M. Politizdat. 1975. 295 pp. Circulation of 50,000 copies. Price 1 rub. 23 kopecks. Several serious studies are devoted to the participation of Latvian riflemen in the socialist revolution in Russia and the defense of its gains. Therefore, it is important to find out what is new in comparison with the previous works of Soviet historians in the book of B. A. Toman, Candidate of Historical Sciences, senior researcher of the IML under the Central Committee of the CPSU. It attracts with the desire to generalize what is known with a clear formulation of the author's point of view, the breadth of the idea, the thoroughness of the argumentation, and the introduction of little-known sources into scientific circulation. The author consistently examines the activities of the Latvian riflemen in the days of Great October and in the first year of the proletarian dictatorship. He rightly asserts that the loyalty of the majority of Latvian riflemen to the ideas of the socialist revolution is explained by their social composition (60% of riflemen come from the working class and landless peasantry), fighting traditions, and the influence of the Bolsheviks, whose active activity "developed the riflemen's consciousness, hardened them, and already on the eve of the October Revolution made them steadfast fighters for Soviet power" (page 40). From the first months of Soviet rule, Latvian regiments belonged to the main regular military units of the proletarian state. Their role was especially great at that time, as the old army was being demobilized, and a new one was just being created. B. A. Toman notes that the Latvian riflemen enjoyed the full confidence of the Soviet government: participated in the protection of Smolny and the Kremlin, held prominent party-Soviet and leadership positions. 1 A. I. Sprelis. Latvian arrows on. guardian of the conquests of October. 1917-1918 Riga. 1967; " History of the Latvian Riflemen (1915-1920)". Riga. 1972, et al. page 156 military positions, were ... Read more