More ways to stay updated on global news: By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. 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 . Estonian soldiers take part in a drill as part of NATO's "Enhance Forward Presence" operation at an army camp near Rakvere on Feb. 6. . The three Baltic countries of Northern Europe have long been allies of the United States and valued members of the NATO community. [citation needed] During the occupation the Nazi authorities carried out ghettoisations and mass killings of the Jewish populations in Lithuania and Latvia. In late January, U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters arrived in Estonia as part of a wide-ranging reassurance effort. Estonia had already obtained autonomy from tsarist Russia in 1917, and declared independence in February 1918, but was subsequently occupied by the German Empire until November 1918. NATO established a plan to defend the Baltic states after the Russian annexation of the Crimea in . By the l8th century, however, Russia began seizing territory in the Baltics. [14] During the Cold War, Lithuania and Latvia maintained legations in Washington DC, while Estonia had a mission in New York City. It starts with the Wests attitude to Russia. 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. You may opt out at any time. 1 min read. Each country guards its national decision-making jealously. [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. The Baltic states[a] or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Vikings from Scandinavia, Slavs from the east, and Germanics from the west conquered most of the territory that now comprises the Baltic States, except Lithuania. 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 that have infuriated Moscow and look certain to provoke further retaliation. Lithuanias official language is Lithuanian, which is an East Baltic language related to Latvian. Before WWII, Estonians made up 88% of the population, but between 1945 and 1989, their percentage of the population dropped to just 61%. 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. But the Holocaust decimated the Latvian Jewish community. Seven ex-Soviet bloc states have now ejected Russians, Explusions gather pace after Czech call for solidarity, Moscow complains of attempts to wreck relations. Urmas Reinsalu. Denmark has upended its previous defense posture, which discounted any need for territorial and regional defense. At bases elsewhere in Europe and the United States, 8,500 U.S. military personnel are on heightened alert, ready to deploy to the region as part of NATOs 40,000-strong Response Force. In the 20th century, the United States refused to recognize the Soviet Union's claim on Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and supported the restoration of their independence in 1991. 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. In August 1940, all three Baltic States were made Soviet republics, which meant that they became part of the USSR. 02/10/2022. One of the most important documents that the EU applied to improve the energy security stance of the Baltic states are European Union climate and energy package, including the Climate and Energy Strategy 2020, that aims to reduce the greenhouse emissions to 20%, increase the energy production from renewables for 20% in overall share and 20% energy efficiency development. The NATO presence was further strengthened this year after Russia attacked Ukraine. That caused a furor in Polandbut the brickbats should have been bouquets. 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. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 15:16. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, the Baltic peoples came under siege from all directions. Decision-making needs streamlining. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with a combined population of only about six million people have long been seen as some of NATOs most vulnerable nations. Throughout the course of WWII, all the Baltic States lost significant portions of their populations. He did not offer details. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION AS AT 01.01.2018", "Home Oficialiosios statistikos portalas", "Employees fluent in three languages it's the norm in Lithuania", "Nida and The Curonian Spit, The Insider's Guide to Visiting", "Population by gender in regions, cities, counties and parishes at the beginning of the year - Gender, Territorial unit, Indicators and Time period", "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table", "Defense budget to increase by 103 million", "GINI index (World Bank estimate) | Data", The Shadow in the East: Vladimir Putin and the New Baltic Front, On the Boundary of Two Worlds: Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination in the Baltics, 1914-1918-online. After the Baltic states had restored their independence, integration with Western Europe became a major strategic goal. 6.2 United States. Delivered Thursday. Please select which sections you would like to print: Ambassador of Lithuania to Israel. Among the animals that inhabit the region are elk, boar, roe deer, wolves, hares, and badgers. Current exercises in the region are too small, too well scripted, and too devoid of complexity. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baltic_states&oldid=1142637920, Bottom-up regional groups within the European Union, Articles containing Lithuanian-language text, Articles containing Latvian-language text, Articles containing Estonian-language text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from August 2020, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles containing Swedish-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The Baltic States would remain Soviet republics of the USSR for more than 40 years. Initially, many Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians considered the German army as liberators, while having hoped for the restoration of each of the three countries' independence, but instead the Nazi German invaders established a civil administration, known as the Reichskommissariat Ostland. Latvia, for example, was a leading producer of Soviet radio receivers. A jeep would follow behind with an officer bearing cash and checks to compensate farmers for their losses. Around this time, Poles eclipsed Russians as the largest minority in Lithuania. When WWI ended, the Baltic peoples fought off attempts by the newly-created Soviet Union to take back control of their territory, and in 1920, the Soviets signed treaties with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, recognizing their independence. Since 2021, the tiny Baltic nation of Lithuania has come up against three authoritarian regimes: Belarus, China, and Russia. The Latvians also were considerably Germanized, and the majority of both the Estonians and the Latvians belong to the Lutheran church. There is also significant proficiency in Finnish in Estonia owing to its linguistic relationship with Estonian and also widespread exposure to Finnish broadcasts during the Soviet era. [33][34], The term Baltic stems from the name of the Baltic Sea a hydronym dating back to at least 3rd century B.C. Regional security in the Baltic Sea has been a problem for much longer than the current standoff with Russia. Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy is a shadow of its former self.. IR scholars think Moscow is likely to use military force, but they suggest Washington should exercise restraint. [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'. Somewhere else are the Brits with their Joint Expeditionary Forcea 10-nation military framework for rapid deploymentand the Germany-based Joint Support and Enabling Command, which is meant to ensure that the right forces are in the right place at the right time. [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. The climate is cool and damp, with greater rainfall in the interior uplands than along the coast. 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. 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. More NATO troops needed from 'Baltic to Black Sea'. Agriculture remains important to the Baltic economy, with potatoes, cereal grains, and fodder crops produced and dairy cattle and pigs raised. 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.