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Occupation of the Baltic states | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Secret Divisions of Europe —
Occupation of the Baltic states.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 8
Early in the morning of the 24th of August 1939, the Soviet Union and Germany signed a ten-year non-aggression pact. This agreement contained a secret protocol that divided Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Finland, Estonia, and Latvia were assigned to the Soviet sphere under this arrangement. Poland was to be partitioned if its political structure changed. The areas east of the Narev, Vistula, and San Rivers would go to the Soviet Union while Germany occupied the west. Lithuania, adjacent to East Prussia, initially fell within the German sphere of influence. A second secret protocol agreed in September 1939 assigned the majority of Lithuanian territory to the Soviet Union. Under these terms, Lithuania would regain its historical capital Vilnius, previously subjugated during the inter-war period by Poland.
Military Ultimatums And Puppet Regimes
Following the end of the Soviet invasion of Poland on the 6th of October, the Soviets pressured Finland and the Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance treaties. The Soviets questioned the neutrality of Estonia after the escape of an interned Polish submarine on the 18th of September. On the 24th of September, the Estonian foreign minister received an ultimatum demanding a treaty to establish military bases in Estonia. The Estonians were coerced to accept naval, air, and army bases on two Estonian islands and at the port of Paldiski. The corresponding agreement was signed on the 28th of September 1939. Latvia followed on the 5th of October 1939 and Lithuania shortly thereafter on the 10th of October 1939. These agreements permitted the Soviet Union to station 25,000 soldiers in Estonia, 30,000 in Latvia, and 20,000 in Lithuania starting October 1939. In May 1940, the Soviets turned to direct military intervention while intending to rule through puppet regimes. Their model was the Finnish Democratic Republic, a puppet regime set up by the Soviets on the first day of the Winter War.
Red Army Occupation And Forced Elections
On the 15th of June 1940, the Lithuanian government was extorted to agree to the Soviet ultimatum and permit entry of an unspecified number of Soviet troops. President Antanas Smetona proposed armed resistance but the government refused. The Soviets refused this proposal and sent Vladimir Dekanozov to take charge while the Red Army occupied the state. On the 16th of June 1940, Latvia and Estonia also received ultimatums. The Red Army occupied the two remaining Baltic states shortly thereafter. The Soviets dispatched Andrey Vyshinsky to oversee the takeover of Latvia and Andrey Zhdanov to Estonia. On 18 and the 21st of June 1940, new popular front governments were formed in each Baltic country. These governments were made up of Communists and fellow travelers under Soviet surveillance. They arranged rigged elections for new people's assemblies where voters were presented with a single list. No opposition movements were allowed to file candidates. To get the required turnout to 99.6%, votes were forged. A month later, when the new assemblies met, the sole item of business was a resolution to join the Soviet Union. In each case, the resolution passed by acclamation.
Nazi Invasion And Jewish Extermination
On the 22nd of June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. The Baltic states generally welcomed the German armed forces after being recently Sovietized by threats, force, and fraud. In Lithuania, a revolt broke out and an independent provisional government was established. As the German armies approached Riga and Tallinn, attempts to reestablish national governments were made. Such hopes soon evaporated and Baltic cooperation became less forthright or ceased altogether. The Germans aimed to annex the Baltic territories into the Third Reich where suitable elements would be assimilated and unsuitable elements exterminated. For administrative convenience, the Baltic states were included with Belorussia in the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The area was governed by Hinrich Lohse who was obsessed with bureaucratic regulations. Nazi racial attitudes directed policies not against the majority of Balts but rather against the Jews. Large numbers of Jews lived in major cities notably in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Riga. The German mobile killing units slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews. Einsatzgruppe A assigned to the Baltic area was the most effective of four units. German policy forced the Jews into ghettos. In 1943, Heinrich Himmler ordered his forces to liquidate the ghettos and transfer survivors to concentration camps.
Mass Deportations And Forest Brothers
The Soviets had previously carried out mass deportations in 1940, 41 but the deportations between 1944 and 1952 were even greater. In March 1949 alone, top Soviet authorities organized a mass deportation of 90,000 Baltic nationals. One estimate for the number of Lithuanians deported from 1945-1946 was 100,000. About 60,000 were estimated to have been deported from Latvia from 1945-1946. The total number deported in 1944, 55 has been estimated at over half a million: 124,000 in Estonia, 136,000 in Latvia and 245,000 in Lithuania. The estimated death toll among Lithuanian deportees between 1945 and 1958 was 20,000 including 5,000 children. The deportees were allowed to return after Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech in 1956 denouncing Stalinism excesses. However, many did not survive their years of exile in Siberia. After the war, the Soviets outlined new borders for the Baltic republics. Lithuania gained the regions of Vilnius and Klaipėda while the Russian SFSR annexed territory from eastern parts of Estonia and Latvia.
Demographic Engineering And Russification
Ethnic Estonians constituted 88 percent of the population before the war but in 1970 the figure dropped to 60 percent. Ethnic Latvians constituted 75 percent but the figure dropped to 57 percent in 1970 and further down to 50.7 percent in 1989. In contrast, the drop in Lithuania was only 4 percent. Thousands of non-indigenous administrators were imported at all levels in Lithuania with Russian settlers in particular. Even the native Lithuanian population included a group that lived in Russia making up 13% of ministers out of total indigenous percentage of 32% in 1947. Party membership continued to be heavily Russian long into the postwar period. During the last quarter of 1944, the Estonian Communist Party had only 56 members and recruitment in 1945 totaled a few hundred. The new Lithuanian Communist Party was only 38% Lithuanian in 1953. The Latvian Communist Party was 52% Latvian in 1949. Estonians made up 42% of Estonia's Communist Party in 1946.
Singing Revolution And Independence
The first major demonstrations against the environment were Riga in November 1986 and the following spring in Tallinn. Small successful protests encouraged key individuals and by end of 1988 the reform wing gained decisive positions in Baltic republics. At same time coalitions of reformists and populist forces assembled under Popular Fronts. The Supreme Soviet of Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic made Estonian language state language again in January 1989. Similar legislation was passed in Latvia and Lithuania soon after. The Baltic Way that took place on the 23rd of August 1989 became biggest manifestation of opposition to Soviet rule. In December 1989, Congress of People's Deputies of Soviet Union condemned Molotov, Ribbentrop Pact as legally untenable and invalid. On the 11th of March 1990, Lithuanian Supreme Soviet declared Lithuania's independence. Pro-independence candidates had received overwhelming majority in Supreme Soviet elections held earlier that year. On the 30th of March 1990, Estonian Supreme Soviet declared Soviet Union occupying power and announced start of transitional period to independence. On the 4th of May 1990, Latvian Supreme Soviet made similar declaration.
Troop Withdrawal And Final Legacy
The Russian Federation assumed burden and subsequent withdrawal of occupation force consisting of about 150,000 former Soviet now Russian troops stationed in Baltic states. In 1992 there were still 120,000 Russian troops there as well as large number of military pensioners particularly in Estonia and Latvia. Lithuania was first to see complete withdrawal of Russian troops on the 31st of August 1993 owing partly to Kaliningrad issue. Subsequent agreements to withdraw troops from Latvia were signed on the 30th of April 1994 and from Estonia on the 26th of July 1994. Final withdrawal completed on the 31st of August 1994. Some Russian troops remained stationed in Estonia in Paldiski until Russian military base dismantled and nuclear reactors suspended operations on the 26th of September 1995. Russia operated Skrunda-1 radar station until decommissioned on the 31st of August 1998. Work completed by October 1999 when site returned to Latvia. Last Russian soldier left region that month marking symbolic end to Russian military presence on Baltic soil.
When did the Soviet Union and Germany sign the non-aggression pact that divided Eastern Europe?
The Soviet Union and Germany signed a ten-year non-aggression pact on the 24th of August 1939. This agreement contained a secret protocol that assigned Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of influence.
What dates did the Red Army occupy the Baltic states in 1940?
The Red Army occupied Lithuania on the 15th of June 1940 and occupied Latvia and Estonia on the 16th of June 1940. New popular front governments were formed in each country between the 18th and the 21st of June 1940 under Soviet surveillance.
How many people were deported from the Baltic states during the mass deportations between 1944 and 1952?
Over half a million people were estimated to have been deported from the Baltic states between 1944 and 1952. The total included 124,000 from Estonia, 136,000 from Latvia, and 245,000 from Lithuania.
When did the Baltic Way protest take place and what was its significance?
The Baltic Way took place on the 23rd of August 1989 as the biggest manifestation of opposition to Soviet rule. This event involved millions of citizens forming a human chain across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to demand independence.
On which dates did the Baltic republics declare their independence from the Soviet Union in 1990?
Lithuania declared independence on the 11th of March 1990 while Estonia made a similar declaration on the 30th of March 1990. Latvia followed suit by declaring the Soviet occupation illegal on the 4th of May 1990.
When did Russia complete the withdrawal of military forces from the Baltic states?
Russia completed the final withdrawal of troops from the region on the 31st of August 1994 after signing agreements for Latvia and Estonia in 1994. The last Russian soldier left the area in October 1999 when the Skrunda-1 radar station was decommissioned.