The Baltic phoenix
The Baltic phoenix
Author(s): Grzegorz SzymborskiSubject(s): Political history, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), History of Communism, Post-Communist Transformation, Geopolitics
Published by: Kolegium Europy Wschodniej im. Jana Nowaka-Jeziorańskiego we Wrocławiu
Keywords: Baltic states; independence; struggle for historical truth; anti-Soviet tendencies; social movements; forced inclusion into Soviet Union;
Summary/Abstract: Anti-Soviet tendencies on the Baltic coast exploded at the time of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika. The desire for independence and the struggle for historical truth in the Baltic republics spawned social movements which emphasised the statehoods of the Baltic states, deprived as the result of the USSR’s invasion in 1940. With Soviet military bases already present in the suppressed countries since the autumn of 1939, any resistance against an impending conquest was pointless. The states were obliged to make concessions to the overwhelming protector, leading to their forced inclusion into the Soviet Union. Some states, such as Germany and Sweden, accepted that incorporation. The subjugation was nonetheless disregarded by many countries, including the United States which strongly opposed the invasion, claiming they accept this new situation de facto but not de jure.
Journal: New Eastern Europe
- Issue Year: 2021
- Issue No: 03 (46)
- Page Range: 20-27
- Page Count: 8
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF