The Baltic states are bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea, which gives the region its name, on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus, and on the southwest by Poland and an exclave of Russia. "We are aware of the fact that the Russian tanks, which are currently burning in Ukraine, were intended for a large-scale invasion of NATO countries, including Estonia," he said. 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. On the surface, everything looks fine. Author of. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. For its part, Washington has made a series of policy choices over the last few years that can be summed Show moreup as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. Many here worry that if Ukraine falls, they might be next. He would later be assassinated, but the political entity he created would endure. (thesis, University of Connecticut, 2013). Putins threat to respond to NATO with military-technical measures could easily involve the deployment of medium-range missiles, perhaps even nuclear-armed weapons, in Russias Kaliningrad exclave. Latvians, together with Livonians, who are another indigenous group in the country, make up 62% of the population. 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. Albania, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain contribute to the Canadian-led battlegroup in Latvia; Belgium, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway provide contributions to the German-led battlegroup in Lithuania; Denmark, France and Iceland contribute to the UK-led What does that mean for trade and globalization? Fifteen years ago, NATO opened its doors to the Baltic states. Around this time, Poles eclipsed Russians as the largest minority in Lithuania. 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, between Western and Central Europe and potential Bolshevik territorial ambitions. The radars will form part of the Baltic states' joint airspace surveillance . Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. The same legal interpretation is shared by the United States, the United Kingdom, and most other Western democracies,[citation needed] who held the forcible incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union to be illegal. [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 interwar period the three countries as well as Finland and Poland sometimes were collectively referred to as limitrophe states (from French language), as they together formed a "rim" along the western border of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. 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. Lithuania is the southernmost of the Baltic States. The Baltic States openly pursued Nato membership, following the signing of the Baltic Charter of . A spate of tit-for-tat expulsions has plunged ties between Russia and countries of the former Soviet bloc to their lowest point since the fall of Communism, prompting Moscow to accuse at least two of them of deliberately wrecking relations. The Baltic states consist of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Even within NATO, there are inner and outer circles. Troops were withdrawn from the region (starting from Lithuania) from August 1993. NATO needs to change too, writing a new strategic conceptin essence, the alliances manifestoto more clearly stress defense against and deterrence of a Russian attack in the region. Denmark has upended its previous defense posture, which discounted any need for territorial and regional defense. The Baltic States also had to develop new laws and constitutions so that they could make themselves into democratic states. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com, Latvias capital and largest city is Riga, Lithuanias capital and largest city is Vilnius, U.S. States Bordering The Most Other States, The 10 Wettest States In The United States Of America. NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: [25] Secondly, the dependence on single supplier Russia is not healthy both for economics and politics. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 30 independent member countries. After the Baltic states had restored their independence, integration with Western Europe became a major strategic goal. Relations between the United States and China seem to be getting frostier by the day. In the event of a Russian provocation, would Germany back deterrence or call for dialog and compromise? Edward Lucas is a nonresident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Liberal Democratic candidate for the British Parliament, a former senior editor at The Economist, and the author, most recently, of Cyberphobia: Identity, Trust, Security and the Internet. Washingtons commitment to Taiwan hasnt been sold to the American public. These funds are spent wisely, including on modern weaponry that could at least slow, and thus help deter, a Russian attack. Urmas Reinsalu. Once Russia has completed its conquest of Ukraine, that question will acquire . However, most Lithuanians, associated historically with Poland, are Roman Catholic. On 23 August 1989, the Baltic Way, a two-million-strong human chain, stretched for 600km from Tallinn to Vilnius. Each was staffed initially by diplomats from the last governments before USSR occupation. So-called peoples governments were subsequently installed in the three countries. Germany has backed the two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines along the Baltic seabed. All the Baltic states were once republics of the Soviet Union. In Latvia exists a small community of Finnic people related to the Estonians, composed of only 250 people, known as Livonians, and they live in the so-called Livonian Coast. Pop. And how might that be impacting the world? NATO cooperation . At least formally, most Western democracies never considered the three Baltic states to be constituent parts of the Soviet Union. [citation needed]. 6.2 United States. Russians are the largest minority group in the country, and make up 26.9% of the population. Its size and location would add crucial heft, but the other countries around the Baltic Sea are privately mistrustful of decision-makers in Berlin. 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. Ethnic Estonians make up 69% of the population. The three states have the highest productivity of the former constituent republics of the Soviet Union. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. The peoples in the Baltic states have together inhabited the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea for millennia, although not always peacefully in ancient times, over which period their populations, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian, have remained remarkably stable within the approximate territorial boundaries of the current Baltic states. 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. In the United States this momentous historical decision is commonly framed either as one of the greatest U.S. foreign policy achievements or an ill-advised move that diluted the alliance by taking on indefensible nations. After the end of the Cold War, NATO added 14 more members from 1999 to 2020. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. Combined, Poland plus the Nordic countries and three Baltic states have a greater GDP than Russias. [23] It was stated that from 2008, Baltic states experiences a positive change in their energy security score. Vilkauskaite, Dovile O. Both Western and Eastern Christianity had been introduced by the end of the first millennium. The Estonian (and Livonian) peoples, who are considered Finnic peoples, speak languages of the Finno-Ugric family and constitute the core of the southern branch of the Baltic Finns. This meaning is retained in the two modern Baltic languages, where baltas in Lithuanian and balts in Latvian mean 'white'. While separate peoples with their own customs and traditions, historical factors have introduced cultural similarities in and differences within them. Road closures were common, as were bouts of deafening nighttime noise. Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy is a shadow of its former self.. Indeed, the Baltic Sea lies mostly to the east of Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 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 Russian rule after the Third Partition of PolishLithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. Above all, NATO needs exercises. Violent incidents involving Soviet forces and the citizens of the Baltic States occurred during 1991, until Soviet hardliners attempted a coup to depose Gorbachev. The Baltics, former Soviet states, have watched with concern as Moscow tries to reassert influence across Eastern Europe. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. These units obviously cannot withstand a Russian assault; they are there to make sure the Kremlin knows an attack on the Baltic states would also be an attack on other NATO members. All Baltic states are now part of NATO and the European Union. Nobody in Polandor, for that matter, anyone else involved in the regions securitywould claim privately that defenses against Russia are adequate. 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. https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states, Stanford Libraries - The Baltic Way - The Baltic States 19182018, Research and Development Corporation - The Baltic States and NATO Membership, The Heritage Foundation - The Baltic States: The United States Must Be Prepared to Fulfill Its NATO Treaty Obligations, Baltic states - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Russians place flowers at burnt out tanks in Baltic cities, In Baltics, Poland, grassroots groups strive to help Ukraine, Baltic leaders: Olympic boycott possible if Russians compete. For the geographic region, see, "Baltics" redirects here. Baltic leaders have long pushed for a permanent basing of U.S. troops, seeing it as the ultimate deterrent against a Russian invasion. But even with those reinforcements, NATO forces in the Baltics likely could not defeat a large-scale Russian invasion, Baltic leaders warn. In 2002, the Baltic governments applied to join the European Union and become members of NATO. NATO allies have stationed so-called enhanced forward presence tripwire forces, roughly 1,000 troops strong, in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Cold War West Germany, for example, British and U.S. tanks would thunder across farmland, crushing hedges and ruining crops. In Baltics, Poland, grassroots groups strive to help Ukraine Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia three states on NATO's eastern flank scarred by decades of Soviet-era occupation have been among the top donors to Kyiv Show More Summary Read a brief summary of this topic Baltic states Agriculture remains important to the Baltic economy, with potatoes, cereal grains, and fodder crops produced and dairy cattle and pigs raised. Current exercises in the region are too small, too well scripted, and too devoid of complexity. In some cases, Russians took on the nationalities of their adopted Baltic countries and were thus counted among the ethnic majorities. Today, ethnic Russian immigrants from the former Soviet Union and their descendants make up a sizable particularly in Latvia (about one-quarter of the total population and close to one-half in the capital Riga) and Estonia (nearly one-quarter of the total population). Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. Although Russian is more widely spoken among older people the vast majority of young people are learning English instead with as many as 80 percent of young Lithuanians professing English proficiency, and similar trends in the other Baltic states. Especially, the high share of renewables were introduced to the energy production of Latvia, that can be explained by the state's geographical location and favorable natural conditions. Despite considerable political turmoil in Finland, no such authoritarian figure took power there. Planners are given many months to ensure that everything goes smoothly. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. 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. Read also: Hungary's Orban pushes for US-Russia talks on Ukraine, praises Merkel She said the fact . The Baltic states and Poland play their part too: Their defense budgets exceed the minimum 2 percent of GDP mandated by NATO. [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. [26] Therefore, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania play a significant role not only in consuming, but also in distribution of Russian energy fuels extracting transaction fees. 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. [26] So, the overall EU dependence on the Russia's energy supplies from the one hand and the need of Baltic states to import energy fuels from their closer hydrocarbon-rich neighbor creates a tension that could jeopardize the energy security of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. During a Baltics tour earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State. Between 1940 and 1953, the Soviet government deported more than 200,000 people from the Baltics to remote locations in the Soviet Union. It is bordered to the south by Latvia, to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the east by Russia, and to the west by the Baltic Sea. [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. Shortly after World War II began, Soviet leader Josef Stalin coerced the leaders of all three Baltic States into allowing Soviet troops into their countries. The Baltic countries were more interested in gaining access to the rest of the European market. standing, Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting, and the West has so far stayed resolute in its support of Ukraine. Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Baltic States are talking to NATO allies about increasing military deployments on their soil to deter Russia, Estonia's prime minister told Reuters on . Initially, attempts to Russify the Baltic peoples were overt, but later they were moderated as Russian immigration soared and the sheer weight of the immigrant numbers simply served to promote this objective in less-blatant ways. All are part of the European Union (EU) and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). For example, there is the British-U.S. intelligence-sharing agreement, which also includes the other so-called Five Eyes: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Even if there are several electricity interconnectors that connect the area with electricity-rich states (Estonia-Finland interconnector, Lithuania-Poland interconnector, Lithuania-Sweden interconnector), the pipeline supply of natural gas and tanker supply of oil are unreliable without modernization of energy infrastructure. A Polish exercise last year, despite making generous assumptions, ended with Polish forces being slaughtered in five days and the Russians poised to take Warsaw. These are Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, and they are located on the eastern shore of the Baltic sea. The Baltic states [a] or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. 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. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. It is therefore time to plug the gaping holes in air and missile defense as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Proper intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilitieswhich combine drone, sensor, and satellite capabilities with modern computing powercreate an unblinking eye that can look deep inside Russia, identifying what Kremlin forces are doing long before a crisis actually develops. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. Some of these are expensive, and the countries that need them most cannot afford them. [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. NATOs Article 5 pledges the alliance to defend its members. Interview with VOA on March 14, 2022. Like Ukraine, the three Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were once part of the Soviet Union. Private farms were confiscated, and farmers were made to join the collective farms. Generally, they shortly encountered the following problems: high inflation, high unemployment, low economic growth and high government debt. There are other countries that border the Baltic Sea, such as Poland, Finland, and Sweden, but when people refer to the Baltic States, they are usually just referring to the three countries that sit on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which are Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others beliefs. Two groups called the Samogitians and the Aukstaiciai became the Lithuanians, and five other groups would form the modern-day Latvian nation. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Baltic states struggled to make a transition to a market economy from the system of Soviet national planning that had been in place since the end of World War II. It therefore makes sense for the senior U.S. officer on the continentthe Supreme Allied Commander Europe, known as SACEURto have the political preauthorization they need to issue orders in circumstances short of war. During World War I, the Russian Revolution took place, bringing an end to the czarist Russian Empire. In June 1940, the Red Army occupied all of the territory of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and installed new, pro-Soviet puppet governments. In all three countries, Baltic partisans, known colloquially as the Forest Brothers, Latvian national partisans, and Lithuanian partisans, waged unsuccessful guerrilla warfare against the Soviet occupation for the next eight years in a bid to regain their nations' independence. 1 min read. 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. The United States has been regularly flying Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic-eavesdropping planes over Ukraine since late December. Many Estonians are non-religious or atheist. In 1385, through marriage to a Polish queen, the Lithuanian crown merged with that of Poland. Low energy supplies, inflationary prices, and an economic collapse in Russia contributed to an energy crisis in the Baltics in the 1990s. The black hole in the regions security is Germany. Culturally, the Estonians were strongly influenced by the Germans, and traces of the original Finnish culture have been preserved only in folklore. "If that happens, it might serve as a strong deterrent to any future attempts to carry out such (spying) activities, as they did with the feeling of impunity previously.". Like Latvia, Lithuania also had a large Jewish community, but it too was decimated by the Holocaust. The Baltic region is dotted with more than 7,000 lakes and countless peat bogs, swamps, and marshes. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of three Baltic states on 6 September 1991. The Kremlin this week complained of "mass anti-Russian psychosis" and President Vladimir Putin threatened foreign powers with an "asymmetric, fast and harsh" response if they crossed what Russia regards as its red lines. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Soviet rule ended in the Baltic countries in 19891991, 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. But its not just the United States. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Russian was the most commonly studied foreign language at all levels of schooling during the period of Soviet rule in 19441991. [16] This process contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, setting a precedent for the other Soviet republics to secede from the USSR. NATO Is Dangerously Exposed in the Baltic. 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. Yet below the surface, the regions defense and security arrangements, far from threatening Russia, look troublingly flimsy. If we want to be ready from the first minute of any kind of attack to defend our citizens, and if you want to give citizens of Latvia the same feeling of security as the citizens of France, Britain, Spain, (and) Germanythen there must be this permanent presence and more firepower and capabilities, Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks told VOA in an interview. Repressions, executions and mass deportations followed after that in the Baltics. 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. Considering some militants as instruments of regional influence while fighting others has had disastrous consequences. Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949, which sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II. Urban dwellers constitute more than two-thirds of the regions population, with the largest cities being Vilnius and Kaunas in southeastern Lithuania, the Latvian capital of Riga, and Tallinn on the northwestern coast of Estonia. These two non-NATO countries have close military ties with each other as well as NATO. VILNIUS, April 23 (Reuters) - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Friday joined a fast-growing list of NATO and EU members demanding the removal of Russian diplomats for alleged spying, in actions. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on. bleak warnings of the Baltic states about President . [18] Other exceptions included Sweden, which was the first Western country, and one of the very few to ever do so, to recognize the incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union as lawful.[19]. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. 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. Delivered Monday-Friday. The Baltic peoples efforts paid off, however, as by the beginning of the 21st century, the three countries enjoyed sustained economic growth, and would soon be admitted to both NATO and the European Union. The Baltic States were subsequently admitted to the United Nations. Most Lithuanians are adherents of Roman Catholicism. It would be good to test that assumption with realistic, hard exercises where decision-makers can practice surmounting the bureaucratic and physical obstacles hampering effectiveness in real time. Baltic states, northeastern region of Europe containing the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. Polish served a similar function in Lithuania. Because the three countries had been independent nations prior to their occupation by the Soviet Union, there was a strong feeling of national identity (often labeled "bourgeois nationalism" by the Communist Party) and popular resentment towards the imposed Soviet rule in the three countries, in combination with Soviet cultural policy, which employed superficial multiculturalism (in order for the Soviet Union to appear as a multinational union based on the free will of its peoples) in limits allowed by the communist "internationalist" (but in effect pro-Russification) ideology and under tight control of the Communist Party (those of the Baltic nationals who crossed the line were called "bourgeois nationalists" and repressed). NATO is a military alliance of twenty-eight European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense.The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows for the invitation of "other European States" only and by subsequent agreements.Countries wishing to join must meet certain requirements and complete a multi .