The book approaches the history of Latvia from the earlist traces of human habitat to the present. It is a rather detailed analysis blending methods of political history, social history, economic history, international relations, nationalities studies, etc. and tackling the main lines of history of all communities living or which have lived in Latvia.
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This book is the result of fruitful cooperation between Romanian and Lithuanian historians belonging to four university centers. It approaches from a variety of angles the history of Lithuania from the first settlement of the Baltic tribes on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea to present. The first chapter deals with the earliest history of Lithuania, its highlights being on the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the political, economic, cultural and social history of Lithuania under the Gedimid dynasty and the Christianization of Lithuanians, the last pagans of Europe, in 1387. The second chapter brings to the readers’ attention the personal union between Lithuania and Poland set up when the grand dukes of the former occupied also the throne of Poland. It emphasizes the role of Jogaila and Vytautas as the main characters of the story, but the aim is a larger one: it discusses the economic, social, political and foreign policy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania up to the middle of 16th century. The Union of Lublin and its consequences to Lithuania are dealt with in the third chapter which also points out to the vices inscribed in the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth leading to the three divisions of Poland taking place at the end of the 18th century. The Lithuanians largely fell under Russian domination and shared in the fate of the Poles alongside which they struggled to re-establish the Union of Lublin. The aim of separating from the Russian domination was unsuccessful until the end of the First World War. The forth chapter presents the history of Lithuanians under Russian rule and explains the reasons for which the Russians decided to close down in 1832 the University of Vilnius and ban the Lithuanians the use of Latin alphabet between 1864 and 1904. The fifth chapter approaches the achievement of independence by Lithuania and the main lines of the political, social, economical and cultural interwar developments. The book highlights the consequences of the land reform, explains the failure of the democratic system, assesses the Lithuanian foreign policy especially with regard to Poland, Russia and Germany and explains the circumstances of Lithuania’s annexation by the Soviet Union. The implications of Soviet and German occupation regimes (1940-1990) were deep both on the majority and minority inhabitants of the country. The main developments in this respect are analyzed in the sixth and seventh chapters. They describe the implementation of the Soviet system in Lithuania in 1940-1941 and 1944-1990, the deportation of waves of tens of thousands of people to Soviet Union during Stalinism, the massacre of Jewish minority of Lithuania under German rule, the social, economic, cultural developments under Soviet domination, the birth of the dissident movement etc. and place emphasis on the Lithuanian devolution from the Soviet empire. The last chapter approaches the history of the second Lithuanian republic, its internal and external politics and highlights the integration within the EU and the NATO.
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Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice/The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies is a biannual double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing the results of research in all fields which are intertwined with the aims of The Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies such as: History of Baltic and Nordic Europe; Baltic and Nordic Europe in International Relations; Baltic and Nordic Cultures and Civilizations; Economics of Baltic and Nordic Europe; Relations between Romania and the Baltic and Nordic Europe; Relations and links between the Black and Baltic sea; The journal has been established with the aim of fostering research and dialogue among scholars working in Romania and abroad in fields of research related to the interests of the Association. In the interest of pluralism, Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice/The Romanian Review for Baltic and Nordic Studies accepts contributions in English or any other major European languages. In order to promote the knowledge of the Baltic and Nordic languages and cultures in South-Eastern Europe, additional issues of the journal will be published on the internet with articles in any of the Baltic or Nordic languages or in Romanian, case in which a different ISSN and numbering system will be used. The general submission guidelines apply in this case two, except for the English language abstracts which must consist of some 300 to 400 words. We are eager and honored to open our pages to all both senior and young scholars engaged in studies regarding the Baltic and Nordic Europe and Romania’s relations with these regions, along with any reviews on other published books and articles calling attention. Our journal will also host reviews of any scholarly events focusing on any of the themes of the Association
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