remaining forces of the Red Army in Latvia were defeated by Baltic German volunteers under General von der Goltz and newly formed Latvian units initially under Colonel Kalpaks and later under Colonel Jānis Balodis, who were loyal to the Latvian Republic in western Latvia; by the Estonian Army including the North Latvian Brigade, and finally by a joint campaign of the Polish and new Latvian army in Latgale, south-eastern Latvia. Following the 1920 peace treaty between Latvia and Bolshevik Russia, 11,395 former Red Riflemen returned to Latvia. Other former Riflemen remained in Soviet Russia and rose to leadership positions in the Red Army, Communist Party, and Cheka. When the USSR occupied Latvia in 1940, many of the surviving Red Riflemen returned to Latvia. The most famous pre-World War II Soviet Communist leaders from Latvia were not from the Red Riflemen: Martin Latsis, Jēkabs Peterss, Arvīds Pelše, Yan Karlovich Berzin, Yan Rudzutak, Pēteris Stučka, Robert Eikhe. All of them, except for Stučka (who died in 1932) and Pelše, perished in the Great Purges of 1937–1940. White Latvian Riflemen In 1917, a smaller number of Latvian Riflemen, mostly officers, sided against the Bolsheviks. Officers such as Kārlis Goppers and Frīdrihs Briedis tried to prevent Bolshevik ideas from spreading among the Latvian soldiers. The bloody Christmas and January battles impeded their efforts to fight against Bolshevik ideology. Opponents of Bolshevism either left or were forced to leave military service or joined the White forces. During the last phase of the Civil War, two Latvian units were created in the Urals and Far East of Russia (Troitsk Battalion and Imanta Regiment), but they did not take part in significant military action and were sent to Latvia, by then already an independent nation. In culture The Latvian Riflemen have a been long-lasting source of inspiration in Latvian art. Many writers, poets and painters have been inspired by the Latvian Rifles and their battles. The most notable works are: A collection of epic poetry about Latvian Riflemen and their battles in Latvia and Russia, Mūžības skartie (Affected by Eternity) by poet Aleksandrs Čaks. Historical novel Blizzard of Souls (Dvēseļu putenis) by writer Aleksandrs Grīns, himself a former riflemen. The main protagonist of the novel is a young Latvian schoolboy who enlists in a Latvian rifle unit. In 2019 a film based on the novel premiered. A series of paintings (Latvian Riflemen 1916–1917 and Refugees 1915–1917) by