| Abstract: | The article argues that Latvian nationalism started out as a doctrine of cultural egalitarianism. This was due to the crucial role played by the emerging native intelligentsia, which came from peasant backgrounds and received education in Russian universities during the 1840s and 1850s. Using historical accounts and intellectuals’ publications, it is shown that Latvian intelligentsia was influenced by the bourgeoning Russian and German nationalist ideas at the time, which it re-interpreted within traditional cultural context. To a large extent, these intellectuals created a national identity for themselves in order to claim an equal position among intellectual elites of other nations. These conclusions imply that it is necessary to study nationalisms as a part of not only social and economic, but also cultural, modernity. |
