The USSR occupied the Baltic states. Accession of the Baltic States to the USSR (1939-1940). Soviet "occupation" as salvation from Hitler

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained independence after the 1917 revolution in Russia. But Soviet Russia and later the USSR never gave up trying to regain these territories. And according to the secret protocol to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, in which these republics were assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, the USSR got a chance to achieve this, which it did not fail to take advantage of. On September 28, 1939, a Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance pact was signed. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent was introduced into the territory of Estonia. Stalin told Selter on his departure from Moscow: “It could work out with you, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 2, 1939, Soviet-Latvian negotiations began. From Latvia, the USSR demanded access to the sea - through Liepaja and Ventspils. As a result, on October 5, an agreement on mutual assistance was signed for a period of 10 years, which provided for the entry of a 25,000-strong contingent of Soviet troops into Latvia. And on October 10, an "Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania" was signed with Lithuania.

On June 14, 1940, the Soviet government delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania, and on June 16 to Latvia and Estonia. In general terms, the meaning of the ultimatums coincided - the governments of these states were accused of gross violation of the terms of the Mutual Assistance Treaties concluded earlier with the USSR, and a demand was put forward to form governments capable of ensuring the implementation of these treaties, as well as to allow additional contingents of troops into the territory of these countries. The conditions were accepted.

Riga. The Soviet Army enters Latvia.

On June 15, additional contingents of Soviet troops were brought into Lithuania, and on June 17 - into Estonia and Latvia.
Lithuanian President A. Smetona insisted on organizing resistance to the Soviet troops, however, having been refused by most of the government, he fled to Germany, and his Latvian and Estonian colleagues - K. Ulmanis and K. Päts - began to cooperate with the new government (both were soon repressed) , as well as the Lithuanian Prime Minister A. Merkys. In all three countries, friendly USSR, but not communist governments were formed, headed, respectively, by J. Paleckis (Lithuania), I. Vares (Estonia) and A. Kirchenstein (Latvia).
The process of Sovietization of the Baltic countries was monitored by authorized governments of the USSR - Andrey Zhdanov (in Estonia), Andrey Vyshinsky (in Latvia) and Vladimir Dekanozov (in Lithuania).

The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of the Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of the Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People.

Already on July 21-22, the newly elected parliaments proclaimed the creation of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, these republics were admitted to the Soviet Union.

The delegation of the Estonian State Duma returns from Moscow with good news about the admission of the republic to the USSR, August 1940.

Vares is received by comrades-in-arms: in uniform - the chief political officer of the Defense Forces, Keedro.

August 1940, the delegation of the newly elected Estonian State Duma in the Kremlin: Luus, Lauristin, Vares.

On the roof of the Moscow Hotel, the prime minister of the government formed after the Soviet ultimatum of June 1940, Vares and Foreign Minister Andersen.

Delegation at the Tallinn railway station: Tikhonova, Luristin, Keedro, Vares, Sare and Ruus.

Telman, couple Lauristin and Ruus.

Estonian workers at a demonstration demanding joining the USSR.

Welcoming Soviet ships in Riga.

The Saeima of Latvia welcomes the demonstrators.

Soldiers at a demonstration dedicated to the Soviet annexation of Latvia

Rally in Tallinn.

Welcoming the delegates of the Estonian Duma in Tallinn after the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union.

On June 14, 1941, the internal affairs bodies of the USSR, with the support of the Red Army and communist activists, deported 15,424 people from Latvia. 10,161 people were resettled and 5,263 were arrested. 46.5% of the deportees were women, 15% were children under 10 years old. The total number of dead victims of deportation was 4884 people (34% of the total), of which 341 people were shot.

Employees of the Estonian NKVD: in the center - Kimm, on the left - Jacobson, on the right - Riis.

One of the transport documents of the NKVD on the deportation of 1941, for 200 people.

Memorial plaque on the building of the Estonian government - to the highest officials of the Estonian state who died during the occupation.

In the elections of July 14, 1940, pro-communist organizations won the victory in the Baltic States, which subsequently carried out the accession of these countries to the USSR. In Estonia, the turnout was 84.1% and the Union of Working People received 92.8% of the vote, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, and 99.19% of voters supported the Union of Working People, in Latvia the turnout was 94.8%, and The bloc of working people won with 97.8% of the vote.

VKontakte Facebook Odnoklassniki

These days marks the 70th anniversary of the accession of the Baltic States to the Soviet Union

These days marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Soviet power in the Baltics. On July 21-22, 1940, the parliaments of the three Baltic countries proclaimed the creation of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. Already in early August 1940, they became part of the Soviet Union. The current authorities of the Baltic states interpret the events of those years as an annexation. In turn, Moscow categorically disagrees with this approach and points out that the accession of the Baltic states was in line with international law.

Let us recall the background of this question. The Soviet Union and the Baltic countries signed agreements on mutual assistance, according to which, by the way, the USSR received the right to deploy a military contingent in the Baltics. Meanwhile, Moscow began to declare that the Baltic governments were violating the agreements, and later the Soviet leadership received information about the activation of the German fifth column in Lithuania. The Second World War was on, Poland and France had already been defeated by that time, and, of course, the USSR could not allow the transition of the Baltic countries to the zone of German influence. In what was essentially an emergency, Moscow demanded that the Baltic governments allow additional Soviet troops into their territory. In addition, the USSR put forward political demands, which, in fact, meant a change of power in the Baltics.

Moscow's terms were accepted, and early parliamentary elections were held in the three Baltic countries, in which pro-communist forces won a landslide victory, despite a very high voter turnout. The new government carried out the accession of these countries to the Soviet Union.

If you do not engage in legal chicanery, but speak on the merits, then calling what happened an occupation would mean sinning against the truth. Who does not know that in Soviet times the Baltics were a privileged region? Thanks to the colossal investments that were made in the Baltic States from the all-Union budget, the standard of living in the new Soviet republics was one of the highest. By the way, this gave rise to unfounded illusions, and at the everyday level, conversations in the spirit began to be heard: “if we live so well under occupation, then, having gained independence, we will achieve a standard of living like in the West.” Practice has shown what these empty dreams were worth. None of the three Baltic states ever turned into a second Sweden or Finland. Quite the opposite, when the “occupier” left, everyone saw that the really very high standard of living in the Baltic republics was largely supported by subsidies from Russia.

All these things are obvious, but political demagogy ignores even easily verified facts. And here our Foreign Ministry needs to keep an eye out. In no case should one agree with the interpretation of historical facts that the current authorities of the Baltic countries adhere to. They will also charge us for the "occupation", because Russia is the successor of the USSR. So the assessment of the events of seventy years ago is not only of historical interest, but also has a direct bearing on our life today.

"""In order to sort out the issue, the site turned to MGIMO associate professor Olga Nikolaevna Chetverikova."""

We do not recognize this as an occupation, and this is the main stumbling block. The arguments of our country are that this cannot be called an occupation, because what happened is in line with the international legal norms that existed in those years. From this point of view, there is nothing to complain about. And they consider, that elections in diets have been falsified. The secret protocols to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact are also being considered. They say that this was agreed with the German authorities, but no one has seen all these documents, no one can confirm the reality of their existence.

First, it is necessary to clear the source base, documentary, archival, and then you can already say something. Serious research is needed, and as Ilyukhin said well, those archives that present the events of those years in a light that is unfavorable to the West are not published.

In any case, the position of our leadership is half-hearted and inconsistent. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was condemned, and, accordingly, the unknown, existing or non-existent secret protocols were condemned.

I think if the Soviet Union had not annexed the Baltics, then Germany would have annexed the Baltics, or it would have had the same conditions as France or Belgium. All of Europe was then actually under the control of the German authorities.

An independent state of Lithuania was proclaimed under German sovereignty on February 16, 1918, and on November 11, 1918, the country gained full independence. From December 1918 to August 1919, Soviet power existed in Lithuania and units of the Red Army were stationed in the country.

During the Soviet-Polish war in July 1920, the Red Army occupied Vilnius (transferred to Lithuania in August 1920). In October 1920, Poland occupied the Vilnius region, which in March 1923, by decision of the conference of Entente ambassadors, became part of Poland.

(Military Encyclopedia. Military Publishing. Moscow. In 8 volumes, 2004)

On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact and secret agreements on the division of spheres of influence (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) were signed between the USSR and Germany, which were then supplemented by new agreements of August 28; according to the latter, Lithuania entered the sphere of influence of the USSR.

On October 10, 1939, the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of Mutual Assistance was concluded. By agreement, the Vilnius Territory, occupied by the Red Army in September 1939, was transferred to Lithuania, and Soviet troops numbering 20 thousand people were stationed on its territory.

On June 14, 1940, the USSR, accusing the Lithuanian government of violating the treaty, demanded the creation of a new government. On June 15, an additional contingent of Red Army troops was introduced into the country. The People's Seimas, elections for which were held on July 14 and 15, proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power in Lithuania and appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a request to accept the republic into the Soviet Union.

The independence of Lithuania was recognized by the Decree of the State Council of the USSR of September 6, 1991. Diplomatic relations with Lithuania were established on October 9, 1991.

On July 29, 1991, the Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania was signed in Moscow (entered into force in May 1992). On October 24, 1997, the Treaty on the Russian-Lithuanian State Border and the Treaty on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf in the Baltic Sea were signed in Moscow (entered into force in August 2003). To date, 8 interstate, 29 intergovernmental and about 15 interagency treaties and agreements have been concluded and are in effect.

Political contacts in recent years have been limited. The official visit of the President of Lithuania to Moscow took place in 2001. The last meeting at the level of heads of government took place in 2004.

In February 2010, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Helsinki Baltic Sea Action Summit.

The basis of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Lithuania is the agreement on trade and economic relations of 1993 (was adapted to EU standards in 2004 in connection with the entry into force for Lithuania of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Russia and the EU).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources.

In the early twenties of the XX century, as a result of the collapse of the former Russian Empire, the Baltic states gained sovereignty. Over the next few decades, the territory of the countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became the site of the political struggle of the dominant European countries: Great Britain, France, Germany and the USSR.

When Latvia became part of the USSR

It is known that on August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed between the heads of state of the USSR and Germany. The secret protocol of this document dealt with the division of areas of influence in Eastern Europe.

According to the treaty, the Soviet Union claimed the territory of the Baltic countries. This became possible due to territorial changes in the State Border, as part of Belarus joined the USSR.

The inclusion of the Baltic States in the USSR at that time is regarded as an important political task. For its positive solution, a whole range of diplomatic and military events was organized.

Officially, any accusations of a Soviet-German conspiracy were refuted by the diplomatic sides of both countries.

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

In the Baltic countries, the situation was tense and extremely alarming: rumors spread about the upcoming division of the territories belonging to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, and there was no official information from the governments of the states. But the movement of the military did not go unnoticed by the locals, and brought additional anxiety.

There was a split in the government of the Baltic States: some were ready to sacrifice power for Germany, to accept this country as a friendly one, others expressed the opinion about continuing relations with the USSR on the condition of preserving the sovereignty of their people, and still others hoped to join the Soviet Union.

The sequence of events:

• On September 28, 1939, a mutual assistance pact was signed between Estonia and the USSR. The agreement stipulated the appearance of Soviet military bases on the territory of the Baltic country with the deployment of soldiers on them.
• At the same time, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Germany "On Friendship and Borders". The secret protocol changed the conditions for the division of spheres of influence: Lithuania came under the influence of the USSR, Germany "got" part of the Polish lands.
• 10/02/1939 - the beginning of a dialogue with Latvia. The main requirement is: access to the sea through several convenient seaports.
• On 10/05/1939, an agreement was reached on mutual assistance for a period of one decade, it also provided for the entry of Soviet troops.
• On the same day, Finland received a proposal from the Soviet Union to consider such a treaty. After 6 days, a dialogue began, but it was not possible to reach a compromise, Finland was refused. This was the unspoken reason that led to the Soviet-Finnish war.
• On October 10, 1939, an agreement was signed between the USSR and Lithuania (for a period of 15 years with the mandatory entry of twenty thousand soldiers).

After the conclusion of agreements with the Baltic countries, the Soviet government began to make demands on the activities of the union of the Baltic countries, to insist on the dissolution of the political coalition as having an anti-Soviet orientation.

In accordance with the pact concluded between the countries, Latvia undertook to provide the opportunity to deploy Soviet soldiers on its territory in an amount comparable to the size of its army, which amounted to 25 thousand people.

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

In the early summer of 1940, the Moscow government received verified information about the desire of the Baltic heads of state to "surrender into the hands of Germany", enter into an agreement with her and, after waiting for an opportune moment, defeat the military bases of the USSR.

The next day, under the guise of exercises, all the armies were alerted and moved to the borders of the Baltic countries.

In mid-June 1940, the Soviet government issued ultimatums to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. The main meaning of the documents was similar: the current government was accused of gross violation of bilateral agreements, a demand was put forward to make changes in the personnel of leaders, as well as to introduce additional troops. The conditions were accepted.

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

The elected governments of the Baltic countries allowed demonstrations, the activities of communist parties, released most political prisoners, and set the date for early elections.

Elections were held on July 14, 1940. In the electoral lists admitted to the elections, only the pro-communist Unions of the working people appeared. According to historians, the voting procedure took place with serious violations, including falsification.

A week later, the newly elected parliaments adopted a Declaration on joining the USSR. From the third to the sixth of August of the same year, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Council of the republic, they were admitted to the Soviet Union.

Consequences

The moment the Baltic countries joined the Soviet Union was marked by the beginning of economic restructuring: rising prices due to the transition from one currency to another, nationalization, collectivization of the republics. But one of the most terrible tragedies affecting the Baltics is the time of repression.

Persecution swept the intelligentsia, the clergy, wealthy peasants, and former politicians. Before the beginning of the Patriotic War, the unreliable population was expelled from the republic, most of which died.

Conclusion

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, relations between the USSR and the Baltic republics were ambiguous. Anxiety was added by punitive measures, exacerbating the difficult situation.

The Baltic states in the period between the two world wars became the object of the struggle of the great European powers (England, France and Germany) for influence in the region. In the first decade after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, there was a strong Anglo-French influence in the Baltic states, which later, from the beginning of the 1930s, began to interfere with the growing influence of neighboring Germany. He, in turn, tried to resist the Soviet leadership, taking into account the strategic importance of the region. By the end of the 1930s. Germany and the USSR became in fact the main rivals in the struggle for influence in the Baltics.

Failure "Eastern Pact" was due to the difference in interests of the contracting parties. Thus, the Anglo-French missions received detailed secret instructions from their general staffs, which determined the goals and nature of the negotiations - the note of the French general staff said, in particular, that along with a number of political benefits that England and France would receive in connection with the accession of the USSR, this would allow him to be drawn into the conflict: "it is not in our interests that he remains out of the conflict, keeping his forces intact" . The Soviet Union, which considered at least two Baltic republics - Estonia and Latvia - as a sphere of its national interests, defended this position at the negotiations, but did not meet with understanding from the partners. As for the governments of the Baltic states themselves, they preferred guarantees from Germany, with which they were connected by a system of economic agreements and non-aggression pacts. According to Churchill, “An obstacle to the conclusion of such an agreement (with the USSR) was the horror that these same border states experienced before Soviet help in the form of Soviet armies that could pass through their territories to protect them from the Germans and, along the way, include them in the Soviet-Communist system. After all, they were the most violent opponents of this system. Poland, Romania, Finland and the three Baltic states did not know what they feared more - German aggression or Russian salvation. .

Simultaneously with negotiations with Great Britain and France, the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 stepped up steps towards rapprochement with Germany. The result of this policy was the signing on August 23, 1939 of a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR. According to the secret additional protocols to the treaty, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and the east of Poland were included in the Soviet sphere of interests, Lithuania and the west of Poland - in the sphere of German interests); By the time the treaty was signed, the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania had already been occupied by Germany (March 1939).

1939. The beginning of the war in Europe

Mutual Assistance Pacts and Treaty of Friendship and Boundary

Independent Baltic states on the map of the Small Soviet Encyclopedia. April 1940

As a result of the actual division of Polish territory between Germany and the USSR, the Soviet borders moved far to the west, and the USSR began to border on the third Baltic state - Lithuania. Initially, Germany intended to turn Lithuania into its protectorate, but on September 25, during the Soviet-German contacts on the settlement of the Polish problem, the USSR proposed to start negotiations on Germany's renunciation of claims to Lithuania in exchange for the territories of the Warsaw and Lublin provinces. On this day, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, sent a telegram to the German Foreign Ministry, in which he said that he had been summoned to the Kremlin, where Stalin pointed to this proposal as a subject for future negotiations and added that if Germany agreed, "the Soviet Union immediately will take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23.

The situation in the Baltic states themselves was alarming and contradictory. Against the background of rumors about the upcoming Soviet-German division of the Baltic states, which were refuted by diplomats from both sides, part of the ruling circles of the Baltic states were ready to continue rapprochement with Germany, many were anti-German and counted on the help of the USSR in maintaining the balance of power in the region and national independence, while the underground left-wing forces were ready to support joining the USSR.

Meanwhile, on the Soviet border with Estonia and Latvia, a Soviet military group was being created, which included the forces of the 8th Army (Kingisepp direction, Leningrad Military District), 7th Army (Pskov direction, Kalinin Military District) and 3rd Army (Belarusian Front).

In conditions when Latvia and Finland refused to support Estonia, England and France (which were at war with Germany) were not able to provide it, and Germany recommended accepting the Soviet proposal, the Estonian government entered into negotiations in Moscow, as a result of which on September 28 A Mutual Assistance Pact was concluded, providing for the creation of Soviet military bases in Estonia and the deployment of a Soviet contingent of up to 25 thousand people on them. On the same day, the Soviet-German Treaty "On Friendship and Border" was signed, which fixed the partition of Poland. According to the secret protocol to it, the conditions for the division of spheres of influence were revised: Lithuania went into the sphere of influence of the USSR in exchange for Polish lands east of the Vistula, which went to Germany. Stalin, at the end of negotiations with the Estonian delegation, told Selter: “The Estonian government acted wisely and for the benefit of the Estonian people by concluding an agreement with the Soviet Union. With you it could turn out, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 5, the USSR suggested that Finland also consider the possibility of concluding a mutual assistance pact with the USSR. Negotiations began on October 11, however, Finland rejected the proposals of the USSR both on the pact and on the lease and exchange of territories, which led to the Mainil incident, which became the reason for the denunciation of the non-aggression pact with Finland by the USSR and the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

Almost immediately after the signing of mutual assistance treaties, negotiations began on the basing of Soviet troops on the territory of the Baltic states.

The fact that the Russian armies had to stand on this line was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat. Be that as it may, this line exists, and the Eastern Front has been created, which Nazi Germany will not dare to attack. When Herr Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week, he had to learn and accept the fact that the implementation of the Nazi plans in relation to the Baltic countries and Ukraine must be finally stopped.

original text(English)

That the Russian armies should stand on this line was clearly necessary for the safety of Russia against the Nazi menace. At any rate, the line is there, and an Eastern front has been created which Nazi Germany does not dare assail. When Herr von Ribbentrop was summoned to Moscow last week it was to learn the fact, and to accept the fact that the Nazi designs upon the Baltic States and upon the Ukraine must come to a dead stop.

The Soviet leadership also stated that the Baltic countries did not comply with the signed agreements and were pursuing an anti-Soviet policy. For example, the political union between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Baltic Entente) was characterized as having an anti-Soviet orientation and violating mutual assistance treaties with the USSR.

A limited contingent of the Red Army (for example, in Latvia its number was 20,000) was introduced with the permission of the presidents of the Baltic countries, and agreements were concluded. So, on November 5, 1939, the Riga newspaper Gazeta dlya Vsego in the article “Soviet troops went to their bases” published a message:

On the basis of a friendly agreement concluded between Latvia and the USSR on mutual assistance, the first echelons of Soviet troops proceeded on October 29, 1939 through the border station Zilupe. To meet the Soviet troops, a guard of honor with a military band was lined up ....

A little later, in the same newspaper on November 26, 1939, in the article “Freedom and Independence”, dedicated to the celebrations of November 18, the President of Latvia published a speech by President Karlis Ulmanis, in which he stated:

... The recently concluded mutual assistance agreement with the Soviet Union strengthens the security of our and its borders ...

Ultimatums of the summer of 1940 and the removal of the Baltic governments

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR

The new governments lifted bans on communist parties and demonstrations and called early parliamentary elections. In the elections held on July 14 in all three states, the pro-communist Blocks (Unions) of the working people won - the only electoral lists admitted to the elections. According to official data, in Estonia the turnout was 84.1%, while 92.8% of the votes were cast for the Union of the Working People, in Lithuania the turnout was 95.51%, of which 99.19% voted for the Union of the Working People, in Latvia The turnout was 94.8%, with 97.8% of the votes cast for the Bloc of the Working People. The elections in Latvia, according to V. Mangulis, were rigged.

The newly elected parliaments already on July 21-22 proclaimed the creation of the Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and the Lithuanian SSR and adopted the Declaration on joining the USSR. On August 3-6, 1940, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, these republics were admitted to the Soviet Union. From the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian armies, the Lithuanian (29th rifle), Latvian (24th rifle) and Estonian (22nd rifle) territorial corps were formed, which became part of the PribOVO.

The entry of the Baltic states into the USSR was not recognized by the United States, the Vatican and a number of other countries. Recognized it de jure Sweden , Spain , Netherlands , Australia , India , Iran , New Zealand , Finland , de facto- Great Britain and a number of other countries. In exile (in the USA, Great Britain, etc.), some diplomatic missions of the pre-war Baltic states continued their activities; after the Second World War, the Estonian government in exile was created.

Consequences

The accession of the Baltic States with the USSR delayed the appearance of the Baltic states planned by Hitler allied to the Third Reich

After the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, the socialist transformations of the economy already completed in the rest of the country and repressions against the intelligentsia, clergy, former politicians, officers, and wealthy peasants moved here. In 1941, “due to the presence in the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSR of a significant number of former members of various counter-revolutionary nationalist parties, former policemen, gendarmes, landowners, manufacturers, high officials of the former state apparatus of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and other persons leading subversive anti-Soviet work and used by foreign intelligence services for espionage purposes”, deportations of the population were carried out. . A significant part of the repressed were Russians living in the Baltics, mostly white émigrés.

In the Baltic republics, just before the start of the war, an operation was completed to evict an “unreliable and counter-revolutionary element” - a little more than 10 thousand people were expelled from Estonia, about 17.5 thousand from Latvia from Lithuania - according to various estimates, from 15.4 to 16.5 thousands of people. This operation was completed by June 21, 1941.

In the summer of 1941, after the German attack on the USSR, in Lithuania and Latvia, in the first days of the German offensive, there were performances of the "fifth column", which resulted in the proclamation of short-lived "loyal to Great Germany" states, in Estonia, where Soviet troops defended longer this process almost immediately was replaced by inclusion in the Reich Commissariat Ostland, like the other two.

Contemporary politics

Differences in the assessment of the events of 1940 and the subsequent history of the Baltic countries within the USSR are a source of unrelenting tension in relations between Russia and the Baltics. In Latvia and Estonia, many issues regarding the legal status of Russian-speaking residents - migrants of the 1940-1991 era have not yet been resolved. and their descendants (see Non-citizens (Latvia) and Non-citizens (Estonia)), since only citizens of the pre-war Republics of Latvia and Estonia and their descendants were recognized as citizens of these states (in Estonia, citizens of the Estonian SSR also supported the independence of the Republic of Estonia in a referendum on March 3, 1991) , the rest were struck in civil rights, which created a situation unique for modern Europe for the existence of discrimination regimes on its territory. .

The European Union bodies and commissions repeatedly addressed Latvia and Estonia with official recommendations, in which they pointed out the inadmissibility of continuing the legal practice of segregating non-citizens.

Of particular public resonance in Russia were the facts of the law enforcement agencies of the Baltic states initiating criminal cases against former employees of the Soviet state security agencies living here, accused of participating in repressions and crimes against the local population during World War II. The unlawfulness of these accusations was confirmed in the international Strasbourg Court.

The opinion of historians and political scientists

Some foreign historians and political scientists, as well as some modern Russian researchers, characterize this process as the occupation and annexation of independent states by the Soviet Union, carried out gradually, as a result of a series of military-diplomatic and economic steps and against the backdrop of the Second World War unfolding in Europe. In this regard, the term is sometimes used in journalism Soviet occupation of the Baltics reflecting this point of view. Modern politicians also talk about incorporations, as about a softer version of the attachment. According to the former head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Janis Jurkans, “It is the word incorporation» . Baltic historians emphasize the facts of violation of democratic norms during the extraordinary parliamentary elections held at the same time in all three states in the conditions of a significant Soviet military presence, as well as the fact that in the elections held on July 14 and 15, 1940, only one list of candidates put forward by the Bloc of the Working People, and all other alternative lists were rejected. Baltic sources believe that the election results were rigged and did not reflect the will of the people. For example, in the text posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, information is provided that “ In Moscow, the Soviet news agency TASS gave information about the mentioned election results already twelve hours before the start of the counting of votes in Latvia» . He also cites the opinion of Dietrich André Loeber - one of the former servicemen of the Abwehr sabotage and reconnaissance unit "Brandenburg 800" in 1941-1945 - that the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was fundamentally illegal: since it is based on intervention and occupation. . From this it is concluded that the decisions of the Baltic parliaments to join the USSR were predetermined in advance.

Soviet, as well as some modern Russian historians, insist on the voluntary nature of the entry of the Baltic states into the USSR, arguing that it was finalized in the summer of 1940 on the basis of decisions of the highest legislative bodies of these countries, which received the widest support of voters in the elections for the entire existence of independent the Baltic states. Some researchers, without calling the events voluntary, do not agree with their qualification as occupations. The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the accession of the Baltic states to the USSR as consistent with the norms of international law of that time.

Otto Latsis, a well-known scientist and publicist, stated in an interview with Radio Liberty - Free Europe in May 2005:

took place incorporation Latvia, but not the occupation"

see also

Notes

1. Semiryaga M.I. - Secrets of Stalin's diplomacy. 1939-1941. - Chapter VI: Troubled Summer, M.: Higher School, 1992. - 303 p. - Circulation 50,000 copies.
2. Guryanov A. E. The scale of the deportation of the population deep into the USSR in May-June 1941, memo.ru
3. Michael Keating, John McGarry Minority nationalism and the changing international order. - Oxford University Press, 2001. - P. 343. - 366 p. - ISBN 0199242143
4. Jeff Chinn, Robert John Kaiser Russians as the new minority: ethnicity and nationalism in the Soviet successor states. - Westview Press, 1996. - P. 93. - 308 p. - ISBN 0813322480
5. Great Historical Encyclopedia: For schoolchildren and students, page 602: "Molotov"
6. Treaty between Germany and the USSR
7. http://www.historycommission.ee/temp/pdf/conclusions_en_1940-1941.pdf 1940-1941, Conclusions // Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity]
8. http://www.am.gov.lv/en/latvia/history/occupation-aspects/
9. http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/policy/4641/4661/4671/?print=on
10. • "Resolution regarding the Baltic States adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe" September 29, 1960
    • Resolution 1455 (2005) "Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation" June 22, 2005
11. (English) European Parliament (January 13, 1983). "Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania". Official Journal of the European Communities C 42/78.
12. (English) European Parliament resolution on the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945
13. (English) European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2007 on Estonia
14. Russian Foreign Ministry: The West recognized the Baltic states as part of the USSR
15. Archive of foreign policy of the USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 32 - 33. quoted in:
16. Archive of foreign policy of the USSR. The Case of the Anglo-French-Soviet Negotiations, 1939 (vol. III), l. 240. cited in: Military Literature: Studies: Zhilin P. A. How Nazi Germany prepared an attack on the Soviet Union
17. Winston Churchill. Memoirs
18. Meltyukhov Mikhail Ivanovich Stalin's missed chance. The Soviet Union and the struggle for Europe: 1939-1941
19. Telegram No. 442 dated September 25 by Schulenburg at the German Foreign Ministry // Subject to disclosure: USSR - Germany. 1939-1941: Documents and materials. Comp. Y. Felshtinsky. M.: Mosk. worker, 1991.
20. Mutual Assistance Pact between the USSR and the Republic of Estonia // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International relations, 1990 - pp. 62-64
21. Mutual Assistance Pact between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of Latvia // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International Relations, 1990 - pp. 84-87
22. Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania // Plenipotentiaries inform ... - M., International relations, 1990 - pp. 92-98