The Latvian Riflemen were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic governorates against the German Empire in World War I. Initially, the battalions were formed by volunteers, and from 1916 by conscription among the Latvian population. A total of about 40,000 troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division. They were used as an elite force in the Imperial and Red armies.

Jukums Vācietis was a Latvian Soviet military commander. He was a rare example of a notable Soviet leader who was not a member of the Communist Party, until his demise during the Great Purge in the 1930s.