Odita Krenberga

This documentary explores the historical and emotional significance of the Staburags cliff, combining personal memories, archival footage, photographs, and contemporary landscapes. Through people’s testimonies and visual material, viewers are invited to reflect on whether it is possible to reclaim what time and water have washed away. Once one of Latvia’s most popular sightseeing spots, Staburags has been widely celebrated in legends, folktales, and songs. Audiences will have the opportunity to see rare footage filmed 40 meters below the surface of the Daugava River, as well as follow a modern expedition during which special equipment was used to check whether the 18–20 meter-high Staburags cliff still remains in its place.

The end of the 1970s. The Soviet Union is in a state of stagnation and apathy during the Brezhnev era. Ethnic and social tensions are simmering. An armed group of young people appears in Latvia, wanting to fight Soviet rule using guerrilla tactics. They blow up railways, carry out armed attacks, and intimidate KGB informants. The most daring plan of the young people is to track down and kidnap Augusts Voss, the leader of the Communist Party of the Latvian SSR at the time. The USSR State Security Committee called them the Zilberts gang. How should we evaluate the activities of a group whose actions, both then and now, can be considered criminal offenses? Bandits or partisans? This case goes beyond the bounds of conformity and nonviolent resistance, which is precisely why we decided to tell its story.

On the night of August 18, 1991, a coup, or putsch, was attempted in Moscow. The coup threatened to return the Baltic States to the occupation of Soviet Union. This documentary tells the story of how the event unfolded in Latvia.

A Latvian woman who has lived in Cuba for 29 years with her three sons wants to leave the country, which is closed to the outside world, and return to Latvia. The Latvian government has secretly arranged for the whole family to become citizens so that they can return to Latvia. Therefore, the plan to try to escape from Cuba has been abandoned, and the family has officially asked the Cuban authorities to allow them to leave the country. However, a decision has not yet been made.

Amid the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago, the Baltic nations fought to regain their independence and freedom, while die-hard believers in the Soviet empire saw ways to force them back under Moscow's control. In order to protect their reborn state, the Latvian people began to build barricades in the center of Rīga. Unique footage and previously unheard historical evidence contributes to the documentary film “The Fortress of the Nation. 30 Years since the Barricades" from Latvian Television.