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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Why the Baltic states remember the Soviet Union as an occupier

While the world celebrated in 1945, three nations were being erased from the map by a Soviet regime masking its empire as anti-imperialism.

As much of the world emerged from the Second World War into freedom and prosperity, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania entered decades of brutal Soviet occupation. For the Baltic states, the end of the war in 1945 meant not liberation, but re-occupation by the imperial power in Moscow—an experience grounded in historical truth that continues to shape how we view Russia‘s imperial ambitions today.

At key moments in the 20th century, including after the First and Second World Wars, the world witnessed the collapse of empires and the rise of independent nations. Across continents, people asserted their right to self-determination, laying the foundations for today‘s international system. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—three small nations on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea were among the countries that gained independence in 1918 following their Wars of Independence. 

Yet, this story of the rise of independent nations was not universal. By 1945, when countries gathered in San Francisco to sign the United Nations Charter, establishing the core principles of today’s international order, including people’s right to self-determination, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the three Baltic states were not represented.

For us, the end of the Second World War did not bring freedom. Instead, it marked the beginning of nearly five decades of Soviet occupation. As a result, we were not able to stand among the nations signing principles that are so fundamental to us, and remain so for the world today.

A war triggered by........

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