The protection of civilians during armed conflicts has always been one of the most important tasks.
Millions of civilians lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars, and in 1949 the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was adopted at the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva.
From the 1930s, the legislation of Latvia provided for the collective and individual protection of the population and the education of the public in the basics of self-defense.
During the “cold War” arms race between the US and its allies and the Soviet Union, intensive construction of a civil defense shelters began in the 1950s. It was supposed to all citizens were to be provided with gas masks.
After the restoration of Latvia's national independence, there were efforts to preserve the existing a civil defense shelters, but this was not implemented in real life. Gas masks for citizens, etc. personal protective equipment was stored in the state's material reserves until 2008, later new reserves were not renewed.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and hostilities underline the need to ensure the protection of the country's civilian population in the event of a military conflict or war.
The exhibition is supplemented with visual material "72 hours" and video material: How to prepare for a crisis in peacetime? and What to do in the first 72 hours?
Photo Gallery exhibition opening 17.05.2024.