The article is dedicated to the scarcely studied problem of the presence of a well-known lawyer and professor David Davidovich Grimm (1864–1941) and his adopted son, MA of Arts in state law, assistant professor of Tartu University Ivan Davidovich Grimm in the capital of Latvia, Riga between 1937 and 1944. They left a noticeable mark on the cultural and social life of pre-revolutionary Russia and post-revolutionary emigration. At the same time, the «Riga period», especially its an initial part, is little known. The aim of the work is to try to fill this gap. For this, the author studied available historical sources and scholarly literature. Descriptive, logical and biographical research methods were used. The details of the private life of the Grimm family and their relatives in Riga through N.V. Grimm (nee Maslova, 1898–1943), as well as some details of the activities of I.D. Grimm in the leadership of the Baltic Orthodox Exarchate during the war is reflected. I.D. Grimm and his wife Natalia permanently settled in Riga in 1937. Since that time, D.D. Grimm also began to spend a lot of time in the capital of Latvia, but he permanently settled here only in the summer of 1940. However, neither one nor the other showed great public activity. The situation changed dramatically in 1940 when the Baltic countries were incorporated into the USSR. 1941 brought new changes – the beginning of the war between the USSR and Germany and the occupation of Latvia by the Nazis. D.D. Grimm and N.V. Grimm died during the war. I.D. Grimm in 1942–1944 was the head of the Exarch's Chancellery. In the summer of 1944 I.D. Grimm and his children were evacuated to the West. He spent the rest of his days in Australia.
D.D. Grimm; I.D. Grimm; emigration; Orthodoxy; exarchate; Orthodox Church; nationalization; World War II; occupation; Bolshevism.