Latvian National Independence Movement

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The Latvian National Independence Movement (Latvijas Nacionālās Neatkarības Kustība or LNNK) was a political organization in Latvia from 1988 till mid-1990s.

It formed in 1988, as the radical wing of Latvian nationalist movement. Unlike the mainstream Latvian Popular Front which originally supported more autonomy for Latvia within Soviet Union, LNNK insisted on independence from Soviet Union from its beginning. The leaders of LNNK included Eduards Berklavs, Aleksandrs Kiršteins, Andrejs Krastiņš, Einars Repše and Juris Dobelis.

After Latvia gaining independence, LNNK became a political party and renamed itself National Conservative Party. It won 15 seats out of 100 in 1993 parliamentary election and was an influential opposition party. In 1993 its candidate for Prime Minister was Joachim Siegerist, who lost by only one vote and ended up second. LNNK won the municipal election in Latvian capital, Riga in 1994 but its popularity quickly faded after that. It lost half of its seats in the parliament in 1995 parliamentary election and eventually merged with Tēvzemei un Brīvībai (Fatherland and Freedom), another right-wing party with similar origins in the Latvian independence movement.