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,
Baltic Slavic piracy Baltic Slavic piracy In the Baltic Sea region, groups of pirates of Slavic descent lived dating as far back as the 8th century to the 14th century. Baltic Slavs, whose agriculture was not highly developed in early 800, were in dire need of resources, since the dry islets were the only ones capable of cultivation and cattle were scarce. Flax was able to be grown, which was turned into linen or canvas for clothes and used as a form of currency. At this time the Baltic Slavs were also known for bee-keeping, trading their honey and wax to the Germans