Around this time, Poles eclipsed Russians as the largest minority in Lithuania. [12] Over 190,000 Lithuanian Jews, nearly 95% of Lithuania's pre-war Jewish community, and 66,000 Latvian Jews were murdered. Latvias capital and largest city is Riga, located on the countrys northern coast, on the Gulf of Riga. Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko. Australia was a brief exception to this support of Baltic independence: in 1974, the Labor government of Australia did recognize Soviet dominion, but this decision was reversed by the next Australian Parliament. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. A French soldier takes part in NATO military drills as part of the alliance's Enhanced Forward Presence deployment in Poland and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, at the . [23], Estonia usually was the best performing country in terms of energy security, but new assessment shows that even though Estonia has the highest share of renewables in the energy production, its energy economy has been still characterized by high rates of carbon intensity. But with NATO and Russia each blaming the other for creating instability in Eastern Europe, that may be a difficult task. Denmark has upended its previous defense posture, which discounted any need for territorial and regional defense. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. In August 1940, all three Baltic States were made Soviet republics, which meant that they became part of the USSR. In 1940, all three countries were invaded, occupied and annexed by the Stalinist Soviet Union. [35] There are several theories about its origin, most of which trace it to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root *bhel[36] meaning 'white, fair'. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. Currently, the governments of the Baltic states cooperate in multiple ways, including cooperation among presidents, parliament speakers, heads of government, and foreign ministers. The small Baltic countries, whose militaries have long been dwarfed by that of neighboring Russia, are renewing their push for NATO to establish a larger and more permanent presence on their territory following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. Washington jealously guards its best intelligencefor example, anything involving Russian submarines. [25] Secondly, the dependence on single supplier Russia is not healthy both for economics and politics. In 2002, the Baltic governments applied to join the European Union and become members of NATO. Poles are the largest minority, making up 6.6% of the countrys population. Read also: Ukrainians not prepared to forego EU and NATO membership in exchange for peace, survey shows. NATO has 12 original founding member states. Russian cyberattacks and sub-threshold warfare are already evident; Sweden, for example, is worried by mysterious drone flights. [4][5], All three Baltic countries experienced a period of authoritarian rule by a head of state who had come to power after a bloodless coup: Antanas Smetona in Lithuania (19261940), Krlis Ulmanis in Latvia (19341940), and Konstantin Pts during the "era of silence" (19341938) in Estonia, respectively. NATO also has overwhelming air power superiority that would factor into any battle with Russia in the Baltics, Plesch pointed out. Now, Jews comprise just 0.2% of the Latvian population. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. The Baltics, former Soviet states, have watched with concern as Moscow tries to reassert influence across Eastern Europe. NATO Is Dangerously Exposed in the Baltic. Many Baltic leaders hope a permanent NATO presence will be discussed this week when U.S. President Joe Biden visits Brussels, Belgium, for meetings with NATO and other European leaders. There is now little doubt that Putin failed in his initial goals: Kyiv is still Show morestanding, Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting, and the West has so far stayed resolute in its support of Ukraine. [23] Other studies add other indicators to this list: diversification of energy suppliers, energy import dependence and vulnerability of political system. All three are today liberal democracies, with unicameral parliaments elected by popular vote for four-year terms: Riigikogu in Estonia, Saeima in Latvia and Seimas in Lithuania. Want to read more on this topic or region? By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy. Ethnic Estonians make up 69% of the population. In June 1940, the Red Army occupied all of the territory of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and installed new, pro-Soviet puppet governments. cohesion and regional cooperation among the Baltic states. [27], The calculations take into account not only economic, but also technological and energy-related factors: Energy and carbon intensity of transport and households, trade balance of total energy, energy import dependency, diversification of energy mix, etc. [9][10] The Soviet Union attempted to Sovietize its occupied territories, by means such as deportations and instituting the Russian language as the only working language. During World War I, the Russian Revolution took place, bringing an end to the czarist Russian Empire. [39] Since World War II the term has typically been used to group the three countries Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. [41][42] After World War I, the new sovereign states that emerged on the east coast of the Baltic Sea Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland became known as the Baltic states. Delivered Thursday. Industry in the Baltic states is prominent, especially the production of food and beverages, textiles, wood products, and electronics and the traditional stalwarts of machine building and metal fabricating. Delivered Wednesday. (In a countermove, Poland has just built a pipeline to Norway to secure another source of gas.) Putins proposed veto on enlarging NATO any further directly infringes on the sovereignty and security of Finland and Sweden, which have for years maintained that though they do not wish to join the alliance right now, they have the right to apply should they choose to. In Latvia and Estonia, the president is elected by parliament, while Lithuania has a semi-presidential system whereby the president is elected by popular vote. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. In fact, glacial deposits in the form of eskers, moraines, and drumlins occur in profusion and tend to disrupt the drainage pattern, which results in frequent flooding. Experts are mixed when it comes to predicting whether NATO will establish a permanent presence in the Baltics anytime soon. Russia While separate peoples with their own customs and traditions, historical factors have introduced cultural similarities in and differences within them. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. FPs Ravi Agrawal spoke with two of the very best Russia experts:Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author ofPutins World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest, and Michael Kofman, the research program director of the Russia studies program at the Center for Naval Analyses. Planners are given many months to ensure that everything goes smoothly. The languages of the three Baltic peoples belong to two distinct language families. [38] Terms related to modern name Baltic appear in ancient texts, but had fallen into disuse until reappearing as the adjective Baltisch in German, from which it was adopted in other languages. During the Cold War, the United States alleviated European security fears by positioning tactical nuclear weapons in countries such as Germany, pointed out Dan Plesch, a professor of diplomacy at the SOAS University of London. Twitter:@edwardlucas. Malowist, M. The Economic and Social Development of the Baltic Countries from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries.. 6.3 France. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania each adopted the euro as its common currency in 2011, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Estonia adopted the euro currency in January 2011, Latvia in January 2014, and Lithuania in January 2015. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. There is no common maritime strategy, though control of the Baltic Sea in a crisis will determine what happens on land. The two other headquarters are in Poland. Latvia performed the best according to all indicators. Explore this interactive map to discover how NATO works and how it responds to today's security challenges Since 1991, NATO has been an organization designed for peace, not wara dangerously outdated assumption. Create an FP account to save articles to read later and in the FP mobile app. Is Weiss correct? Considering some militants as instruments of regional influence while fighting others has had disastrous consequences. The Czechs are embroiled in the biggest row of all, which looks set to involve the departure of dozens of Czech and Russian diplomats and was prompted by Czech allegations that Russian intelligence was behind a deadly explosion at an ammunication depot in 2014. read more. The best way to increase the internal and external credibility of defense is to practice using difficult scenarios in real time. These are Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, and they are located on the eastern shore of the Baltic sea. The Baltic states are bounded on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus,on the south. [6] Some controversy surrounds the Baltic authoritarian rgimes due to the general stability and rapid economic growth of the period (even if brief), some commenters avoid the label "authoritarian"; others, however, condemn such an "apologetic" attitude, for example in later assessments of Krlis Ulmanis. Since the decline of Russian influence and integration into the European Union economy, English has become the most popular second language in the Baltic states. Moreover, several routes of oil delivery also have been sustained from Soviet times: These are ports in Ventspils, Butinge and Tallinn. The Balts came to settle large portions of modern-day Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and northern Poland. However, those agreements can be regarded in significant part as null and void given Russian actions, Plesch said. Each of the three countries has declared itself to be the restoration of the sovereign nation that had existed from 1918 to 1940, emphasizing their contention that Soviet domination over the Baltic states during the Cold War period had been an illegal occupation and annexation. All Baltic states are now part of NATO and the European Union. up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. EPA-EFE/Sergey Dolzhenko. Indeed, the Baltic Sea lies mostly to the east of Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Edgars Rinkvis, Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaks to VOA on March 18, 2022. What followed after the Baltic States regained their independence was economic turmoil, as these countries tried to transition their economies to capitalism. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. You may opt out at any time. For discussion of the physical and human geography as well as the history of individual countries in the region, see Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As the Russian military buildup around Ukraine raises fears of a broader East-West security crisis, NATO allies are hastening to bolster the Baltic states defenses while non-NATO members Sweden and Finland are tightening their ties with the alliance. Other countries in the region see them as a grave threat, entrenching the Kremlins dominance of the regions energy supply. Polish served a similar function in Lithuania. Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. The depth of Russia's bitterness over its treatment by former allies was reflected in a foreign ministry statement on Friday after Moscow had summoned the Polish ambassador for a dressing-down. Above all, NATO needs exercises. [39] During the 19th century, Baltic started to supersede Ostsee as the name for the region. Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 allowed the Baltic states to place controls on immigration, and, in the decade following, the Russian presence in Baltic life diminished. Once Russia has completed its conquest of Ukraine, that question will acquire . Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. NATO exercises used to be different: harder, bigger, and costlier. Is that what is going to satisfy (Baltic) security concerns? Plesch asked in an interview with VOA. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, the Baltic peoples came under siege from all directions. Such rhetoric makes it appear unlikely that Russia - which has yet to announce its response to the Slovak and Baltic moves - will allow the disputes to quietly subside. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. These differing threat assessments and political approaches are obstacles to everything else. With Ben Hodges, a former U.S. Army commander in Europe and now my colleague at the Center for European Policy Analysis, I have spent the past year deep in the weeds, looking at the problems of Baltic Sea regional security and how to fix them. The underlying geology is sandstone, shale, and limestone, evidenced by hilly uplands that alternate with low-lying plains and bear mute testimony to the impact of the glacial era. [38] This change was a result of the Baltic German elite adopting terms derived from Baltisch to refer to themselves.[39][40]. (when Erastothenes mentioned Baltia in an Ancient Greek text) and possibly earlier. About a quarter of Latvias population is nonreligious. Watchthe conversation onFP Live, the magazines forum for live journalism, orreada condensed transcript. NATOs small air policing deploymenttypically just four warplanes based in Estonia or Lithuaniais there to deal with peacetime problems, such as airspace intrusions, not to fight off the Russian Air Force. In late January, U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters arrived in Estonia as part of a wide-ranging reassurance effort. Three more members joined between 1952 and 1955, and a fourth new member joined in 1982. Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. NATO Is Dangerously Exposed in the Baltic, Want to read more on this topic or region? For everyone living around the Baltic Sea, it will be better to find their shortcomings early and fix them than to wait until the enemy is at the gates. [14] During the Cold War, Lithuania and Latvia maintained legations in Washington DC, while Estonia had a mission in New York City. Other countries are much later to the party and more cautious in what they sayand thats before you get to the huge problem of Germany. Analysis: Aside from the Baltic Sea to the west, the Baltic States are bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the east by Russia, to the southeast by Belarus, and to the southwest by territory belonging to Belarus and Poland. [25] Finally, the low technological enhancement results in slow adaptation of new technologies, such as construction and use of renewable sources of energy. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were considered to be under Soviet occupation by the United States, the United Kingdom,[13] Canada, NATO, and many other countries and international organizations. Additional information on the regions physical and human geography can be found in the article Europe. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 15:16. Officially, its Russian equivalent (Pribaltiyskiy) was first used in 1859. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others beliefs. [1] The three governments engage in intergovernmental and parliamentary cooperation. Coauthor of, Professor of Geography, University of Waterloo, Ontario. Rewriting the rules on data-sharing with non-NATO members Sweden and Finland would maximize the usefulness of these insights. [23] It was stated that from 2008, Baltic states experiences a positive change in their energy security score. These three countries each have their own distinct language and culture, however, their histories often overlap. Despite schooling available and administration conducted in local languages, Russian-speaking settlers were neither encouraged nor motivated to learn the official local languages, so knowledge of some Russian became a practical necessity in daily life in Russian-dominated urban areas. Updates? The Baltic states - together with Slovakia, which ordered out three Russians on Thursday - appeared to be responding to an appeal this week from the Czech Republic for European Union and NATO allies to show solidarity in removing Russian spies. Germany has backed the two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines along the Baltic seabed. In all three countries virtually everyone among the titular nationalities speaks the native tongue as their first language, which is remarkable in light of the massive Russian immigration to the Baltic states during the second half of the 20th century. Its not clear what a more permanent NATO presence in the Baltics would entail in terms of weapons. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. The main trading partners outside the region are Russia, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. The Baltics are the only former Soviet states that have joined the EU and NATO, and provided an example to the likes of Ukraine over a possible route to European integration. The Baltic region is not rich in natural resources. In autumn 2022, Estonia like other Baltic countries, restricted travel over its land borders from Russia. IR scholars think Moscow is likely to use military force, but they suggest Washington should exercise restraint. This meaning is retained in the two modern Baltic languages, where baltas in Lithuanian and balts in Latvian mean 'white'. Military Some emphasise that the events in Lithuania differed from the other two countries, with Smetona having different motivations as well as securing power eight years before any such events in Latvia or Estonia took place. The Soviet Union conducted a policy of Russification by encouraging Russians and other Russian-speaking ethnic groups of the Soviet Union to settle in the Baltics. Baltic states, northeastern region of Europe containing the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Delivered Friday. Author of. [38][needs update], Since the Middle Ages, the Baltic Sea has appeared on maps in Germanic languages as the equivalent of 'East Sea': German: Ostsee, Danish: stersen, Dutch: Oostzee, Swedish: stersjn, etc. By one estimate from Harvard University, more than 130,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or severely wounded, in addition to the deaths of more than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians.