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The research aims to analyse oral history interviews of heterosexual people about their experience with homosexuals during the Soviet times. Eight interviews were selected for the analysis based on two criteria - the research participant belongs to the Soviet generation, and he/she has personally known homosexuals during the Soviet times. The paper presents interviews as a primary source, illuminating several challenges with obtaining the interviews and their interpretation. In addition, common narratives of communicative memories' evidence and their influence on current views of homosexuals in Latvian society, including its historical metanarrative and historical record, which relies on the nation's victimisation during the Soviet times, are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centenary of World War I in 2014 drew attention to the significance of this war in the history of Latvia. The aim of this article is to examine how one of the most vivid “sites of memory” of the war - the Latvian Riflemen - evolved and is still being used. The article reveals not only the preconditions and causes for the construction and development of the image of Latvian Riflemen, but also provides a framework which can be applied to analyse the genealogy of the public understanding of historicity and how our and foreign political elites have manipulated this historicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]