three times lower and thus both wages and prices were gradually raised to devalue the lats from June to November 1940. To lessen the effect of the exodus of goods sent by Soviet occupational personnel to the USSR,
MS Jan Heweliusz captain, who died in the accident, also being blamed for allowing the ship to sail in such an unseaworthy state. In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg ruled that the official investigation of the sinking was not impartial and granted 4600 euros in damages each to eleven relatives of the victims. Today, the wreck of the ship is located at the depth of 27 metres and is frequently visited by divers. MS Jan Heweliusz MS "Jan Heweliusz" was a Polish ferry named after astronomer Johannes Hevelius () that served on the route Ystad-Świnoujście. It was built in