Based on the example of the Republic of Latvia and its relationship with its aggressive eastern neighbour, this article shows broader issues: the collapse of the Versailles order, the Hitler-Stalin collusion and the resulting dependence, vassalisation and subsequent annexation of the Baltic republics. Thus, it is also a contribution to the genesis of the Yalta division of Europe. It describes two stages of the process of enslavement of Latvia, which the Latvians themselves refer to as ‘during the first Soviet’ and ‘during the second Soviet’. It also contains a brief overview of the period of the German occupation of the Republic that separated those two stages.