Nationality Relations in Conflict: The Baltic Republics

The administration of the Baltic republics has always posed special problems for Moscow. The three main national communities in the area—the Latvians, the Lithuanians, and the Estonians—have existed as distinct peoples for several hundred years, and their principal cities have been centers of culture and learning since the Middle Ages. All three of the Baltic nations experienced strong national resurgence in the nineteenth century, and took advantage of World War I and the Russian Revolution to declare their independence. At the end of the war, after Germany’s defeat, the Versailles Conference recognized the existence of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, and all three were admitted into the new League of Nations. In June 1940, under threat of a Soviet invasion which was sure to result in thousands of civilian casualties, the governments of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia were forced to resign and hold elections in which only Communist candidates were permitted to participate.