Russia and the Baltics: A Troubled Relationship

Emboldened by fourteen years of independence and recent membership into the European Union, the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are now looking to take on the legal successor of their occupier, the Russian Federation. Russia on the other hand still considers the Baltic Nations as being within Moscow’s “sphere of influence.” With a more European outlook, the Baltics are looking for retribution from Russia for what is seen as injustices of the Soviet past and at the same time busy wiping themselves off Soviet vestiges and legacies, which include the Russian language and a large community of native Russian speakers. Russian ambitions to recapture long-lost global clout promise to add more tension to its volatile relationship with all three Baltic Nations.

Ajay Kamalakaran
Russia - 14/04/2005
  Centuries of Occupation

Latvia, which is the most vocal opponent of Russia, has the longest history of foreign domination. The region that now forms Latvia was under Polish occupation from 1561 till 1620 and then under Sweden for another hundred years. After the Great Northern War (1700-21), Latvia became the Russian Empire’s prized acquisition. Latvia as a distinct political entity existed only from the end of World War I till 1941, when Soviet troops occupied the country and incorporated the country into the USSR. Nazi Germany occupied the country from 1941-45 and the Soviet Union recaptured the country in 1945.

Lithuania was a powerful state from the 14th to 16th century and was a powerful threat to Moscow. In the 18th century, Russia, Austria and Prussia swallowed the country. Like Latvia, Lithuania took advantage of the 1918 Bolshevik Revolution to declare independence from Russia, and like their Baltic cousin was taken over by the USSR in 1940 and Nazi Germany from 1941-45 till the return of the Soviet Union.

Estonia was also incorporated into the Russian Empire after the Great Northern War and achieved independence in 1920, when the USSR renounced all territorial claims to the nation. Estonia also went from Soviet to Nazi to Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1945. All three countries became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR.

Russian History books maintain that all three Baltic Nations were "democratically" incorporated into the USSR in 1940 after "free elections" were held. These elections were held after the Soviet Army occupied these countries and were never accepted as legitimate by the international community.

A 1939 pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany called the Molotov-Ribbentop pact emboldened Stalin to occupy the three Baltic Nations. Other direct consequences of the pact included the German invasion of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetland and Poland. All three Baltic Nations recently called for Russia to renounce the pact, the same way Germany did. This request has added fuel to the fire of the cold war between Russia and these nations.

Historical Grievances

Russia under Boris Yeltsin tried to sweep the Soviet past under the carpet in a bid to invite Western financial aid. During the Yeltsin years Russian pride fell along with the economic crises. It was only after Vladimir Putin’s stabilising tenure as president began that the Russian establishment started priding itself on the Soviet past.

The Baltic Nations since attaining independence formed commissions to highlight what they termed as "the darkest days" in their history. A recent report prepared by the Latvian Foreign Ministry on the history of Latvia has little if no good things to say about the USSR of Latvia’s years in the now defunct-union. Besides claiming that the USSR destroyed their local cultures and languages, the atrocities of Soviet rule are highlighted by all three nations.

Latvia claims that 175,000 Latvians were killed or deported after the Red Army entered Riga. Lithuania claims that 200,000 of its citizens suffered the same fate with Estonia citing 60,000 of its citizens bore the brunt on Soviet rage. Moscow counters these claims by saying that the USSR only tried and executed/deported war criminals and nazi-collaborators. It’s no secret that each Baltic Nation took part in the extermination of Jews and ethnic Russians during Nazi occupation. In fact all three countries had units of the dreaded Nazi Secret Service.

The Baltic Countries have been extremely uncomfortable with celebrations of the fall of Nazism as that marked what they see as another "inhumane occupation." The Anti-Russia stance has been so high in these countries that both Estonia and Latvia set up monuments honouring their compatriots who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers. It was pressure from the European Union that led to these monuments being dismantled.

Moscow has also expressed discomfort with what it sees as the Baltic Nations equating Josef Stalin with Adolf Hitler. A senior Russian diplomat filed a strong protest with the Latvian Government after a visit to a Riga Museum which had a Stalin exhibit placed next to a Hitler one. Lithuania and Estonia have repeatedly insisted that Russia apologise for Soviet atrocities and called for a renunciation of the Molotov-Ribbentop pact.

Russia insists that the Baltic Nations were "members" of the Soviet Union and not colonies in the empire. The Russian Government, on many occasions, has appealed to the Baltic Nations to acknowledge the role the USSR’s role in rebuilding the nations after World War 2. Moscow prides itself on the fact that the modern infrastructure seen in the Baltics was all built by the USSR and that the country invested billions of dollars from 1940 to 1991.

Ethnic Russians and the Russian Language

Ethnic Russians form the largest minority in all three Baltic Nations. Their plight hasn’t been helped by the fact that Russia looks to safeguard their interests. Russia has on many occasions insisted that Estonia and Latvia violate European standards. "There is a whole list of government institutions and NGOs monitoring the situation that conclude that it [the position of Russian speaking minorities] does not meet European standards," the Russian presidential envoy for relations with the European Union, Sergei Yastrzhembsky said in January 2005. "The position of our compatriots in Latvia and Estonia remains a permanent subject in our contacts with the EU," he added. These references to Russian speakers as "compatriots" have only made life more difficult for the ethnic Russians. While the Baltic people have not overtly discriminated against what many people would look upon as vestiges of a colonial era, the Russian speakers express growing dissatisfaction with their lives.

In Estonia, Russian speakers account for about one third of its 1.4 million people, while they make up just some six percent of Lithuania's population of 3.5 million. However, one third of Latvia’s 2.3 million residents are ethnic Russians. Latvia denied the opportunity to naturalise to non-citizen residents, as settlers and their descendants were classed, until 1998, since when naturalisation rates have been slow. Non-citizens number around 22 percent of Latvia's population, including some 107,000 people aged 25 or under. In a bid to make Russians learn Latvian, in 2004, 300 Russian-language schools were ordered by the Latvian Government to convert to using Latvian as the main teaching language. This has created a greater sense of resentment among these stateless people.

In 2002, all three Baltic Nations joined NATO and two years later, they joined the European Union. Memberships of these elite bodies are looked upon as permanent guarantees of independence from Russia, but these organisations have insisted that the human rights of Russian speakers be looked after. Russian speakers have in many occasions claimed to have been looked upon as outcastes. An ethnic Russian told an AFP reporter in 2003 that "Non-ethnic Latvians are separated from important decisions. Quite often there's an ethnic inner circle which is granted first look at state and municipal orders."

However an indifferent attitude towards the language of their country has only made life more difficult for ethnic Russians. "We are Russians and why should we study Biology in Latvian," was Anna’s reply to a question on why she opposes Latvian as a medium of instruction. Anna, who is extremely fluent in English, also refuses to move to Russia. Russians have to a large extent reached a parochial status in the Baltics. A World Bank study of the 3 Baltic Nations in 2000 showed that native Russian speakers were twice as likely to be unemployed, while they are also disproportionately represented among prostitutes and prisoners

The Latvian (and Estonian and Lithuanian) Government’s policy towards the Russian language might even harm its own citizens. A 2003 survey in the three countries revealed that 80% of Baltic Citizens could fluently speak Russian. If the Baltic Governments shun the Russian language altogether, there citizens would definitely stand a competitive edge that they enjoy over other Europeans who are trying to be a part of Russia’s economic revival.

May 9 Celebrations

Another contentious issue between Russia and the Baltic Nations is Moscow’s grand plans to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender in World War 2. Recently, Lithuania’s and Estonia’s Presidents declined invitations to attend the ceremonies in Moscow. Russia mildly expressed regret about the declinations.

A confrontation with Latvia looks likely on May 9 when several world leaders and heads of state visit Moscow. Latvia’s President openly accepted the invitation but threaten to stir a hornet’s nest by stating that she would set speak and set the record straight about the Baltics. President Vike-Frieberga said that it is impossible to change the conscience of older Russians, who "on May 9, will put dried fish on a newspaper, drink vodka and sing 'ethnic songs' and remember their heroic conquest of the Baltic countries." The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the remarks and stated that the words sounded like more like those of a woman wanting to settle a "domestic squabble."

Emboldened by her country’s membership into NATO and the European Union and unquestioned support of American global policies, the president has decided to “take on the Russians.” A confrontational attitude is unlikely to make Russia denounce the USSR the way Germany denounces its Nazi past. European observers have called on both sides to "permanently bury the hatchet."

The Road Ahead

The future of Russian-Baltic relations has a lot of promise, provided an atmosphere of trust is created. Moscow has shown an eagerness to settle all border disputes with the Baltic Nations on the lines of its recent settlement of a border dispute with China. Russia is also holding strong negotiations with the European Union and Lithuania for transit rights through the latter for citizens of Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave.

Russia is still a major trading partner of all three nations and (to the dismay of certain hawks), a neighbour. The iron curtain collapsed fourteen years ago and the Baltics have no reason to fear Russia or Russian domination. With the world getting smaller and closer, the independent Baltic Nations would be best served by acting as a bridge that connects Russia with the West.

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