They were also part of what Georges Clemenceau considered a strategic cordon sanitaire, the entire territory from Finland in the north to Romania in the south, standing between Western Europe and potential Bolshevik territorial ambitions. The first period of independence, 1918–1940 Īccording to the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact " the Baltic States (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)" were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (German copy)ĭuring the interwar period these countries were sometimes referred to as limitrophe states between the two World Wars, from the French, indicating their collectively forming a rim along Bolshevik Russia's, later the Soviet Union's, western border. Soviet rule ended in the Baltic countries in 1989–1991 as the newly elected parliaments of the three nations declared the Soviet occupation illegal, culminating with the full restoration of the independence of the three countries in August 1991. In 1941 followed the invasion and occupation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by Nazi Germany, before the Red Army reinvaded in 1944–1945 and the Soviet Union was able to regain control over the three countries until 1991. In 1940, all three countries were invaded, occupied and annexed by the Stalinist Soviet Union. The three countries were independent until the outbreak of World War II. Large parts of the Baltic countries were controlled by the Russian Empire until the final stages of World War I in 1918, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained their sovereignty. Estonia and northern part of Latvia were ceded by Sweden, and incorporated into the Russian Empire at the end of the Great Northern War in 1721, while most of the territory of what is now Lithuania came under the Russian rule after the Third Partition of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The greater part of the three modern states' territory was for the first time included in the same political entity when the Russian Empire expanded in the 18th century. The areas of what are now the independent Baltic countries have seen different regional and imperial affiliations during their existence. The term includes Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and originally also included Finland, which later became grouped among the Nordic countries. See also: History of Estonia, History of Latvia, History of Lithuania, and State continuity of the Baltic statesĪfter the First World War the term "Baltic states" came to refer to countries by the Baltic Sea that had gained independence from the Russian Empire. While the majority of the population both in Latvia and Lithuania are indeed Baltic peoples ( Latvians and Lithuanians), the majority in Estonia ( Estonians) are culturally and linguistically Finnic. The term "Baltic states" ("countries", "nations", or similar) cannot be used unambiguously in the context of cultural areas, national identity, or language. There is also frequent cooperation in foreign and security policy, defence, energy, and transportation. The three governments engage in intergovernmental and parliamentary cooperation. The three sovereign states on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea are sometimes referred to as the "Baltic nations", less often and in historical circumstances also as the "Baltic republics", the "Baltic lands", or simply the Baltics.Īll three Baltic countries are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and maintain a very high Human Development Index. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The Baltic states ( Estonian: Balti riigid Latvian: Baltijas valstis Lithuanian: Baltijos valstybės) or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
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