20th+: Baltics

The Baltic states (Estonian: Balti riigid, Baltimaad; Latvian: Baltijas valstis; Lithuanian: Baltijos valstybės), also known as the Baltic countries, Baltic republics, Baltic nations, or simply the Baltics, is a geopolitical term, typically used to group the three sovereign states in Northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The term is not used in the context of cultural areas, national identity, or language, because while the majority of people in Latvia and Lithuania are Baltic people, the majority in Estonia are Finnic. The three countries do not form an official union, but engage in intergovernmental and parliamentary cooperation. The most important areas of cooperation among the three countries are foreign and security policy, defence, energy, and transportation.

In accordance with a secret protocol within the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 that divided Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence, the Soviet Army entered eastern Poland in September 1939, and then coerced Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into mutual assistance treaties which granted them the right to establish military bases in these countries. In June 1940, the Red Army occupied all of the territory of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and installed new, pro-Soviet governments in all three countries. Following elections (in which only pro-communist candidates were allowed to run), the newly elected parliaments of the three countries formally applied to join the Soviet Union in August 1940 and were incorporated into it as the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics.

Repressions, executions and mass deportations followed after that in the Baltics. The Soviet Union attempted to Sovietize its occupied territories, by means such as deportations and instituting the Russian language as the only working language. Between 1940 and 1953, the Soviet government deported more than 200,000 people from the Baltic to remote locations in the Soviet Union. In addition, at least 75,000 were sent to Gulags. About 10% of the adult Baltic population were deported or sent to labor camps. (See June deportation, Soviet deportations from Estonia, Sovietization of the Baltic states)

The Soviet control of the Baltic states was interrupted by Nazi German invasion of this region in 1941. Initially, many Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians considered the Germans as liberators. The Baltic countries hoped for the restoration of independence, but instead the Germans established a civil administration, known as the Reichskommissariat Ostland.[citation needed] During the occupation the Germans carried out ghettoisations and mass killings of the countries' Jewish populations. Over 190,000 Lithuanian Jews, nearly 95% of Lithuania's pre-war Jewish community, and 66,000 Latvian Jews were murdered. The German occupation lasted until late 1944 (in Courland, until early 1945), when the countries were reoccupied by the Red Army and Soviet rule was re-established, with the passive agreement of the United States and Britain (see Yalta Conference and Potsdam Agreement).

The forced collectivisation of agriculture began in 1947, and was completed after the mass deportation in March 1949 (see Operation Priboi). Private farms were confiscated, and farmers were made to join the collective farms. In all three countries, Baltic partisans, known colloquially as the Forest Brothers, Latvian national partisans, and Lithuanian partisans, waged unsuccessful guerrilla warfare against the Soviet occupation for the next eight years in a bid to regain their nations' independence. The armed resistance of the anti-Soviet partisans lasted up to 1953. Although the armed resistance was defeated, the population remained anti-Soviet. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were considered to be under Soviet occupation by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, NATO, and many other countries and international organizations. During the Cold War, Lithuania and Latvia maintained legations in Washington DC, while Estonia had a mission in New York. Each was staffed initially by diplomats from the last governments before USSR occupation.

All three countries are members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the European Union. Estonia is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. All three are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and maintain a very high Human Development Index.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_states .

German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II .

● Baltics ..

Cold Tensions - Baltic, Nordic ..

EU 2023 ..

European Geostrategic Projection ..

Funding NATO ..

Interbellum - Freikorps ..

Ruscism ..

Russia vs Baltics (NATO) ..

Comment a: Most of the Russians in the Baltic countries are migrants or descendants of these m. who came to the Baltic countries during the Soviet occupation (illegal migrants) against the will of the native Baltic peoples. Russians who were born in the Baltic countries after the Soviet occupation are given citizenships by birth. Migrants who came during the Soviet occupation must pass language and other citizenship tests to get citizenship of the country they are in. Claims that Russians suffer discrimination in the Baltic countries are propagandistic lies by the Russian government and Russian trolls.

Comment b: As a Russian from Latvia, I don't see non-citizenship as an issue. Most of Russians I know are citizens, others either are planning to apply for it or don't really care about it. And none of my friends think highly of current state of Russia. Yet, I must admit, Putin's propoganda is strong with older people, especially those who couldn't adapt to free market economy or live by Russian border.

Comment c: The situation in Ukraine in the Baltic States will not arise. At least the Russians here know that life in Estonia is much better. The main reason for the uprising in Ukraine was the poor economic situation. If Russia turned to the path of communism, there would be more nostalgics in the Baltics. No one wants to exchange capitalism for authoritarian capitalism.

Comment d: It could perhaps have done with a little more emphasis on the historical background. For example, I think it is important to emphasise that even though the Baltic states were part Soviet Union, they were never considered by most of the West to be legitimate Soviet republics. Instead, they were regarded as occupied states. They had been fully independent states in the interwar period. And the Russian presence there was the product of deliberate demographic engineering under Soviet rule to integrate them into the USSR.

Comment e (edited): Russia won't try anything against the Baltics because the Baltics are apart of NATO and direct confrontation with a NATO state means nuclear war. Even if NATO didn't respond with nukes, you'd have to be extremely foolish to risk that. It's the nuclear umbrella that keeps these states safe, not conventional military projection. Without it, the Baltics would have ended up like Ukraine, who desperately wished they joined NATO before Russia fucked them up. Nonetheless, the only threat Russia carries which keeps them relevant in geopolitics is the fact they stockpiled more nuclear weapons than anyone on Earth. Their military force without the nukes is indeed quite strong in concentrated areas near Russia, but it's projection capability is not even close to that of the U.S which most people fail to understand. Military conflict is much more about logistics, tech, and influence, not just statistics.

Comment - Lithuania WW2:
As an Lithuanian I need to explain some things:

1. Soviet terror in 1940-41 (mass arrests, deportations and killings of prisoners) alienated Baltic people against the Soviet regime. Nobody expected Soviets to be this cruel. For example, in Lithuania before 1940 Soviet Russia was perceived as a friendly state;

2. as a consequence, a lot of Latvians and Estonians join German forces in WWII and died in the war. Because of this, resistance against the Soviets in Latvia and Estonia after WWII was a little bit weaker;

3. Lithuanians were not willing to join Germans in WWII (there are many historical reasons why it went that way), therefore after the end of the War they had more manpower to resist the Soviets. Therefore in Lithuania resistance movement was the strongest and log lasting;

4. most of freedom fighters were simple men and women, there were very few officers (most of high-ranked military officers fled to Western Europe). As a consequence, many Lithuanian resistance leaders were not military officers, but teachers and etc. Still, Lithuanian resistance forces had quasi-military structure, statute and uniforms - because of this is very easy to recognize Lithuanian partisan photos;

5. the resistance was broken mainly not due direct fighting, but special intelligence operations and betrayals. It's estimated, that around 20-30 thousands of Lithuanian partisans and their supporters died in this struggle;

6. in Lithuania the armed resistance against the Soviets was important because: a) "saving the face" after impotent surrender of 1940 and showing the World that Lithuanians are not "OK" with Soviet occupation (shout out-to Finns for their timely and persistent fight for their freedom); b) It deterred Soviet colonization - Lithuania hast the lowest Russian population % in comparison to other Baltic states;

7. many of the most beautiful Lithuanian songs was written by partisans and their supporters (there was plenty of poets in this movement), and none - on the opposite side. In Soviet times and even now people sing partisan songs in Lithuania. It's a very important component of Lithuanian self-awareness, historical memory and cultural heritage.

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Monday, May 27, 2019

Baltics

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