The Baltic States : the national self-determination of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

The Baltic States examines the struggles of the Baltic peoples for national self-determination. It is divided into two parts. Part one explores their nationalist awakening, how the realization of national self-determination during the inter-war years of independent statehood manifested itself, and the impact that fifty years of subsequent incorporation into the Soviet Union has had on Baltic politics and national cultures. Part two examines the nationalist reawakening in the late 1980s, the re-establishment of Baltic national self-governance in 1990-91 and the problems that these countries now face as sovereign entities. In 1991, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the three small Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania rejoined the world community of nation-states. This struggle for national self-determination was not new, however: indeed, for the Baltic peoples, it has been a recurring theme throughout the twentieth century. In the first part of this book we examine the development of this national awakening and the establishment of these nation-states during the interwar years, and how, despite loss of independence, fifty years of incorporation into the Soviet Union did not mean an end to national dissent. In the second part we examine the more recent transition towards Baltic national self-determination, the role that local nationalisms played in this resurgence, and the problems that all three countries now face in having resecured their political status as sovereign states Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: The Baltic Nations and National Self-Determination....Pages 1-9 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Nationalism and Socialism in Historical Perspective....Pages 13-40 Interwar Statehood: Symbol and Reality....Pages 41-68 Incorporation: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact....Pages 69-85 The Baltic States as Soviet Republics: Tensions and Contradictions....Pages 86-117 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 The Resurgence of Nationalism....Pages 121-143 The Political Leadership....Pages 144-157 Economic Restructuring....Pages 158-180 Statehood, Ethnic Relations and Citizenship....Pages 181-205 Back Matter....Pages 206-214 in 1991, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the three small Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania rejoined the world community of nation-states. This struggle for national self-determination was not new however; indeed, for the Baltic peoples, it has been a recurring theme throughout the twentieth century. The first part of this book examines the development of this national awakening and the establishment of these nation-states during the interwar years, and how, despite loss of independence, fifty years of incorporation into the Soviet Union did not mean an end to national dissent. Because it is customary to think in terms of nation-states, it is easy to slip into the anachronsim of saying that in the eighteenth century Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were incorporated into the Russian Empire.