The Roerich Movement in Latvia The present article provides an overview of the Roerich movement in Latvia. Having originated in the early 1920s as the Master's or Riga Lodge, the Latvian Roerich Society is one of the first Roerich movements in the world. After the departure to India of the group's founder, Vladimir Shibayev (1898-1975), the Riga Lodge was reconstituted and renamed the Society of Friends of the Roerich Museum. Until 1940 Riga was the centre of the Roerich movement in the Baltic region. The Latvian group promoted extensive publication of the books of Agni Yoga (Living Ethics), writings by the Roerichs and their followers, and The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky. In 1937, a picture gallery with works by Nicholas Roerich and his son Svyatoslav was opened in Riga. Roerichs' followers reemerged in 1988 under the name of the Latvian Roerich Society. After schism split the movement, three new groups were formed: the Latvian Roerich Society, the Latvian department of the International Centre of the Roerichs, and the Group of Aivars Garda. Each of these has its own sphere of activity. The Latvian Roerich Society focuses on cultural events, the Latvian branch of the International Centre of the Roerichs is active in the field of education, while the Garda group tries to influence the political life in Latvia. Thus, by working within these three important spheres of public life--culture, education, and politics--the Roerich movement in Latvia has assumed great influence and plays a leading role in the Baltic region.
