Liepāja in 1920–1934: Municipality and Civil Participation of Its Inhabitants

Abstract

The article examines the main operational activities of the Liepāja City Municipality and the process of civic participation of its citizens during the 1920–1934. The anal­ysed examples provide insight into the ways how local residents engaged in various forms of civic participation in shaping and improving the municipality’s administrative, social, and economic governance system. City residents expressed their opinions on the outcomes of municipal activities by submitting applications, petitions, or complaints to specific municipal institutions, which subsequently forwarded them for review at designated council meetings. Overall, the residents were highly active and engaged in the political system of the municipality; however, the goals they put forward were largely unrealized, as the council rejected the majority of the initiatives submitted by the public.